Constructivism

• 1990s and first two decades of 21st century
• Individuals construct their own realities - there is no absolute
• Constructivism: Describes how individuals construct their own ideas about themselves, others, and their worlds as they try to make sense out of their real-life experiences
• Knowledge is constructed by people (and does not reflect actual reality)
• Social Constructivism: Interpretations about how the social world is constructed by social processes and relational practices
• How social or external processes shape the career development of individuals (rather than how individuals shape their career development based on how they view themselves, others, and their worlds)
• Individuals construct their life using both internal (self) and external (social) processes
• Requires counselor to enter into the psychosocial sphere of a person's career system
• Help clients tell their story in their own language
• Relationship between client and counselor is very important
• Clients construct their worlds and can therefore deconstruct and reconstruct their assumptions and perceptions