Integrating Psychotherapy and Occupational Counselling in Family Projects: An Action Theoretical View.

Abstract

The current career understanding develops away from institutionally outlined career track to informal personal and socially shared career conceptualization. Richardson (2002, 1993) suggested that occupational counselling and psychotherapy should become more integrated and thus better address this issue. We propose that we need a new conceptualization which would see career and occupational projects as being constructed in the personal and social processes and could provide a new basis for counselling integrating occupational counselling, psychotherapy and dealing with joint processes on a basis common to all three views. The core of this conceptualization is the idea of goal-directed system processes organized in action, projects and career, which are related to a number of issues such as occupational career, but also mental and physical health and relationships (Domene, Valach, & Young, 2015; Valach, Young, & Lynam, 2002; Young, Valach, & Collin, 2002). This conceptualization will be outlined, several cases will be described in which the intertwining of various issues asking for occupational, therapeutical and family related intervention is visible and, finally, a brief quantitative and qualitative overview will be provided of the occurrence of the occupational, life and suicide related joint issues in 40 interviews with patients after a non-fatal suicide action (Valach, Young, & Michel, 1997).