Trauma informed use of the career construction interview

The utilization of the Career Construction Interview (CCI) is advancing throughout the career counseling field. The narrative social constructivist approach assists clients in accentuating and narrating a personal career story that highlights attitudes, skills, and behaviors for their career planning and development. The CCI is recommended for use across diverse cultures and groups. However, more insight is needed into how career counselors can use the CCI to implement a trauma-informed approach and reduce the risk of re-traumatization. This article presents an review of trauma in career counseling, the CCI, and trauma-specific considerations for diverse populations that present for career counseling. Next, the authors present questions from the CCI and how trauma may affect the responses to these questions. Alternative prompts are provided that align with the original purposes of these questions and provide similar storied responses to aid the client in building a useful narrative for career development. Additionally, the authors present a brief case example implementing these alternative prompts and their effectiveness in application.