June 9, 2009

How does one assess whether they need career coaching, psychotherapy or psychoanalysis? And, what are the differences between these sorts of interventions?

By Lynn Friedman, Ph.D. http://www.drlynnfriedman.com/about.html

After my recent article on the employee who seeks psychotherapy, I received lots of notes thanking me for writing it - and, lots of notes saying, "I'm unhappy at work. How do I know what sort of help would be most useful? Specifically, people wanted to know what is the difference between career coaching, psychotherapy and psychoanalysis? And, how do I know which could help me most effectively in addressing my concerns? Here's an article that I wrote on this topic. I'd love to hear your reactions to it.

How does a person assess whether they need help clarifying and resolving work-life issues? And, after deciding that help might be useful, how does a person know what sort of intervention to seek? An important starting point is to identify the work-life conflict. In general, people struggle with three work-life conflicts.

What do I want to do with my life?

How do I go about pursuing my goals?

How do I galvanize myself to get started?

For some people, answering these questions is straightforward. They know themselves well. They know their likes and dislikes and their strengths and limitations. They know what they want and their self-esteem is solid enough that they are able to tenaciously pursue their work-life goals. Others may have less clarity or less confidence. But, they may be able to make use of the plethora of books on this topic or the support of family and friends in their efforts to clarify the answers to these questions. Yet, not everyone can answer these questions for themselves. In fact, some people never find an enjoyable and rewarding career. And, some never achieve their financial goals. This is unfortunate in that, for the most part, with the right kind of help, career conflicts can be resolved.

Continued here --

http://www.drlynnfriedman.com/careerassessment.html

Best to all, LVF

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Lynn Friedman, Ph.D.
Clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst
Organizational/work-life consultant
5480 Wisconsin Avenue, Ste 206
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
(301) 656-9050
Associate faculty, Johns Hopkins University
http://www.drlynnfriedman.com
http://www.drlynnfriedman.typepad.com/
Follow at: http://www.twitter.com/drlynnfriedman
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Washington DC Psychologist

Psychotherapy from soup to nuts

How does one assess whether they need career coaching, psychotherapy or psychoanalysis? And, what are the differences between these sorts of interventions?