Model for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Cognitive Reframes of Dysfunctional Career Thoughts Technical Report 36 - Revised

Many high school students, post-secondary students, and adults of working age have difficulty making career decisions. Dysfunctional thinking about themselves, their options, and their decision-making abilities have been shown to contribute to indecision, anxiety, and depression, which may in turn inhibit career development. While assessment instruments such as the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) and Workbook can be used by practitioners and clients to identify, challenge, and alter dysfunctional career statements no model exists for evaluating the quality of clients’ reframed thoughts, which result from such interventions. Such a schema may be helpful in determining the effectiveness of cognitive restructuring treatments like the CTI Workbook and other cognitive restructuring exercises. Furthermore, this schema may also be a useful tool in teaching practitioners and clients how to evaluate their thoughts and create more effective reframes. This report documents the creation and preliminary evaluation of such a model based upon the clinical judgments of a panel of “expert” career counselors.