Counseling Theory Case Study of Taneka

Counseling Theory Case Study of Taneka

For this assignment, you will demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of career counseling theory by choosing a career counseling theory addressed in Units 1 or 2 and applying it to the case study provided below. Approach the case study from the perspective of your individual specialization (for example, mental health counseling, school counseling, et cetera). You can embellish the case scenario as needed to help you complete the assignment.

Scenario

Taneka, a 17-year-old African-American female, is a high school junior. She is the oldest of three siblings living with her single-parent mother. Her mother has worked for the past 15 years at a manufacturing plant. Her father has not been a part of Taneka’s life.

As the oldest child, Taneka has held major responsibilities throughout her life to support her working mother, such as caring for her younger siblings: Derrick, now age 14, and Kenya, age 12. These early duties reinforced development of her natural leadership skills. Taneka has been recognized from an early age for being mature, responsible, and dependable. As her siblings have grown, she has been able to have part-time jobs, most recently as a salesperson at a teen fashion store in the local mall. It was here that she first realized she had a knack for dealing with people, and they responded well to her—employers, co-workers, and customers alike. She was recently approached by her supervisor to consider participating in the company’s employee leadership training program.

This has caused Taneka to start thinking about post-secondary education possibilities. Previously she had thought college was out of her reach, due to the limited financial resources of her family and no history of anyone in her family ever attending college. As such, she had not previously given much importance to her grades. Rather than participating in extracurricular school activities, she focused on working. She is on track for graduating with her class next year and has a current grade point average of 2.05.

Taneka is now questioning her previous assumption about college or other post-secondary educational possibilities, but she does not have a clear idea of what she would like to pur