Qualitative career assessment of vulnerable individuals: Applications to individuals with multiple health disorders

INTRODUCTION Relevant changes in the world of work require career counsellors to reflect on their practice in order that it keeps pace and maintains relevancy. There is the need to more directly and actively involve clients and to closely understand and address their needs. Besides better known difficult life conditions such as outcomes from neurological disabilities or psychiatric disorders, which have already captured the attention of career counsellors, there are new, emerging and, at the same time, frequently occurring conditions to which our attention should be directed, such as eating disorders (EDs) and substance use disorders (SUDs). Although epidemiological studies suggest that an increasing number of people are experiencing these multifactorial health disorders, career counsellors seem to have a limited awareness of the high probability that they will encounter future clients with these difficulties, and will need to be ready to address their questions which often refer to their life designing and future planning (Adams, 2009; Hall, Fong, Yong, Sansone, Borland, & Siahpush, 2012).