A Resilience-Informed Guiding Framework for Career Counseling Practice

Thesis Abstract

This study addresses the growing need for career guidance practices that acknowledge and cultivate individual resilience as a core foundational resource for navigating dynamic labor markets and life trajectories. Despite extensive career counseling literature, there remains a gap in empirically validated frameworks that integrate resilience theory with guidance interventions to enhance career adaptability, self-efficacy, and long-term well-being. The aim is to develop and validate a resilience-informed guiding framework (RIGF) for career counseling practice, with specific objectives (1) to synthesize resilience theory and career construction perspectives into a coherent guiding framework; (2) to examine the relationship between resilience-promoting counseling strategies and client outcomes (career adaptability, self-efficacy, and perceived well-being); (3) to pilot a structured intervention protocol and evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness; (4) to identify contextual factors that influence framework implementation across diverse work contexts; and (5) to generate practitioner guidelines for integrating resilience enhancement into standard career counseling. The study employs a mixed-methods design, beginning with a theory-driven qualitative phase followed by a quantitative test of the framework. In the qualitative phase, purposive sampling will recruit 28 career counselors and 60 clients from university, community, and private practice settings across three metropolitan regions. Data collection will include semi-structured interviews with counselors and clients, and document analysis of session plans, counseling transcripts, and reflective journals. Thematic analysis will be conducted using NVivo 12, guided by the resilience, social-cognitive career theory, and career construction theory lenses, to derive core components and practical techniques of the RIGF. The quantitative phase will involve a quasi-experimental pre-post design with 120 clients assigned to either the RIGF-based intervention or standard career counseling, matched on age, gender, and baseline career adaptability. Instruments will include the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, Career Adapt-Abilities Inventory, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale, administered at baseline, immediately post-intervention (12 weeks), and at a 3-month follow-up. Data will be analyzed using multilevel modelling to account for nested data (clients within counselors) and structural equation modelling to test the hypothesized pathways among resilience-building interventions, career adaptability, self-efficacy, and well-being. Hypotheses expect that participants receiving the RIGF intervention will show greater gains in career adaptability (? = .25 to .40, p < .05), self-efficacy (? = .20 to .35, p < .05), and life satisfaction (? = .15 to .30, p < .05) relative to controls, with mediation analyses exploring whether resilience gains mediate improvements in career outcomes. The study anticipates identifying critical mechanisms such as enhanced reflective problem-solving, social support mobilization, and adaptive meaning-making as mediators of improved career outcomes. Expected findings include robust evidence for the feasibility and acceptability of the RIGF, with high client satisfaction and reasonable session attendance, alongside statistically meaningful improvements in resilience, career adaptability, and well-being. The contribution to knowledge lies in the development and empirical validation of a theory-informed, practice-ready framework that operationalizes resilience concepts within career counseling, offering a structured protocol, assessment tools, and practitioner guidelines adaptable to varied contexts. The study advances understanding of how resilience processes translate into career-relevant competencies and well-being, bridging gaps between resilience research and applied career guidance. It also provides an evidence base for policy and professional training on integrating resilience promotion into standard counseling curricula and continuing professional development. The main conclusion is that a resilience-informed guiding framework can meaningfully enhance client outcomes in career counseling when delivered with fidelity to the integrated components of resilience-building, adaptive problem-solving, and social-emotional support. Recommendations include adoption of the RIGF into graduate training, development of localized implementation manuals for different service settings, ongoing outcome monitoring, and further longitudinal research to assess long-term career trajectories and well-being beyond the initial follow-up period.