Case Study and Values Based Theory

For the case study assignment, I had the pleasure of interviewing an extremely interesting person. She is an older woman so she had a lot of valuable information to share with me. I loved hearing her story, it was an invaluable experience. It’s not too often that someone just lets you into their life, especially when you’re not close family or a long-time friend. I enjoyed it.

It was easy for me to select a theory to apply to my participant in the case analysis. Immediately Brown’s Values Based theory came to mind. Her values were a constant theme that pushed her throughout her life. If her work based values weren’t meant, she wasn’t happy and moved on. She grew up in a time when women were not necessary looked as equally as men. Traditional gender roles were prominent and expected but she went against them. She was committed, had a high work ethic, and strived to keep moving up the chain of command.  

Here career development was exceptional, she was always moving forward. She didn’t second guess her decisions and had a plan. Although she didn’t receive any career guidance until she was a well-established adult, she didn’t struggle with career indecision and had a progressive career development history. She didn’t need any career interventions. When she did receive career counseling it only gave meaning to her decisions instead of making her reevaluate or consider changes. In her own words she was “lucky,” all her jobs were connected and she was constantly making her situation “better,” because of this I thought Super’s theory could be applicable especially in regards to the stages.

She had a fantasy of being an airplane stewardess but the reality that her physique did not match the typical stewardess she moved passed that desire. She found a desire to pursue economics but found marketing to align more with her interests. She received the necessary education and starting moving towards her desire to work for a large corporation. She always bettered herself, (marinating) and moved to higher positions. Before retirement she no longer cared about advancement and rode out her positions. She continues working today through volunteerism in the community. Her case can be applied to other theories as well but I still think Values Based is the best because her goals were created with her values in mind, she didn’t break that. Even when her values of commitment (to her husband and family) held her back from relocating and receiving a higher level position, her values still came first. I overall enjoyed the assignment and though it was a good practice for future counseling situations.