Careers grow from cultural roots
Heritage, family, community, faith, racial and ethnic identity, and generational experience shape what a person sees as possible and worthwhile. These roots are strengths to build on, not obstacles to overcome.
Lesson · Career development and counseling
Career Counseling Across Cultures
How do people choose, build and rebuild their working lives, and how can counselors help in ways that honor culture, family and community? This lesson moves from Frank Parsons' Boston Vocation Bureau to the psychology of working, with multicultural scholars from the African diaspora, Asia, Latin America, Indigenous communities, India and South Africa. You can explore four career models in 3D, including McGee's Career Personality Multicultural Approach.
Seven perspectives30 theoristsFour 3D modelsMental health linksLesson planQuick check
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What is career counseling?
Career counseling is a helping relationship in which a trained professional helps a person understand themselves and the world of work in order to make career, educational and life decisions. It blends counseling skills, assessment, information about occupations and advocacy. The National Career Development Association describes it as helping people manage their careers across the life span.
The field began as social reform. In 1908 Frank Parsons opened the Vocation Bureau in Boston to help immigrant and working-class youth find work. During the same years, W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington and Carter G. Woodson were debating what kind of education and work would build freedom for Black Americans. Classic theories were later built mostly from studies of middle-class White men, so multicultural scholars have reshaped the field to include race, ethnicity, gender, social class, immigration, disability and sexual orientation.
Lens for this lessonFor each theory, ask: Who was it built from? Does it assume people have free choice? Where do family, community, faith, racism and money fit? What would a client of color add to it?
Seven perspectives
Ways of explaining careers
The people behind the ideas
Career theorists and multicultural scholars
Filter by perspective or search by name, idea or country. Open a card for background and a multicultural lens.
Explore in 3D
Four career models you can turn, zoom and take apart
Drag to rotate, pinch or scroll to zoom, and tap any part or choose it from the list to read what it means and how culture changes it. The models work offline from the flash drive.
1. The Career Diamond
Patricia Andersen and Michael Vandehey drew career counseling as a diamond. The Self sits at the top and the World of Work at the bottom. A client moves from Awareness through an expanding phase of exploring, reaches a Vision at the center, and then narrows through deciding to a Decision. The gold dots show the expand-then-narrow flow, and each later transition repeats the diamond.
2. Super's Career Development Stages
Donald Super saw career development as lifelong. The outer arc of his Life-Career Rainbow shows the five stages: Growth, Exploration, Establishment, Maintenance and Disengagement. The inner bands show the life roles a person plays at the same time. People also recycle through mini-stages at every transition.
| Stage | Approximate ages | Tasks and substages |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | Birth to 14 | Curiosity, fantasy, interests and awareness of capacities; forming a self-concept |
| Exploration | 15 to 24 | Crystallizing, specifying and implementing an occupational preference |
| Establishment | 25 to 44 | Stabilizing, consolidating and advancing |
| Maintenance | 45 to 64 | Holding, updating and innovating |
| Disengagement | 65 and older | Decelerating, retirement planning and retirement living |
3. Super's Archway of Career Determinants
Super's Archway shows what shapes a career. Biology and geography form the foundation. The left pillar holds personal factors and the right pillar holds societal factors. Developmental stages and role self-concepts form the arch, and the Self is the keystone that holds everything together. Each stone includes a multicultural note.
4. McGee's Career Personality Multicultural Approach
A tree that grows from cultural roots, stands on a trunk of personality, reaches out through branches of interest and is crowned by cultural work values. The soil and rocks are the opportunity structure and its barriers. Rain stands for supports, light for agency, fruit for outcomes and seeds for legacy. The approach is described in full below.
A theoretical approach
McGee's Career Personality Multicultural Approach (CPMA)
Micheal McGee's integrative approach brings personality, interests, cultural values and the realities of opportunity into one counseling process for people of color and others whose careers are shaped by culture and community.
Personality is expressed through culture
How a person gains energy, knows, decides and organizes life (the four Roots Type dimensions) shapes how they work best. The same trait can look different in different cultural settings.
Interests and cultural values both define fit
A good career fits a person's interests (RIASEC) and their cultural work values, such as community uplift, family security, purpose and faith, representation, ownership and belonging.
The soil matters
Opportunity structures, including schools, wealth, networks, labor markets, discrimination and policy, limit or feed growth. Counselors name structural barriers so clients do not blame themselves for them.
Agency and critical consciousness are the light
Self-efficacy, hope, mentorship and critical consciousness help people grow toward opportunity and change unfair systems, even in poor soil.
Success includes well-being and legacy
Outcomes include decent work, mental and physical health, the ability to provide for family and wealth that lasts. Mentoring the next generation turns one person's success into community change.
The counseling process in seven phases
1
Ground: build a culturally safe relationship
Establish trust, explain confidentiality and invite the client's cultural identity into the room. Use a cultural formulation and trauma-informed principles of safety, choice and collaboration.
2
Roots: explore culture, family and history
Draw a family career genogram, ask what "success" means at home and explore faith, identity and generational experience, including both trauma and resilience.
3
Trunk: understand personality
Use the Roots Personality Type to discuss Energy, Knowing, Deciding and Living, and how the client expresses each at home, at school and at work.
4
Branches and canopy: map interests and values
Use Paths in Color for interests and cultural work values. Widen options with role models who share the client's background.
5
Soil and light: map barriers, supports and agency
List barriers and supports together. Build self-efficacy through small wins, connect the client with mentors and programs, and discuss how they can act on unfair systems. Screen for stress and connect to community resources when needed.
6
Fruit: plan and act
Compare careers with O*NET wages, training and outlook on the career profiles, set SMART goals and build materials with the Resume Builder.
7
Seeds: legacy and follow-up
Ask "Who will you bring with you?" Plan for mentoring, giving back and a check-in after the next transition, the next diamond in the chain.
How the approach builds on other theories
| CPMA element | Builds on | What CPMA adds |
|---|---|---|
| Roots | Cheatham's Africentric model; Leong's cultural accommodation; Arulmani's cultural preparedness | Generational experience (trauma and resilience) as a named root |
| Trunk | Holland's vocational personalities; Super's self-concept | A culturally responsive personality typology (Roots Type) |
| Branches and canopy | Holland's RIASEC; Dawis and Lofquist's work values | Cultural work values such as community uplift and belonging |
| Soil, rocks and rain | SCCT barriers and supports; Fouad and Kantamneni's contextual levels; Super's Archway | Barriers named explicitly, including racism and ACEs, plus direct links to resources |
| Light | Bandura's self-efficacy; Diemer's and Freire's critical consciousness | Agency framed as growth toward opportunity and change |
| Fruit and seeds | Psychology of working (decent work); Hansen's integrative life planning | Legacy and community uplift as career outcomes |
Research status: CPMA is a new framework (2026). Doc Lobe is testing its parts through the Roots Personality Type and Paths in Color research versions. Use it as a teaching and counseling framework while the evidence grows.
Career and well-being
Career, mental health and generational trauma
Work affects health, and stress, trauma and history affect work. Career counselors need to see both directions.
Decent work protects mental health
Work that is safe, fairly paid and secure, with time to rest and access to health care, is linked to better physical and mental health (Duffy et al., 2019). Unemployment, underemployment and job insecurity raise the risk of depression, anxiety and substance use.
Adverse childhood experiences shape opportunity
Adults with more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, household violence or a parent's incarceration, are more likely to have less education, be unemployed and live in poverty (Metzler et al., 2017). ACEs are preventable, and safe, stable relationships buffer their effects. Many clients' career struggles start long before the job search.
History is in the career story
Slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, Indian boarding schools, exclusion of farm and domestic workers from the 1935 Social Security Act, and immigration policy have shaped which jobs, schools and wealth families could reach. Chronic stress can pass across generations, and so can resilience, faith and community strength.
Race-based stress at school and work
Being the only one, stereotype threat, microaggressions, code-switching and pressure to be "twice as good" add stress on top of ordinary job demands. Counselors can name it, normalize help-seeking and plan supports such as mentors, affinity groups and counseling.
Trauma-informed career counseling
SAMHSA's six principles apply to career services: safety; trustworthiness and transparency; peer support; collaboration and mutuality; empowerment, voice and choice; and attention to cultural, historical and gender issues. Avoid forcing clients to retell trauma, offer choices at every step and watch for signs that a client needs mental health care.
Resilience is also inherited
Extended family, faith communities, HBCUs, HSIs and tribal colleges, mutual aid and cultural pride have carried communities through generations of exclusion. Ask about these strengths as carefully as you ask about barriers.
Community resources
Where to get help
Share these with students and clients. Write down 988 and 211 so you have them offline.
988Suicide & Crisis LifelineCall or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. Free, 24/7, for any mental health or substance use crisis.
211Local help for basic needsCall 211 or visit 211.org for food, housing, utilities, child care, transportation and local job programs.
1-800-662-4357SAMHSA National HelplineFree, confidential treatment referral, 24/7. Find treatment near you at FindTreatment.gov.
American Job CentersFree job search help, training funds, resume help and career counseling in every state. Find one at CareerOneStop.org, which also lists reentry and veteran services.
Job Accommodation NetworkFree guidance on workplace accommodations for people with disabilities, including mental health conditions, at AskJAN.org. Ask an American Job Center about your state's vocational rehabilitation agency.
Discrimination at workThe U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains how to file a charge of employment discrimination at EEOC.gov. Deadlines apply, often 180 or 300 days.
Paying for schoolApply for federal grants, work-study and loans with the FAFSA at StudentAid.gov.
On campusCounseling centers, career centers, TRIO programs, basic needs offices and disability services are usually free for enrolled students.
Activity
Which theory helps, and what does culture add?
Read each client situation and decide which theory you would use. Then tap the card to see one possible answer.
Watch and read
Videos and recent research
Short talks and peer-reviewed articles published in the last ten years (2016 or later) that support this lesson. Videos and article links need an internet connection.
Videos
The myth of bringing your full, authentic self to workJodi-Ann Burey · TEDxSeattle · 2020
Why "be yourself at work" carries different risks for professionals of color, and what leaders must change.
First Gen Latina navigating higher education and beating the oddsEstrella Serrato · TEDxLakeBalboa · 2023
A first-generation college student on cultural exclusion in higher education and finding her path.
How to succeed in your new jobGorick Ng · TED, The Way We Work · 2023
The unspoken rules of a new workplace, from a career adviser who was a first-generation student.
5 steps to designing the life you wantBill Burnett · TEDxStanford · 2017
Design thinking for careers: curiosity, prototyping and reframing, much like the exploring half of the Career Diamond.
Peer-reviewed articles
- Duffy, R. D., Blustein, D. L., Diemer, M. A., & Autin, K. L. (2016). The Psychology of Working Theory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(2), 127–148.Explains how marginalization and economic constraints shape access to decent work and well-being.https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000140
- Blustein, D. L., Kenny, M. E., Autin, K., & Duffy, R. (2019). The psychology of working in practice: A theory of change for a new era. The Career Development Quarterly, 67(3), 236–254.Turns the psychology of working into counseling practice and advocacy.https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12193
- Duffy, R. D., Kim, H. J., Gensmer, N. P., Raque-Bogdan, T. L., Douglass, R. P., England, J. W., & Buyukgoze-Kavas, A. (2019). Linking decent work with physical and mental health: A psychology of working perspective. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 112, 384–395.Decent work was linked with better physical and mental health.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.05.002
- Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2019). Social cognitive career theory at 25: Empirical status of the interest, choice, and performance models. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 115, 103316.Reviews 25 years of evidence for SCCT, including supports and barriers.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.06.004
- Byars-Winston, A., & Rogers, J. G. (2019). Testing intersectionality of race/ethnicity × gender in a social–cognitive career theory model with science identity. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66(1), 30–44.Shows how race, ethnicity and gender intersect in science career development.https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000309
- Flores, L. Y., Navarro, R. L., & Ali, S. R. (2017). The state of SCCT research in relation to social class: Future directions. Journal of Career Assessment, 25(1), 6–23.Reviews how social class shapes career self-efficacy, supports and barriers.https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072716658649
- Diemer, M. A., Rapa, L. J., Park, C. J., & Perry, J. C. (2017). Development and validation of the Critical Consciousness Scale. Youth & Society, 49(4), 461–483.A measure of critical reflection and action used in research on marginalized youth's careers.https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X14538289
- Rudolph, C. W., Lavigne, K. N., & Zacher, H. (2017). Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptivity, adapting responses, and adaptation results. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 17–34.Career adaptability, from Savickas' career construction theory, relates to many positive work outcomes.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.002
- Hoff, K. A., Song, Q. C., Wee, C. J. M., Phan, W. M. J., & Rounds, J. (2020). Interest fit and job satisfaction: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 123, 103503.Tests Holland's idea that interest fit predicts job satisfaction.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103503
- Metzler, M., Merrick, M. T., Klevens, J., Ports, K. A., & Ford, D. C. (2017). Adverse childhood experiences and life opportunities: Shifting the narrative. Children and Youth Services Review, 72, 141–149.ACEs were linked to lower education, unemployment and poverty in adulthood.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.10.021
For instructors
Lesson plan preview: Career counseling across cultures
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Sources
References
- Andersen, P. (2006). The career diamond: A teaching tool illustrating the process of career counseling. VISTAS Online. American Counseling Association.
- Andersen, P., & Vandehey, M. (2005). Career counseling and development in a global economy. Lahaska Press.
- Arulmani, G. (2011). Striking the right note: The cultural preparedness approach to developing resonant career guidance programmes. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 11(2), 79–93.
- Cheatham, H. E. (1990). Africentricity and career development of African Americans. The Career Development Quarterly, 38(4), 334–346.
- Duffy, R. D., Blustein, D. L., Diemer, M. A., & Autin, K. L. (2016). The Psychology of Working Theory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(2), 127–148.
- Fouad, N. A., & Bingham, R. P. (1995). Career counseling with racial and ethnic minorities. In W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.), Handbook of vocational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 331–365). Erlbaum.
- Fouad, N. A., & Byars-Winston, A. M. (2005). Cultural context of career choice: Meta-analysis of race/ethnicity differences. The Career Development Quarterly, 53(3), 223–233.
- Gottfredson, L. S. (1981). Circumscription and compromise: A developmental theory of occupational aspirations. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28(6), 545–579.
- Hackett, G., & Betz, N. E. (1981). A self-efficacy approach to the career development of women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 18(3), 326–339.
- Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.
- Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45(1), 79–122.
- Leong, F. T. L. (Ed.). (1995). Career development and vocational behavior of racial and ethnic minorities. Erlbaum.
- Metzler, M., Merrick, M. T., Klevens, J., Ports, K. A., & Ford, D. C. (2017). Adverse childhood experiences and life opportunities: Shifting the narrative. Children and Youth Services Review, 72, 141–149.
- Parsons, F. (1909). Choosing a vocation. Houghton Mifflin.
- Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (2014). Career development and systems theory: Connecting theory and practice (3rd ed.). Sense Publishers.
- Pope, M. (2000). A brief history of career counseling in the United States. The Career Development Quarterly, 48(3), 194–211.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). SAMHSA's concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach (HHS Publication No. SMA 14-4884).
- Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(3), 661–673.
- Super, D. E. (1980). A life-span, life-space approach to career development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 16(3), 282–298.
- Super, D. E. (1990). A life-span, life-space approach to career development. In D. Brown & L. Brooks (Eds.), Career choice and development (2nd ed., pp. 197–261). Jossey-Bass.
- Woodson, C. G. (1933). The mis-education of the Negro. Associated Publishers.
- McGee, M. (2026). McGee's Career Personality Multicultural Approach. Doc Lobe Teaching, Learning, and Research Firm.