The Interpreted Rock

Guest Blogger Jared C. Schultz, Ph.D., CRC, LVRC, HS-BCP I have witnessed both the unproductive and productive side of vocational assessment. I remember taking the Strong Interest Inventory in high school. My guidance counselor called me into his office and shared with me that I should be a “Mortician and Embalmer”. This is a great profession to be sure; but not a future that will attract the girls. I had a choice; I could either disregard the results of the test, or face a life of… well… you get the picture. Unfortunately, I think that many people have similar experiences. When vocational and career assessments are done in a fragmented manner or in isolation of the comprehensive process, it leads people to believe that these processes are generally useless. The process of providing a career evaluation is grounded in the task of matching a person to a vocation or career goal. We comprehensively assess aspects of the person and the work environment to determine the level of...

By Stephen C. Schultz The sky was blue and a gentle breeze fluttered through the aspens in a wave like motion. The truck strained a bit as it wound its way up the mountain pass at 9000 feet above sea level. Shawn Brooks and I were headed to the annual camp out for the students at Oxbow Academy . Each year, the students and staff head to the mountains for week of camping, hiking and fishing. While group and individual therapy still takes place throughout the week, it provides a more relaxed atmosphere for students and staff to interact.   We pulled off the highway onto a dirt road that wound up the hillside to where the camp was set up. As we approached, there was a group of students and staff playing a game of “horse shoes”. I got out of the truck and walked towards the big tarp that covered the cooking/food area. As I approached, four or five students came running towards me with a stringer of fish. They were so excited and a couple of boys started cleaning the fish whi...

By Stephen C. Schultz How is a parent to know if the concerns they have about their teenage son or daughter need to be addressed at a professional level? When is it time to seek the help of a therapist? How do you measure progress in behavior as well as maturity? Are they simply going through the turbulent teen years, or is there something more serious going on? Teens today face an unrelenting barrage of messages coming at them from many different sources. The media influences how they behave, speak, dress, and interact with others. Technology provides communication opportunities never before seen, yet there are few standards regarding the social implications of its use. Additionally, parental expectations regarding education and external pressure to excel in all aspects of life can create stress and anxiety. Listed below are some areas that parents should be aware of so they can intervene early and help their child navigate these challenges before they escalate. 10 Warning Signs P...

 By Stephen C. Schultz I recently had the opportunity to attend a conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. One of my colleagues has a former student who is now attending the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. This young man is originally from Houston, but my colleague wanted to make the trip to Dayton to visit him and offer continued encouragement and support. He asked if I would like to go along. My response was simple: “Sure... absolutely!” And with that, we headed north out of Cincinnati. While in Dayton, we also had the opportunity to visit The Dayton Early College Academy (DECA) , an innovative partnership among Dayton Public Schools, the University of Dayton, Sinclair Community College, and Wright State University. DECA was created to provide students, many of whom come from historically underserved communities, with a pathway to academic success, college readiness, and future opportunity. What a remarkable experience it was to see these young people come together with a sp...