Donald Super's Developmental Tasks

Working in the social services field was always my dream. Whether working with children, family, adults, elderly etc. this career path is so broad it instills the hope of a career opportunity. My first year working in this field was in 2010 when I interned as an intake specialist in an outpatient drug treatment facility, while completing my bachelor’s degree in human services. Thereafter, I was able to branch off in various areas such as a case manager at a domestic violence shelter, housing specialist, substance abuse counselor and now a family services specialist.

Human growth and development over a lifetime shows how a person evolves from birth to the time of death. Psychologists study the development of children teaching influencing their future. My childhood experiences influences my adulthood, but I have to show maturity. Does this mean that I do the same things I did as I child? What kind of growth did I show from elementary age to high school age? How much of my child will influence my decision-making as I move forward in my developmental stages? Does my spiritual have an impact on how I view myself? I have to take a step back into my past to view my challenges and obstacles. My

I started substitute teaching at various elementary, middle and high schools in the Jacksonville area. In October of 2010, I obtained full time employment at Youth Crisis Center as a Youth Care Specialist. My role was to assist young adults in the foster care system. While at Youth Crisis Center, I was acknowledged for my dedication and excellence in the work place and was promoted to team lead. In March 2011, I was laid off and regained employment at the Mental Health Resource Center, as a Family Services Counselor (FSC). As I held this position, I worked with families through the foster care system who had experienced past trauma of abuse, abandonment or neglect. I held a case load of 15-25 families as I coordinated services to ensure each of their need were met. The types of services provided included medical, dental, educational, therapeutic, parenting, mental health and substance abuse to name a few. Likewise, I prepared reports on a weekly basis to be submitted to the courts regarding the families progress or lack thereof. With all intent to reunify families there were instances that reunification was not deemed to be in the child(s) best interest. In such cases as these it was also my responsibility to testify in open court advocating for other permanency options for the child. I found my position as a FSC to be both challenging and rewarding at the same time. I remember working with a family whose

Psychosocial development throughout the Life Cycle theory (sometimes known as individual development theory) proposes that each individual has the ability to master their environment at all stages of life (Coady & Lehman, 2008; Hutchison, 2008). The theory had its

According to Niles & Harris (2013), Donald Super developed his theory segmentally. There is no ‘Super’s theory’; there is just the assemblage of theories that Super sought to synthesize. The result is really a “segmental theory” describing three key aspects of career development: (a) life span, (b) life space, and (c) self-concept. The theory culminates in an intervention model labeled as the Career Development Assessment and Counseling (C-DAC) model.

Throughout my 3-year employment at Penn-Mar Human Services, I have assumed several different roles. After being hired for individual supports, I quickly transitioned into a group position as a Program Instructor, where I would be better able to utilize my unique skillset and grow professionally within the organization. After only a few months, I was promoted to a Program Instructor II, accepting greater responsibilities. In this position, I flourished

The social work field has been a consistent portion of my life for the past six years. I was employed by the Mental Health Resource Center (MHRC) from 2011-2016. From 2011-2014, I worked as a case manager. In this capacity, I worked with families who had children removed because of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. My goal was to recommend services which would alleviate the reasons for removal. However, if the parents did not show any behavior change and were not successful in completing their court ordered tasks, we would have to change our goals to what was in the best interest of the child. In addition to recommending services, I ensured that children received therapeutic intervention, had visitations with their family at least three times a week, transported my clients to appointments, enrolled children in school, prepared court documents, requested records, and documented my efforts to reunify. From 2014-2016, I was promoted to supervisor. My unit consisted of five case managers and a case coordinator. My role was to guide, teach, and

Development of a person throughout his or her whole lifetime can be seen either as a continuous process or as a final status to be attained. Psychologists agree

This autobiography will present events, people, and experiences that have been integral to my career development. My life will be outlined starting from early childhood and leading up to present day. Each stage of my life will discuss examples that explain how I got to where I am today. Career development theories will then be related to my life experiences.

The three theories I have chosen to discuss are all extremely relevant ideas; although I prefer Erik Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development. Erik Erikson’s theory covers a person’s entire lifespan showing the many different stages throughout one’s life. A person is always

Donald Super’s theory of career development focuses on the different stages people progress through as they go through life, and how these stages correlate with important events and career choices. During growth (birth-14 years), people grow physically and begin to form ideas of their self-worth. During this time, many people

Super’s Life Span Theory is one of several developmental theories. Developmental theories are concerned with career choices made over an individual’s lifetime. They are based around the influence that biological, psychological, sociological, and cultural factors have on career decisions as well as other choices that are made in a person’s life. Super’s Theory is different from other developmental theories because it proposes that psychological and socioeconomic factors have a role in the development of the self, that self-concept affects vocational development, that both individual and life roles play a key part in

For my life journey I have chose to use Eric Erikson’s theory I have decided to use his theory because to me his theory suited my life appropriately. Eric Erikson is a well known theorist from the twentieth century, he has produced many theories. One of his most known and recognized theory is the psychosocial development. This theory describes the steps a person goes through in life. There are nine stages in his theory. Originally his theory only eight steps, but his wife found the last step after his death and published it. The nine stages are: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy and soliditary vs. isolation, generativity vs. self absorption and stagnation, and integrity vs. despair. Although, I have not gone through all of these steps yet due to my age I am only twenty two. I will speak about the steps I have gone through so far.

When I was growing up, I remember my family situation as extremely chaotic. I was one of eight children and my father and mother had little time to devote to me individually. Most of the time they spent trying to earn enough to support us with their meager resources. I was often called upon to act as a surrogate mother to my siblings. I felt I had little time to develop my own unique perspective and voice when I was very young. Even as a preschooler I remember doing chores to help out at home. However, this situation did foster some positive aspects of my character. I learned to be mature at an early age and gained a sense of competence because of my responsibilities. But I also was taught put the needs of others second to my own. I feel that I did not learn to value my own, legitimate desires to an adequate degree as a young girl and have only recently acquired a true sense of worth [THESIS].

Life-Span Theories. Trait and factor theories tend to deal with career issues at one point in time, whereas life-span theories take a long-term, developmental perspective (ibid.). The most widely known life-span theory is Super’s Theory of Vocational Choice, which suggests that individuals pass through stages of vocational development involving developmental tasks at each stage; it also considers the performance of multiple roles and their interaction across the life-span (Stitt-Gohdes 1997). However, some studies have shown that the life stages Super outlined are not exactly applicable to women, especially as their roles have changed in the last few decades (Sharf 1997). Super considered self-concept and vocational maturity to be important