Alumni Career Counseling Program

An Individualized Opportunity To: Explore New Career Possibilities Evaluate Current Career Plans Increase Self-awareness

The Career Counseling Program

This unique program is sponsored by the Counseling and Psychological Services branch of Berkeley's University Health Services. It has been structured to provide assistance to individuals who wish to clarify career questions and to plan sound and attainable career goals. The program involves a process of assessment and self-exploration that will lead to a better understanding of interests and goals and ultimately, increased ability to make meaningful career decisions. It includes up to four personal interviews, several hours of testing, and usually takes four to six weeks to complete. The personal and confidential nature of the meetings will be respected at all times.

Counseling and Psychological Services

Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of California has offered a broad range of counseling services to students for many years. In addition, a well recognized and established counseling services program has been available to the general public since 1952.

Counseling and Psychological Services is staffed by experienced professionals with training in counseling, clinical psychology and related fields; people who can offer meaningful assistance in career planning.

Services For All People

Many kinds of people use Counseling and Psychological Services as a resource. While their ages and backgrounds vary, they seem to fall into three major groups:

• High school and college age students who want to review career goals and make appropriate plans for education or training
• People of all ages who are experiencing a major change in life circumstances and need to explore work alternatives
• Men and women who are already employed but want to find greater career satisfaction.

The Preliminary Interview

During the first meeting, you will talk with an experienced professional counselor about your career questions and concerns. This could involve a change in your job or perhaps new career options. It may relate to a need for more education or training or a return to the work force because of a change in personal circumstances. Your counselor will draw upon your background and interests to gain an understanding of your goals and to set a direction for the testing and interviews.

Testing

You will be offered a variety of self-assessments (such as interest inventories) at Counseling & Psychological Services. These assessments are intended to organize and affirm things you may already understand about yourself, as well as, to provide new information. Your counselor will review the results in order to clarify or identify your interests, skills, values, and personal preferences.

Follow-up Interviews

During the subsequent interviews, you and your counselor will talk about the assessment results and how they relate, in practical terms, to your career questions and alternatives. Your counselor will interpret the test information and integrate it with your background and expressed goals. You will have the opportunity to discuss your interests as they relate to your range of choices, and to formulate realistic plans for reaching your objectives.

Career Counseling Library

During your interviews, you may discover new career areas to investigate or educational opportunities to explore. Counseling & Psychological Services maintains an extensive reference library of occupational materials, including descriptive information on several hundred career fields, educational directories and catalogs of individual colleges and universities. The library also offers the use of computer-assisted career guidance systems (MyRoad.com and EUREKA). You will have unlimited access to the Career Counseling Library for one year and assistance will be available from our library staff.

The Benefits to You

Career counseling allows you to explore the world of work and educational opportunities and to plan goals you can achieve. The counseling process often leads to personal insights and growth, which will help you maximize the resources and opportunities available to you. We share your commitment to this important personal goal.

Fees and Eligibility

The career counseling program enables individuals to address their career needs in depth. For members of the California Alumni Association, the total cost of the career counseling program is $500.00. The program includes four individual interviews with a psychologist, access to a variety of tests, and assistance with research in the Career Counseling Library for one full year.

While we recommend the career counseling program, we also realize not every individual's needs will be met by this option. Therefore, individual appointments are available for a fee of $90.00 per visit and assessments are available for a fee of $50 per inventory. Assistance with research in the Career Counseling Library is also provided for individuals who are paying per appointment. Individuals have access to the library resources for 3 months following their last session with a counselor.

The full fee will be requested at the time of your first interview and can be paid by cash, ATM or credit card (no personal checks). Eligibility for these services lasts one year, beginning on the day the fees are paid.

If you are interested in the program, please download the background information form (PDF format). Return the completed form by fax: 510-642-2368 or drop off/mail to:

Counseling & Psychological Services
University Health Services
Tang Center, 2222 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94720-4300
Attn: Career Program

After completing and submitting the background information form,
call 510-642-2367 to make an appointment with a counselor.

For additional information on the program call 510-642-2367.