The 5As Model: A Career Counseling Framework for Research,Theory and Practice

Abstract

In the field of career counseling, communication difficulties between practitioners, researchers, and theorists have been observed for many years. Part of this problem may be related to the lack of a common model of the career counseling process. To fill this research gap, this conceptual article introduces the 5As model, an overarching, integrative, and transtheoretical model that consists of five phases (Attending, Analyzing, Agreeing, Activating, and Accompanying) and 14 steps. The relevance of this model for theoretical and research purposes is detailed. The 5As model helps draw attention to overlooked yet serious challenges and opportunities for the field.

Keywords

career counseling integrative model transtheoretical model 5As processes

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ali

S. R.

Flanagan

Pham

Howard

(2017). Translating the career development knowledge base for practitioners and policy makers. In Scott

Solberg

Ali

S. R.

(Eds.), The handbook of career and workforce development (pp. 227–242). Routledge.

Arulmani

Kumar

Shrestha

Viray

Aravind

(2021). The cultural preparedness perspective of career development. In Robertson

P. J.

Hooley

McCash

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of career development (pp. 212–224). Oxford University Press.

Bartunek

J. M.

Rynes

S. L.

(2014). Academics and practitioners are alike and unlike: The paradoxes of academic–practitioner relationships. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1181–1201. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314529160

Benz

Bühlmann

Mach

(2021). The transformation of professors’ careers: Standardization, hybridization, and acceleration? Higher Education, 81(5), 967–985. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00590-7

Blustein

D. L.

Ali

S. R.

Flores

L. Y.

(2019). Vocational psychology: Expanding the vision and enhancing the impact. The Counseling Psychologist, 47(2), 166–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019861213

Bordin

E. S.

(1979). The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice, 16(3), 252–260. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0085885

Brott

P. E.

(2005). A constructivist look at life roles. The Career Development Quarterly, 54(2), 138–149. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2005.tb00146.x

Brown

S. D.

Ryan Krane

N. E.

(2000). Four (or five) sessions and a cloud of dust: Old assumptions and new observations about career counseling. In Brown

S. D.

Lent

R. W.

(Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (pp. 740–766). Wiley.

Brown

S. D.

Ryan Krane

N. E.

Brecheisen

Castelino

Budisin

Miller

Edens

(2003). Critical ingredients of career choice interventions: More analyses and new hypotheses. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 62(3), 411–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-8791(02)00052-0

10.

Cardoso

P. M.

Silva

J. R.

Gonçalves

M. M.

Duarte

M. E.

(2014). Innovative moments and change in career construction counseling. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84(1), 11–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.10.001

11.

Chiesa

Petruzziello

Mariani

M. G.

Guglielmi

(2020). Expectations of career counseling and their effect on client satisfaction. The Career Development Quarterly, 68(3), 254–267. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12235

12.

Crites

J. O.

(1974). Major contribution career counseling: A review of major approaches. The Counseling Psychologist, 4(3), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/001100007400400302

13.

Ewbank

M. P.

Cummins

Tablan

Catarino

Buchholz

Blackwell

A. D.

(2021). Understanding the relationship between patient language and outcomes in internet-enabled cognitive behavioural therapy: A deep learning approach to automatic coding of session transcripts. Psychotherapy Research, 31(3), 300–312. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2020.1788740

14.

Fouad

N. A.

Bingham

R. P.

(1995). Career counseling with racial and ethnic minorities. In Walsh

W. B.

Osipow

S. H.

(Eds.), Handbook of vocational psychology: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 331–365). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

15.

Fouad

N. A.

(2017). The role of theory in improving evidence-based career interventions. In Sampson

J. P.

Bullock-Yowell

Dozier

V. C.

Osborn

D. S.

Lenz

J. G.

(Eds.), Integrating theory, research, and practice in vocational psychology: Current status and future directions. Florida State University Libraries.

16.

Fouad

N. A.

Kozlowski

M. B.

(2019). Turning around to look ahead: Views of vocational psychology in 2001 and 2019. Journal of Career Assessment, 27(3), 375–390. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072719841602

17.

Fulmer

(2019). Artificial intelligence and counseling: Four levels of implementation. Theory & Psychology, 29(6), 807–819. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354319853045

18.

Gati

Asher

(2001). Prescreening, in-depth exploration, and choice: From decision theory to career counseling practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 50(2), 140–157. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2001.tb00979.x

19.

Gati

Krausz

Osipow

S. H.

(1996). A taxonomy of difficulties in career decision making. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 43(4), 510–526. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.43.4.510

20.

Gati

Kulcsár

(2021). Making better career decisions: From challenges to opportunities. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 126(4), 103545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2021.103545

21.

Goodman

Schlossberg

N. K.

Anderson

M. L.

(2006). Counseling adults in transition: Linking practice with theory (3rd ed.). Springer.

22.

Gore

P. A.

Murdock

N. L.

Haley

S. J.

(1998). Entering the ivory tower: Characteristics of successful counseling psychology faculty applicants. The Counseling Psychologist, 26(4), 640–657. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000098264007

23.

Gould

(1979). Characteristics of career planners in upwardly mobile occupations. Academy of Management Journal, 22(3), 539–550. https://doi.org/10.2307/255743

24.

Greenwood

J. I.

(2008). Validation of a multivariate career and educational counseling intervention model using long-term follow-up. The Career Development Quarterly, 56(4), 353–361. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2008.tb00100.x

25.

Gysbers

N. C.

Heppner

M. J.

Johnston

J. A.

(2014). Career counseling: Holism, diversity, and strengths (4th ed.). American Counseling Association.

26.

Hackney

H. L.

Cormier

L. S.

(1996). The professional counselor: A process guide to helping (3rd ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

27.

Hofmans

Wille

Schreurs

(2020). Person-centered methods in vocational research. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 118(103398). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103398

28.

Holm-Hadulla

R. M.

Hofmann

F.-H.

Sperth

(2011). An integrative model of counseling. Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/21507686.2010.546864

29.

Jacquin

Juhel

(2017). An individual mixed-evaluation method for career intervention. The Career Development Quarterly, 65(1), 16–28. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12077

30.

Kantamneni

Fouad

N. A.

(2023). Multicultural vocational research: Critique and call to action. Journal of Career Assessment, 31(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727221084002

31.

Kenny

M. E.

Blustein

D. L.

Meerkins

T. M.

(2018). Integrating relational perspectives in career counseling practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 66(2), 135–148. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12128

32.

Kidd

J. M.

(2006). Understanding career counselling: Theory, research and practice. Sage.

33.

Klonek

F. E.

Will

Ianiro-Dahm

Kauffeld

(2020). Opening the career counseling black box: Behavioral mechanisms of empathy and working alliance. Journal of Career Assessment, 28(3), 363–380. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072719865159

34.

Klonek

F. E.

Wunderlich

Spurk

Kauffeld

(2016). Career counseling meets motivational interviewing: A sequential analysis of dynamic counselor–client interactions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 94, 28–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.01.008

35.

Krumboltz

J. D.

(1996). A learning theory of career counseling. In Savickas

M. L.

Walsh

W. B.

(Eds.), Handbook of career counseling theory and practice (pp. 55–80). Davies-Black.

36.

Krumboltz

J. D.

(2009). The happenstance learning theory. Journal of Career Assessment, 17(2), 135–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072708328861

37.

Lent

R. W.

Brown

S. D.

(2020). Career decision making, fast and slow: Toward an integrative model of intervention for sustainable career choice. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 120, 103448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103448

38.

Lundh

L.-G.

Falkenström

(2019). Towards a person-oriented approach to psychotherapy research. Journal for Person-Oriented Research, 5(2), 65–79. https://doi.org/10.17505/jpor.2019.07

39.

Maslow

A. H.

(1966). The psychology of science: A reconnaissance. Harper & Row.

40.

McCarthy

Borbély-Pecze

T. B.

(2021). Career guidance: Living on the edge of public policy. In Robertson

P. J.

Hooley

McCash

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of career development (pp. 94–112). Oxford University Press.

41.

McIlveen

Perera

H. N.

Brown

Healy

Hammer

(2021). Career assessment. In Robertson

P. J.

Hooley

McCash

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of career development (pp. 312–324). Oxford University Press.

42.

Miller

W. R.

Moyers

T. B.

Ernst

Amrhein

(2008). Manual for the motivational interviewing skill code (MISC): Version 2.1. University of New Mexico.

43.

Miller

W. R.

Rollnick

(2012). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change. Guilford Press.

44.

Milot-Lapointe

Le Corff

(2025). Development and validation of the career counseling outcome questionnaire in two clinical settings. Journal of Career Assessment, 33(4), 779–798. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727241299127

45.

Milot-Lapointe

Le Corff

Arifoulline

(2021). A meta-analytic investigation of the association between working alliance and outcomes of individual career counseling. Journal of Career Assessment, 29(3), 486–501. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072720985037

46.

Moeller

(2022). Averting the next credibility crisis in psychological science: Within-person methods for personalized diagnostics and intervention. Journal for Person-Oriented Research, 7(2), 53–77. https://doi.org/10.17505/jpor.2021.23795

47.

Mohajerzad

Martin

Christ

Widany

(2021). Bridging the gap between science and practice: Research collaboration and the perception of research findings. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 790451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.790451

48.

Molenaar

P. C. M.

(2004). A manifesto on psychology as idiographic science: Bringing the person back into scientific psychology, this time forever. Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research & Perspective, 2(4), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15366359mea0204_1

49.

Muscat

A. C.

(2005). Ready, set, go: The transtheoretical model of change and motivational interviewing for “fringe” clients. Journal of Employment Counseling, 42(4), 179–191. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1920.2005.tb01089.x

50.

National Career Development Association . (2024). NCDA code of ethics. Author.

51.

Niles

S. G.

Harris-Bowlsbey

(2017). Career development interventions (5th ed.). Pearson.

52.

Nye

C. D.

Leong

Prasad

Gardner

Tien

H.-L. S.

(2018). Examining the structure of the career adapt-abilities scale: The cooperation dimension and a five-factor model. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(3), 549–562. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072717722767

53.

Osipow

S. H.

(1996). Does career theory guide practice or does career practice guide theory? In Savickas

M. L.

Walsh

W. B.

(Eds.), Handbook of career counseling theory and practice (pp. 403–410). Davies-Black.

54.

Parsons

(1909). Choosing a vocation. Houghton Mifflin.

55.

Patton

McMahon

(2014). Career development and systems theory: Connecting theory and practice (3rd ed.). Sense Publishers.

56.

Perdrix

de Roten

Kolly

Rossier

(2010). The psychometric properties of the WAI in a career counseling setting: Comparison with a personal counseling sample. Journal of Career Assessment, 18(4), 409–419. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072710374583

57.

Peterson

G. W.

Sampson

J. P.

Reardon

R. C.

(2002). A cognitive information processing approache to career problem solving and decision-making. In Brown

S. D.

(Ed.), Career choice and development (4th ed., pp. 312–369). Wiley.

58.

Redekopp

D. E. D.

Huston

(2020). Strengthening mental health through effective career development: A practitioner’s guide. CERIC.

59.

Robertson

P. J.

(2021). Evidence-based practice for career development. In Robertson

P. J.

Hooley

McCash

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of career development (pp. 352–370). Oxford University Press.

60.

Rochat

(2022). Mapping career counseling interventions: A guide for career practitioners. Routledge.

61.

Rochat

(2025a). Les 5As du conseil en orientation: un guide pour la pratique [The 5As of career counseling: A guide for practice]. Lucnia.

62.

Rochat

(2025b). Trois modèles clés pour une pratique intégrative et contextuelle du conseil en orientation [Three key models for an integrative and contextual practice of career counselling]. In Ben Youssef Mnif

Naceur

(Eds.), Regards croisés sur l’orientation en Tunisie (pp. 203–222). CERES.

63.

Rochat

Rossier

(2016). Integrating motivational interviewing in career counseling: A case study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 93, 150–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.02.003

64.

Ryan Krane

N. E.

(1999). Career counseling and career choice goal attainment: A meta-analytically derived model for career counseling practice [doctoral thesis]. Loyola University.

65.

Safran

J. D.

Muran

J. C.

(2006). Has the concept of the therapeutic alliance outlived its usefulness? Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43(3), 286–291. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.43.3.286

66.

Sampson

J. P.

Bullock-Yowell

Dozier

V. C.

Osborn

D. S.

Lenz

J. G.

Ross

N. T.

(2017). The state-of-the-art in integrating theory, research, and practice in vocational psychology. In Sampson

J. P.

Bullock-Yowell

Dozier

V. C.

Osborn

D. S.

Lenz

J. G.

(Eds.), Integrating theory, research, and practice in vocational psychology: Current status and future directions (pp. 188–192). Florida State University Libraries.

67.

Sampson

J. P.

Hou

P.-C.

Kronholz

J. F.

Dozier

V. C.

McClain

M.-C.

Buzzetta

Pawley

E. K.

Finklea

J. T.

Peterson

G. W.

Lenz

J. G.

Reardon

R. C.

Osborn

D. S.

Hayden

S. C. W.

Colvin

G. P.

Kennelly

E. L.

(2014). A content analysis of career development theory, research, and practice-2013. The Career Development Quarterly, 62(4), 290–326. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2014.00085.x

68.

Savickas

M. L.

(2015). Life-design counseling manual. Vocopher.

69.

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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.011

70.

Schoneveld

Othmani

Abdelkawy

(2021). Leveraging recent advances in deep learning for audio-visual emotion recognition. Pattern Recognition Letters, 146(2), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patrec.2021.03.007

71.

Schultheiss

D. E. P.

(2003). A relational approach to career counseling: Theoretical integration and practical application. Journal of Counseling and Development, 81(3), 301–310. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2003.tb00257.x

72.

Soto

Smith

T. B.

Griner

Domenech Rodríguez

Bernal

(2018). Cultural adaptations and therapist multicultural competence: Two meta‐analytic reviews. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74(11), 1907–1923. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22679

73.

Souto

A.-M.

Sotkasiira

(2022). Towards intersectional and anti-racist career guidance. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 50(4), 577–589. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2022.2073583

74.

Stiles

W. B.

(2007). Theory-building case studies of counselling and psychotherapy. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 7(2), 122–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733140701356742

75.

Swanson

J. L.

(1995). The process and outcome of career counseling. In Walsh

W. B.

Osipow

S. H.

(Eds.), The handbook of vocational psychology (pp. 217–259). Erlbaum.

76.

Tracey

T. J. G.

(2002). Personal globe inventory: Measurement of the spherical model of interests and competence beliefs. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60(1), 113–172. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.2001.1817

77.

Trbojević Milošević

(2019). Skidding on common ground: A socio-cognitive approach to problems in intercultural communicative situations. Journal of Pragmatics, 151(2), 118–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2019.05.024

78.

Urban

H. B.

Ford

D. H.

(1994). Some historical and conceptual perspectives on psychotherapy and behavior. In Bergin

A. E.

Garfield

S. L.

(Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change: An empirical analysis (pp. 3–35).

79.

Van Esbroeck

Tibos

Zaman

(2005). A dynamic model of career choice development. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 5(1), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-005-2122-7

80.

Verbruggen

Dries

Van Laer

(2017). Challenging the uniformity myth in career counseling outcome studies: Examining the role of clients’ initial career counseling goals. Journal of Career Assessment, 25(1), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072716657797

81.

Vondracek

F. W.

Ford

D. H.

Porfeli

E. J.

(2014). A living systems theory of vocational behavior and development. Springer.

82.

Whiston

S. C.

(2021). Career counselling effectiveness and contributing factors. In Robertson

P. J.

Hooley

McCash

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of career development (pp. 336–352). Oxford University Press.

83.

Whiston

S. C.

Rahardja

(2008). Vocational counseling process and outcome. In Brown

S. D.

Lent

R. W.

(Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (pp. 444–461). Wiley.

84.

Whiston

S. C.

Rose

C. S.

(2015). Career counseling process and outcome. In Hartung

P. J.

Savickas

M. L.

Walsh

W. B.

(Eds.), APA handbook of career intervention, volume 1: Foundations (pp. 43–60). American Psychological Association.

85.

Wiernik

B. M.

Allan

Cardador

M. T.

Caza

B. B.

Hofmans

Nye

C. D.

(2021). Critically evaluating and advancing research and statistical methods in vocational behavior research: Introduction to the 2020 special issue on research methodology. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 125(2), 103529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2021.103529

86.

Yates

(2021). Career development theory: An integrated analysis. In Robertson

P. J.

Hooley

McCash

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of career development (pp. 130–142). Oxford University Press.

87.

Yates

(2025). Career development theories in practice: A thematic analysis of practitioner perceptions of the benefits of theoretically informed practice. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-025-09726-6

88.

Yiğit

Uygun

E. G.

Erus

S. M.

(2026). Do online career counseling interventions work? A meta-analysis of career-related psychological outcomes. Journal of Career Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727261433253