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Courtney is so excited to be welcoming Debra Laks to the show! If Courtney wasn't already living her dream job, Debra's would be it! A clinical career counselor, specializing in "confusion reduction", Debra helps people find balance, fit, and fulfillment in their occupational pursuits. Courtney's interest in the field of career counseling is born of her own career confusion, a common theme of her lamentations from approximately 1998 through 2008, and served as entryway into the field of counseling and mental health.

In this wide ranging conversation, Debra and Courtney discuss the fallacy of "work-life balance", explore the ways career is tied to identity, and the importance of self-knowing. This leads, of course, to a little side discussion on one of Courtney's favorite topics: personality metrics! A lively discourse on Myers-Briggs typology, Holland codes, and astrology ensues!

Debra and Courtney also talk about the impact of, and lessons from, the COVID era, the role capitalism plays in our career choices, identity, and satisfaction, and the ways our work lives are changing in the 21st century. They also reflect on trauma v. burnout v. emotional fatigue, and the role of meaning making in career wellbeing.

Debra shares a bucketload of resources with listeners including https://www.themuse.com/, https://www.tealhq.com/, https://www.truity.com/, and https://www.onetonline.org/. Also mentioned as career related resources are local libraries and college career centers, when applicable. You can learn more about working with Debra by visiting her ⁠Psychology Today⁠ profile.

About our guest:

Debra Laks, MSSA, LMHC is a Clinical Career Counselor and NYS Licensed Mental Health Counselor, in private practice since 1986. Prior to establishing her own practice, Debra served as Director of the Career Counseling Department for a large non-profit organization, and was Assistant Director of Adult Education at Queens College, where she coordinated a post-master’s certificate program in career counselor training.  

Debra regularly shares her knowledge and expertise with other practitioners regarding guiding clients through a deeper exploration of professional goals and career identity to assess strengths, internal barriers, values, work style and development needs. Her approach focuses on helping clients formulate a personal definition of success and map out viable strategies for actualizing goals. She provides a framework for facilitating career decision-making, advancement and change through supportive, solution-focused counseling and assessment.

Debra is a graduate of The National Institute for the Psychotherapies’ one-year program, Psychodynamic Approaches in Clinical Practice.  She currently serves on the Boards of the Career Development Specialists Network (CDSN) and the Middle Atlantic Career Counseling Association (NACCA). She is also an active member of the Hudson Valley Guild of Mental Health Professionals.

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