2020 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 15-26
The purpose of this study is to generate a hypothesis of the process of psychological assistance provided to unemployed persons by career counselors working at re-employment support companies. Semi-structured interviews targeting 11 career counselors with five or more years of re-employment support experience assumed to be able to provide a certain level of psychological assistance were conducted at the re-employment support companies with which the researchers are affiliated. The obtained data were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach (M-GTA). Based on the results, 26 concepts, 6 categories, and 3 core categories were generated. The findings suggest that the support process is a gradual one that consists of the following stages toward the realization of re-employment for unemployed individuals experiencing anxiety: 1) receiving assistance by accepting negative emotions while preparing to take the first step into the job market, 2) providing consistent support to enable individuals to accept that difficulties may recur and to promote activities at a stage when the repeated experience of failure has led to the loss of confidence, and 3) providing support in seeking re-employment until employment is obtained.
