Read the Case Study Scenarios and choose between one of the hypothetical cases of Mei Lei, Lakeesha, or Vincent. With the understanding that you are a career counselor, analyze the client's career counseling needs in accordance with one of the following career theories: Super; Holland; Dawis, & Lofquist; Krumboltz; and Lent, Brown, & Hackett. Within your analysis, explore the contextual issues within the case related to culture and family and develop a tentative plan for assisting this client with their career development needs.

Using social cognitive career theory (SCCT [Lent, Brown, & Hackett]) how would you address the following based on the case study?

• Career development thus far
• Reason(s) (external and internal) for seeking career counseling
• Any unique problems or situations that may influence the counseling session (e.g., disability, economic problems, mental health problems, cultural considerations, relationships, or life roles) and how you would address these issues
• A detailed overview of your career theory of choice. Be sure to identify the major concepts associated with the theory
• An explanation of how the career theory's major concepts could be used to conceptualize (understand) your client's situation and counseling needs and/or guide your selection of helping strategies and techniques.
• Information needed for the initial assessment
• Steps in the career development process

Case of Li Mei: "Helping Li Mei Blossom" For several weeks, Li Mei hadn't been sleeping well. Concerned about sleep problems, her frequent headaches, and general lack of energy, this Taiwanese-American sophomore at Chapman University finally decided to make an appointment at the student health services center. To Li Mei's surprise, even after ordering a number of lab tests, the physician could find nothing physically wrong with her. She was even more surprised when the physician referred her to the campus office for personal counseling. The idea of seeing a counselor was not particularly comfortable, but Li Mei complied. She just hoped her parents wouldn't find out because she felt that this would be yet another way she would disappoint them. For most of her life, 19-year-old Li Mei felt like a disappointment. Overshadowed by the many successes of her older siblings, Li Mei knew she couldn't possibly measure up. Although Chapman University is a highly respected college, Li Mei was keenly aware that she was admitted only after being placed on the wait list. In contrast, her 21-year-old sister was recruited by and awarded a full scholarship to Stanford University, where she was earning all As in the engineering curriculum and also competing on the Stanford women's swimming and diving team as an accomplished diver. Her 25-year-old brother was now in his third year of medical school at Johns Hopkins and aspires to become a neurosurgeon. Although she had been a fine student in high school, with a 3.2 grade point average (GPA) at a highly rated, private high school near her home in Flushing, New York, and was involved in a number of extracurricular activities, Li Mei wasn't a National Merit exam finalist like her brother and sister and didn't have the grades for schools like Stanford and Johns Hopkins. She also didn't have the same drive. After all, why bother? As the youngest and least accomplished child in the Huang family, Li Mei often felt invisible. For months now, Li Mei had felt increasingly discouraged. Lately, it was all she could do to make it to her classes, and it was next to impossible to see the point. After all, she didn't even know what she wanted to do. How was she supposed to declare a major?