The Guidance Room - Hasan

Hasan is 22 years old. He has started two different higher education programmes but discontinued both. This case illustrates situations where adults experience external pressure, internal ambivalence, and uncertainty about future direction, and shows how career guidance can support exploration, self-insight and agency.

About the Case

Hasan is 22 years old. He has started two different higher education programmes but discontinued both. He now feels unsure about his next steps and caught between his own needs and his family’s expectations—particularly his father’s wish for him to obtain a higher education and a stable career. Although he has gained social experiences and insight through his studies, the academic pathways he tried did not match his expectations.

This case illustrates situations where adults experience external pressure, internal ambivalence, and uncertainty about future direction, and shows how career guidance can support exploration, self-insight and agency.

Structure of the Case

The case consists of four parts:

Background information about career guidance services available for adults and students in higher education in Norway.
Episode 1 introduces Hasan and the situation he is navigating.
Episode 2 shows selected moments from a guidance session, including the use of the “empty chair” exercise.
Thematic reflection questions for professional discussion.

Background: Career Guidance for Adults and Students in Higher Education in Norway

Adults in Norway can access career guidance through public career centres (karrieresentre), adult education centres, the Labour and Welfare Administration (Nav), higher education institutions, and community-based services.

Career centres offer free guidance to residents of all ages. Services may include:

support with educational and career choices
understanding job opportunities and labour market transitions
skills mapping and recognition of prior learning
CV and application support
group sessions, workshops and digital services

Students in higher education may also receive career guidance at their institution. Support is available for exploring study pathways, job opportunities, motivation, and transitions between education and work.

The Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) has a public website in Norwegian for information about education and work at Utdanning.no, and offers digital career guidance at Karriereveiledning.no, which is free and available to the entire population.

Purpose of the Case

The purpose of this case is to support reflection on:

how practitioners meet adults experiencing external expectations, ambivalence or pressure
how emotions such as frustration, guilt, uncertainty or relief can be explored safely and constructively
how specific guidance methods—such as mirroring or future-oriented exercises—can foster clarity and self-insight
how career learning occurs even when formal education pathways are not completed

The excerpts shown in Episode 2 represent short moments from a longer process and are intended to support professional dialogue, not to represent best practice.

Meet Hasan

After Watching Episode 1:

What career-related challenges is Hasan experiencing?
What influencing factors—internal and external—are shaping his decision-making?
What elements of his situation do you recognise from your practice?
What opportunities for career learning are visible at this early stage?

Join the counseling session with Hasan

The two guidance moments focus on:

Reflection and relationship building
The method: Empty chair

After Watching Episode 2

Which moments in the session with Hasan caught your attention, and why?
How did the use of the “empty chair” or other future-oriented techniques affect the conversation?
What else might have been explored in a longer session?
What competencies and skills did you observe the career counselor drawing on in the meeting with Hasan?

Discuss thematic questions
What tensions and dilemmas do Hasan experience? What is your role when students and parents hold differing opinions? Here you are invited to reflect further on various themes from the counseling session with Hasan.

Feel free to use these reflection questions as a starting point for further conversations about the counseling session with Hasan.

External pressure

Hasan is afraid of disappointing his father, who wants him to pursue a solid education.

What do you do when a guidance seeker wants to fulfill family values and expectations, but they conflict with their own personal wishes?
Will the guidance seeker's cultural background play a role in the counseling process?
What is your attitude toward families who hold strong ambitions on behalf of their children?
Do you have ambitions for someone you are related to or know personally?
Do a family's ambitions need to be explicitly stated?

Mirroring as a technique

The career counselor uses mirroring as a technique in the counseling session with Hasan.

Did you notice when the counselor mirrored Hasan? How did you experience it?
Do you use mirroring in your own counseling sessions?
As a career counselor, how do you know when and how often to mirror the guidance seeker?
When do you consciously use your own body language during counseling?
What do you usually pay particular attention to regarding your facial expressions or body language?

Ambitions for those seeking guidance

Hasan is academically capable but has discontinued two higher education programs.

Do you sometimes have ambitions on behalf of your guidance seekers?
Do you share those ambitions with them?
Should you, as a counselor, have any opinions on the client's future career path?
Hasan is a charming young man. How is your guidance influenced when you feel extra empathy for a client?
And conversely, how is it influenced when you do not feel empathy for a client?

Do you want to meet more guidance seekers

Go back til The guidance room- Adults.