FCD – Mental Health

Facilitating Career Development Training (FCD) and Certificate Program – Mental Health and Other Service Professionals

The fourth edition of the Facilitating Career Development (FCD) (formerly “Career Development Facilitator” – CDF) program is the official 120-hour professional development program developed by the National Career Development Association (NCDA).  It was designed to give individuals, in a variety of workplace settings, an overview of the knowledge and skills needed to effectively support other people to find career satisfaction. The core curriculum addresses the areas of competency required for the new Certified Career Services Provider credential series.


Core Curriculum and Competencies:

  1. Helping Skills:  Be proficient in the basic career facilitating process while including productive interpersonal relationships.

  2. Labor Market Information and Resources: Understand labor market and occupational information and trends. Be able to use current resources.

  3. Assessment:  Comprehend and use (under supervision) both formal and informal career development assessments with emphasis on relating appropriate ones to the population served.

  4. Diverse Populations:  Recognize special needs of various groups and adapt services to meet their needs.

  5. Ethical and Legal Issues:  Follow the NCDA Code of Ethics and know current legislative regulations.

  6. Career Development Models:  Understand career development theories, models, and techniques as they apply to lifelong development, gender, age, and ethnic background.

  7. Employability Skills:  Know job search strategies and placement techniques, especially in working with specific groups.

  8. Training Clients and Peers:  Prepare and develop materials for training programs and presentations.

  9. Program Management/Implementation:  Understand career development programs and their implementation, and work as a liaison in collaborative relationships.

  10. Promotion and Public Relations: Market and promote career development programs with staff and supervisors.

  11. Technology: Comprehend and use career development computer applications.

  12. Consultation:  Accept suggestions for performance improvement from consultants or supervisors.


Optional Additional Curriculum to Meet Individual’s Learning Goals:
The current edition (4th) includes optional chapters for participants who work with the following:

  • Business Services and Employer Relations

  • Clients with Disabilities

  • Clients who are justice involved

  • K-12 Students

  • Workforce and Career Development History


Additional Options From Instructor:

  1. Higher Education

  2. Working with the unemployed, college-educated, and/or experienced professionals

  3. Faith-based settings and individuals

  4. Instructor will work with participants to develop unique, optional modules to address participant’s individual learning goals.​

This program provides an overview of what an individual would learn in a three-year career counseling master’s degree program. It is suitable to individuals who want to become competent at assisting others with career issues, but do not want to invest the time, money and energy in pursuing the full three-year career counselor degree program.

Please note:  While this program does cover the ethical use of assessments, it does not qualify participants to purchase and use specific career assessments. Individuals who wish to pursue assessment certification should contact the assessment publisher directly for information on how to meet certification requirements for each assessment tool to be used. 

Individuals can sign up for a pre-scheduled class. Open-access classes are generally offered as hybrid – online to suit adults’ needs for flexible schedules. However, the program requires mandatory 24 hours of face-to-face instruction. 

Institutions can request that a class be tailored to their unique needs. Class can be offered primarily online or in-person, based on needs and preference. 

Outcome: 

  • Certificate of Completion

  • 12 CEUs

  • Discount on one-year membership to National Career Development Association (NCDA) to first-time members

  • Eligible to apply for the new CCSP credential    

  • Individuals meeting additional requirements are encouraged to become a registered Global Career Development Facilitators (GCDF)

  • Credential holders are eligible for an exclusive web listing on the NCDA website

Who Should Consider Taking This Program? How is It Relevant to your role?

Counselors in the mental health community, as well as other service professionals, are  likely encounter young adults and adults who are dealing various phases of the career development process (see link “Different Types of Counselors/So How Do You Find and Get Your Dream Job?”). Education and career transition issues are frequently interrelated with mental health issues such as fear, anxiety, stress, grief, depression, hopelessness, indecision, unresolved traumas, self-esteem issues, identity changes, regret over prior life choices, and strained relationships.  Understanding the career development process, and how the population you serve is affected by it, will help you to help them more effectively.

  • Psychologists

  • Marriage and Family Therapists

  • Licensed Clinical Social Workers

  • Substance Abuse Counselors

  • Lay Counselors

  • Career Services Advisors

  • Career and Life Coaches

  • Administrators, supervisors, and staff members in departments that support the above professionals

Instructor’s Areas of Expertise and Experience

The instructor is an experienced community college education and career counselor and professor. She has worked for community colleges and public and private universities. She also is also a private practice consultant, and has volunteer experience supporting the unemployed through conducting workshops in a local workforce development career one-stop center and leading a support group for the unemployed in a faith-based community. Through her over 20 years of experience, she has developed a wealth of knowledge and created many written resources designed to facilitate individual’s education and career development journey. In addition to the standard FCD program curriculum, students of her FCD program will be introduced, and have access to, those resources.  

• College students (basic-skills students to those possessing advanced degrees)

• Adults in transition (all ages)

• The unemployed (all ages)

• Diverse populations (demographic, active-duty military, veterans, disabled, education attained, work experience, career goals, and academic preparedness)

• Individuals who have struggled with ‘poor fit’ between person and environment

• Higher Education (Community college, state universities and private, faith-based liberal arts)

• Teaching and counseling on the self-awareness process

• Job Search Services/Coaching

• Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and other career assessments

• Teach life and success skills


NCDA Instructor bio page
Download promotional flyer

Capability Statement is available upon request 

Individuals Who Want to Attend, or Institutions Who Want to Schedule Training, Should Contact the Instructor Directly:

Kathleen E. High, M.Ed., CCSP, FCD-Instructor