Diane Byster, LMFT
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Career Counseling.

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Most of us spend the largest portions of our waking hours at work. Isn't it worth investing some time and energy in the short run to create a more-fulfilling work life in the long run?

As a career consultant, I assist and guide clients in career exploration, career transition, and job searches. Clients seek my services in order to:  
  • understand sources of work dissatisfaction
  • differentiate between internal problems at work and career-focused problems
  • assess skills, interests, values, beliefs, and personal styles related to work
  • develop job- and information-interview skills
  • generate new career options, including alternative approaches to work
  • research the open and “hidden” job markets
  • learn how to capitalize on unplanned events
  • discover effective decision-making strategies
  • manage self-esteem effectively during work transitions
  • prepare job-application materials
  • mitigate and handle workplace conflict
  • set appropriate goals
  • improve time management, including procrastination
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Career development and transition can be stressful, touching on personal struggles as well as professional issues. I specialize in the intersection between career and personal adjustment issues. Other career counselors often refer clients to me when they become stuck, because my dual training in career counseling and evidence-based psychotherapy enables me to help clients address emotional issues that can get in the way of successfully navigating career pathways.
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Careeer Counseling and
​Psychotherapy Compared


In some ways, career counseling is like psychotherapy; in other ways it's different.


Career counseling is similar to psychotherapy in that we start by understanding the problem(s) you want to address with my help, and then we work together to co-construct achievable goals.

Another way career counseling is similar to psychotherapy is that both you and I will be active during meetings. You will be asked to put 100% effort toward creating a truly satisfying work life, while I bring the best of my training, experience and guidance to your particular circumstances.
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One way career counseling is different from psychotherapy is that career counseling is much more content driven, and typically focuses on what needs to be done to help you create a satisfying work life. That might include completing a career-assessment process, reviewing your job-application materials, or practicing mock interviews.

Another difference from psychotherapy is that career counseling often involves actions that are usually performed outside of the meeting time. Some examples: conducting information interviews, reading about occupations, researching career information on the Internet, and updating a LinkedIn profile. 

One more difference between career counseling and typical psychotherapy relates to scheduling. With career counseling, meetings may be less frequent. Meetings may vary from once a week to once every 2–3 weeks, depending on your goals. What’s key is setting up the session format to best support your career objectives.
LET’S GET STARTED! ⇒

Where I Can Help:
Some Real-Life Examples


Consider the common experience of being laid off from a job without warning or reason. Such a shock often leaves people reeling; it can shake their self-confidence to the core. Without an effective, safe outlet for resolving the mixed feelings from that experience, many people become depressed and lose the motivation to find new work; others become anxious, and procrastinate on job-search tasks or even stop looking altogether. (I write about this phenomenon in A Critique of Career Self-Reliance [PDF].)

Often, people are faced with long stretches between jobs. Even if they have left work voluntarily, they may have difficulty staying upbeat as well as managing their time effectively in the search for a new, more satisfying position. This makes sense: A job may be a source of connection and camaraderie, and can provide an environment where people feel useful. When such regular contact and structure are no longer available, some people lose their sense of self-worth. (I've written about this in Maintaining Self-Esteem in an Uncertain Job Market.) 

Many other kinds of circumstances make career transitions challenging emotionally as well as logistically and intellectually. If you are currently struggling with staying focused and moving forward in your job/career search, I can help you.
LET’S GET STARTED! ⇒

My Career-Counseling
Training and Approach


My approach to career counseling is informed by, among others, the work of Krumboltz and Levin, who wrote Luck is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Work and Life. In this approach, clients and counselor are both active. I teach you how to generate and capitalize on unplanned events in order to create new opportunities for yourself. The skills you develop and nurture in this approach, such as curiosity, flexibility, and persistence, may benefit you not just in your career search but in your work life and personal life as well.

For more about my approach, feel free to refer to these articles:

  • “A Critique of Career Self-Reliance” [PDF], in which I address how one can run out of steam when pursuing a job search without help, including support for resolving painful feelings from shocks such as being laid off from a job
  • “Maintaining Self-Esteem in an Uncertain Job Market,” in which I cover how people can lose their sense of self-worth after a long stretch without a job.
LET’S GET STARTED! ⇒

“ 

I have known Diane for many years and often refer clients to her who would benefit from a blend of career coun­seling and therapy. She is a ded­icated pro­fessional who is always seeking new ways to help people. She has pursued extensive and ongoing training, and has become a sought-after speaker on many topics: over­coming de­pres­sion, anxiety regu­lation, pathways to emo­tional well­ness, yoga-informed psycho­therapy, and psycho­therapy methods for fellow clin­icians. If you’re seeking a per­sonal coun­selor who can also under­stand and help you deal suc­cess­fully with career-related chal­lenges, reach out to Diane.

— Lisa Stotlar, MA, CCC
     Career Generations

 
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“ 

I have known Diane Byster for more than 25 years, both as a coun­seling col­league at Stanford Uni­ver­sity and as a fellow career counselor in private practice. During that time, I have referred more than 150 career-counseling clients to her, including family members, friends, my own clients, and those of other coun­selors and ther­a­pists. Feed­back from referred clients has been ex­treme­ly positive. Those I’ve re­ferred have de­scribed Diane as in­sight­ful, skilled, effi­cient, cre­ative, and warm, and for a few, ‘the first coun­selor who actu­ally helped me.’

— Lynne Dotson, MA, NCC
     Career Counselor (retired 2016)

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“ 

I have watched Diane Byster grow into a highly pro­fes­sional, com­petent and effec­tive career coun­selor. Her mastery of the tech­nical/con­tent aspects of this work, along with a deep intu­ition, make for a trust­worthy, ex­per­ienced coach.

— Diane Jordan Wexler
     Former Career and Executive Coach

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“ 

I am a colleague of Diane’s and co-created and taught a career counseling course at Sofia University in Palo Alto, CA. Diane is the utmost professional. Her ability to collaborate, organize materials, and deliver her subject matter is impres­sive. Diane’s knowledge in the career counseling field is expansive. Her dual approach of coupling therapy and career coun­seling is unique, and allows her to guide clients through a host of different situations that are unparalleled among career counselors. Working alongside Diane has been a tremendous experience.

— Ellen Shulman, MA
     Career Counselor, Coach, Consultant

 ”

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Psychotherapist Diane Byster, LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) offers psychotherapy, career and personal counseling, case consultation, trainings and workshops on psychological issues, and yoga teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley. She provides therapy using methods (including ISTDP, Control-Mastery, EDT, and P.A.C.T.) that often work faster than traditional techniques. With offices in the Silicon Valley towns of Redwood City and Palo Alto, she serves clients from Berkeley, Oakland, Piedmont, Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond, San Mateo, San Carlos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Stanford, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara, San Jose, Milpitas, Fremont, Newark, Union City, Hayward, and beyond.