In the Career Development core area, counselors are expected to understand career transitions, including job loss and downsizing, and appropriate counseling responses.

Outplacement counseling often occurs right after involuntary job loss. CACREP-aligned content emphasizes that in initial stages of such a transition, the counselor should:

Address the client’s emotional reactions, such as shock, anger, grief, shame, or anxiety.

Provide space to process the psychological impact of losing a job (loss of identity, routine, status, security).

Stabilize the client before moving into action-oriented tasks like job search strategies, retraining, or interviewing.

Options A, B, and C are important later career counseling tasks (exploring retraining, developing interview skills, integrating work with lifestyle), but the immediate counseling goal after downsizing is to help the client cope with and process the feelings associated with the loss.

Thus, D. Cope with the resulting feelings is the correct answer.