Incorporating Comprehensive Counselling and Guidance Models into School Curricula in Sub-Saharan Africa

There is an increasing body of evidence demonstrating the psychological and social challenges that afflict school-age children in sub-Saharan Africa. In spite of widespread calls to provide counselling and guidance services in schools, efforts at expanding these services remain fragmented and under-resourced. Grounded in both empirical and theoretical literature, this article calls for integration of counselling and guidance through a whole-school approach. Utilizing critical aspects of child and adolescent developmental theory, we summarize the current state of counselling and guidance in the region, evaluate attempts at integration, and propose adoption of a comprehensive guidance and counselling model into school curricula.     

Perceptions of the Triad Model's efficacy in training family counsellors for diverse South African groups

South Africa is a multicultural, ethnically diverse society, the vast majority (over 80%) of whose members have been oppressed by the white minority under the apartheid system. A model which takes into account the sociopolitical context and is sensitive to culture and class would provide a useful theoretical framework for the formulation of clinical interventions here. Pedersen's Triad Model is considered to constitute such an approach. There have been no known attempts to introduce this model into South African clinics or training centres. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the perceptions of the Triad Model's potential effectiveness held by trainers in family counselling. A role-play of a family counselling session was constructed, using a procounsellor and an anticounsellor Triad design, respectively. This was sent to family counselling trainers, together with an evaluation questionnaire. Of the 16 university- and 25 clinic-based trainers approached, 12 returned the questionnaire. Results reflected a significant and consistent preference for the procounsellor over the anticounsellor Triad design, and for the anticounsellor design over conventional family counselling. The findings provide encouragement for the feasibility of the Triad Model's further investigation and adoption in South Africa.     

Silver and Gold We Have None But What We Have, We Give Unto Thee: Indigenous African Counselling and the Rest of the World

This paper examines the complimentary roles and functions of African indigenous counselling in relationship with non-African forms of counselling. This paper is premised on the view that all forms of counselling, whether African or Western, stand to gain a lot from one another via collaboration and the cross fertilization of ideas. This paper examines the counselling and therapeutic contents of African language, African indigenous education, African indigenous counselling and social practices using the Yoruba culture of Western Nigeria as a reference point. Furthermore, the paper practically examines how the traditional therapeutic resources of African language, African traditional education and African indigenous counselling practices could complement non-African counselling culture. The paper advocates for the evolution of a somewhat global orientation to professional helping. This is possible if counselling practitioners from different cultural orientations develop interest in learning how different counselling cultures could complement one another. This orientation may contribute to mutual self-renewal and self-refinement for all forms of counselling. This paper primarily intends to promote the culture of sharing ideas, practices and concepts from different cultural orientations so that we may develop the mentality of a universal approach to employing counselling strategies to solve humanity's problems.     

Survey of HIV/AIDS Clients in Botswana: Reactions to Supportive Counselling

A survey of HIV/AIDS clients in Botswana, Africa, all of whom were receiving supportive counselling, was conducted. A total of 328 volunteer clients from randomly selected sites completed the survey related to client perceptions of counselling helpfulness, outlook on life, satisfaction with goal setting in counselling, experience of social stigma, and acceptance by family and others. Overall, clients were very positive concerning the benefits received from counselling, their relationship with their counsellor, the goal setting process, their family/friends support system and their present quality of life. The majority of clients did, however, indicate some level of feeling stigmatized by being HIV-positive. Additional major findings indicated that clients with family incomes of less than 10 K pula per year (around US$1 k) were less positive about their counselling and related experiences than were those with higher levels of family income, with the exception of social stigma where lower family income was associated with less perceived social stigma. Clients reporting counselling sessions lasting more than 15 min were generally more positive in their reactions to counselling and related experiences than were clients reporting sessions typically lasting 15 min or less. A discussion of the findings, along with recommendations for areas needing further study and attention, is provided.     

Towards a traditional model for school counselling and care in Nigeria

This paper attempts to present a traditional model that can be used for school counselling in the Nigerian school system.To do this, it discusses beliefs and values in a traditional setting, healing and characteristics of traditional counselling environment and the traditional healing processes. Finally, it gives a discourse on a model for therapy in Nigerian schools.The emphasis of the paper is that it is necessary for school counselling to be marshed with the traditional model as the students schools seek to nurture, ultimately, still go back to tradition for self-realization and self-actualization.     

Counselling as a dialectical process

This paper attempts to merge the dialectical perspective within the framework of counselling psychology. Both objective and subjective approaches to counselling are reviewed and a synthetical solution is proposed which falls within the all-encompassing dialectical perspective. Dialectical psychology's emphasis on process, change and values is seen as having implications for research (e.g., biographical or historical) and practice (e.g., eclectic counselling).     

The field trial of a new computer-assisted career guidance system in South Africa

This paper describes the field test of a newly developed computerized career counselling system in South Africa. A randomly selected sample of black high school students (n=80) evaluated the system after completing the program at the University of the Western Cape. Evaluation data were collected through interviews and the Program Evaluation Questionnaire. This questionnaire consisted of a number of subscales measuring 1) user satisfaction with the experience, 2) the extent to which the system helped them acquire self and occupational knowledge and identified potential career alternatives, 3) whether they found interaction with the computer rewarding, and 4) the ease with which the system can be used. The Program Evaluation Questionnaire was found to be a reliable instrument (coefficients ranging from 0.54 to 0.84) and indicated that subjects evaluated the system positively in terms of these subscales. The interviews also indicated that subjects would recommend use of the program to others, that they would prefer the computer rather than the counsellor and that they felt that the program had an impact on their career plans.     

Understanding attributional processes in cross-cultural counselling

Attribution is especially important from a cultural perspective in understanding how change occurs in cross-cultural counselling. In this paper a framework adapted from Brickman et al. (1982) is proposed in which attributions are classified along two dimensions: the extent to which the individual believes in personal responsibility for the cause of a problem and the extent to which he or she believes in personal responsibility for its solution. This framework provides a convenient means for understanding the differences in attributions about these behaviours across cultures. Four types of client problems in cross-cultural counselling are reviewed in light of client attributions and corresponding helping strategies.Cross-cultural counselling is a complex endeavour. A number of factors have been identified which address some of the difficulties experienced by both clients and counsellors (Ahia, 1984; Dillard, 1983; Pedersen, Draguns, Lonner & Trimble, 1981). Included among these are the inherently Western nature of counselling, different communication patterns among individuals of different cultures, and the needs and values of the client and counsellor who are from different cultures. In addition, differences in perception and cognitive style across cultures have been demonstrated to affect cross-cultural counselling (Oddou & Mendenhall, 1984). An important cognitive variable is the attribution or explanation that the counsellor and client use regarding the problem, its causes, solution, and treatment.The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between attribution processes and cross-cultural counselling. After a brief overview of attribution theory, Brickman's model of attributions of responsibility (Brickman, Rabinowitz, Karuza, Coates, Cohn, & Kidder, 1982) is adapted for use cross-cultural counselling. This model is then applied to four types of cross-cultural problems. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications and advantages of focusing on attribution as a major theme in cross-cultural counselling.     

The effectiveness of an indigenised group counselling programme in aftercare service for drug supervisees: A one-year follow-up study

This paper attempts to examine 2 areas: a) the effectiveness of a group counselling model by comparing an experimental group (N=100) and a control group (N=89) in terms of success rates and effective measurement units one year after completing the programme, and; b) the differences in social characteristics of success and failure cases between the 2 groups.It is shown that this group counselling model is effective in helping ex-drug addicts to kick their drug-seeking behaviour. ?² and t tests also show that the experimental success cases were significantly older and more involved in crimes than were the success controls, while the experimental failures were also found to be significantly older and more likely to be married than the control failures.     

Counselling approaches in Nigerian traditional communities

Guidance and counselling services, which were introduced to Nigeria in 1959, have recently undergone rapid growth. While the approaches of the formalized guidance services have been largely Western, traditional means of approaching an individual's problems have always existed within Nigerian communities. This article identifies areas of traditional counselling that might be used alongside those of the Western system. The special areas examined were those of mural guidance, vocational counselling, marriage counselling and emotional counselling. Findings include the following:

1. Every adult in the society who possesses relevant experience in any problem area is capable of playing the role of a counsellor at least for that particular problem.
2. An individual who is considered in need of guidance is invited into counselling.
3. The early knowledge that work is essential for every adult provides individuals with appropriate skills of choosing satisfying vocations.
4. Individuals proposing marriage undergo counselling.
5. Divination offers a reassuring approach to counselling situation.

     

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence among Eastern and Western Counsellor Trainees: A Preliminary Study

This study explored degree of empathy and emotional intelligence among Thai (n?=?48) and American (n?=?53) counsellor trainees to determine if differences in Eastern and Western cultural orientations (e.g., interdependent versus independent self-construals) affect foundational counselling skills. Results indicated that Western trainees showed greater empathy, although no differences were found in emotional intelligence between Eastern and Western trainees. Length of training correlated with greater empathy in both groups, but was not associated with emotional intelligence. Type of self-construal correlated with both degree of empathy and emotional intelligence. Implications for counselling research and training are addressed.     

(Re)creating spaces for uMunthu: postcolonial theory and environmental education in southern Africa

Colonialism goes beyond territorial conquest: it affects one’s epistemological stance, worldviews and perceptions. Although most African countries gained independence in the 1960s, the impacts of colonialism continue to be present through modern-day globalization as a form of neocolonialism. Education systems in many countries in southern Africa continue to be grounded in Western viewpoints, marginalizing local Indigenous ways of knowing and being (I capitalize the word ‘Indigenous’ because it is a proper noun referring to particular people, their knowledges, ways of living, etc.). An increased number of scholars in southern Africa are engaging with counter-hegemonic strategies as frames of analysis to counter the impacts of neocolonialism. This paper reviews environmental education studies in southern Africa that have applied postcolonial theory as a frame of analysis either explicitly or implicitly. Postcolonial theory provides a platform to challenge the dominant truths espoused by Western thought. In doing so, it paves the way for other truths to have space in the knowledge discourses, including the sub-Saharan African worldview of Ubuntu/uMunthu. While many scholars are engaging with counter-hegemonic strategies, the review calls for the need for further research from postcolonial frames not only in southern Africa but also other parts of the world as well.     

School guidance and counselling in Kuwait: Background,prospects and limitations

Counselling in Kuwait is a recent development and is relatively unexplored. This paper aims at giving a brief overview of the current status of school guidance and counselling. It also attempts to critically examine the prospects and limitations of counselling programs in course credit secondary schools. It concludes by shedding some light on efforts exerted in the direction of promoting counselling in the country, and specific challenges and problems with which it is faced.     

A Peer Counselling Service in a Secondary School to Combat Bullying: Issues in Planning and Ongoing Management

Peer counselling schemes have been developed in some secondary schools to combat bullying. Research supports the need for bullied victims to speak with their peers. Such schemes need regular monitoring and modification to suit the school's particular pastoral needs. This paper explores the management issues surrounding the provision of peer counselling in one service, managed by a school counsellor. The service is outlined to show that appointment setting requires careful planning and ongoing management. This paper discusses four central issues, which are the role of a peer counselling service; the selected model; the most suitable room location; and the most appropriate time for counselling to take place in secondary school.     

A conceptual framework for developing an activity-based approach to career counselling

The present paper develops a conceptual framework for an activity-based approach to career counselling. The main objective of this approach is to combine clients' practical activity, such as visits to educational institutions, work practices etc., with their psychological processes leading to occupational choice. Some basic ideas that are relevant to developing an activity-based approach to counselling in postmodern work life and some recent changes in work life itself and in the individuals' relation to work are discussed. These include plasticity, which emphasizes the individuals' capability and activeness in shaping both their working environment and themselves; the nonnormative nature of the developmental tasks that postmodern work life sets for the individual; the openness and nonlinear nature of the counselling process and the implications of this on the role of the counsellor; and the usefulness of conceptualizing the counselling process as a metaphorical reality. Also, some preliminary findings from a research project aimed at developing a counselling process model which is congruent with activity-based approach are presented. The implications of these findings on the framework are also discussed.     

The teaching well: Experience, education, and counselling

Wellness classes based on Eastern and Western philosophical concepts were offered to graduate level counselling students as a means of helping them to integrate and clarify their views on counselling. Through experiential activities, students learned to more fully activate inner creative resources for an enhanced sense of wholeness. The concepts and methods learned have practical application to counselling.     

Rehabilitating a whiteness disgraced: Afrikaner white talk in post‐apartheid South Africa

This paper is part of a longer work on whiteness in post‐apartheid South Africa, which analyzes the discourses resistant to transformation in the country, labeled “white talk.” Based on a discourse analysis of the 2001 letters to the editor of Rapport newspaper, a national Afrikaans Sunday newspaper, this paper focuses on aspects of “white talk” within Afrikaans speaking South Africa.

Afrikaner whiteness has an affinity with subaltern whiteness, in that Afrikaners contended with the more powerful forces of the British Empire throughout their history. As a resistant whiteness, the whiteness of the Afrikaner has historically been rolled into ethnic/nationalistic discourse. The current moment in South African history presents a crisis to Afrikaner identity similar to the time of dislocation that saw the original discursive suturing of Afrikaner identity into nationalism. But now the worldview has imploded; Apartheid is the “other” of the New South Africa; Afrikaners are perceived to be in need of “rehabilitation.” Certain ethnic anxieties are pervasive, and the paper explores four of these. White talk in this context attempts to do two things: (1) to re‐inscribe the Afrikaner mythology that secured a special place for the Afrikaner in the political, economic, and social life of the country, so that the ground gained through the apartheid era of systematic Afrikaner advancement is not lost in the new social order, while (2) presenting Afrikanerdom as compatible with the New South Africa.     

From the Didactic to the Dialectic—Intercultural Exchanges in Contemporary Counsellor Education

Within the context of the growing development of intercultural counsellor education, the question of how different cultures reconceptualize and transform Western counselling theories for their own context is an important one. In this intercultural exchange in education, concepts such as ‘globalization’, ‘indigenization’ and ‘universalization’ have an impact on the education process. This paper briefly explores these terms and movements and then highlights findings from a research project that took place with a group of counselling graduates in Hong Kong examining how they undertook the processes of reconceptualization and transformation. The dialogical process involved in that enabled participants and researcher to co-explore the process of knowledge development within the counselling education field. Implications for counsellor education are highlighted.

Challenges in Meeting HIV/AIDS Counselling Needs in Nigeria

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is recognized globally as the greatest health challenge of the present generation. It is widely acknowledged to be the foremost killer disease in Africa. Since the first Aids case was publicly announced in 1986, the astronomical increase in victims has been a matter of concern. The rates of HIV/AIDS infection indicate that Nigeria currently has the third largest rate of HIV/AIDS patients. The UNAIDS (2008) reported that as at 2007, the population of children and adults with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria was 2.6 million. Due to the fact that there is no cure for the virus, HIV/AIDS, counselling is an important aspect of its management. Counsellors in Nigeria have provided pre- and post-test counselling, preventive education seminars, and referrals to other health professionals. However, counsellors’ efforts have only yielded limited success because of a number of major challenges. This paper examines some of the challenges involved in meeting the HIV/AIDS counselling needs of Nigerians. Specifically, it addresses challenges faced by government, potential clients, and the Counselling Association of Nigeria, as well as challenges associated with existing cultural practices (indigenous counselling practices). It concludes with specific recommendations for various stakeholders.     

Couselling Migrant Families in Southern India

The aim of the paper is to highlight the effectiveness of counselling services in the area of families affected by economic handicaps by migrants. Many of the people migrated from Srikakulam and its vicinities to the el dorado, Bhimavarm of West Godavari District in search of livelihood. Having come here they are trying to get adjusted. Many of them took to rickshaw driving. Some of them are doing well and others are just managing. They have to be provided counselling on how to enhance their earnings, while doing so they have to support their meagre earnings and to see that the family runs with enough resource. In this paper certain counselling services, like existential counselling and co-counselling are suggested to enable the migrated to overcome their difficulties and come to grips with the difficulties that they face.