An Holistic Approach for Counsellors: Embracing Multiple Intelligences

This paper explores a range of therapeutic modalities used by counsellors of children and positions those modalities within Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Research by O’Brien (Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence and its implications for the counselling of children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, 1999) revealed that by drawing on a combination of preferred intelligences, children were able to enhance the dialogue between the unconscious and conscious, while strengthening the relationship between the counsellor and client. A number of useful counselling approaches are highlighted in working with children, particularly younger children who have not yet developed language sufficient for more formal counselling sessions. Suggestions that assist counsellors to operate across settings are explored.     

Beyond the classroom: the inclusion of young people with learning disabilities in UK mainstream counselling services

Counselling is increasingly seen as a way of addressing the psychological needs of young people with emotional, behavioural and academic problems. This paper explores the existing counselling landscape regarding inclusion of young people with learning disabilities in counselling. The research findings are based on data collected from an empirical study (n = 396) and a series of interviews (n = 15) with counsellors. Findings identify inclusion in counselling as a process and highlight inclusive strategies, namely: creative counselling approaches, non‐verbal forms of communication and the use of simple adapted language. The most inclusive counsellors were highly qualified with greater knowledge and experience of this group of young people; awareness of disability issues; eclectic in practice; imaginative and creative; open‐minded, reflective, pragmatic; and proactive in promoting their services. Inclusive counselling practices adopt a person‐centred, psychodynamic or integrative therapeutic approach; take referrals through teachers, parents, carers, care managers and family doctors; have a welcoming attitude towards the young people, their parents and carers; are flexible regarding times and appointments.     

School counsellors' perceptual sex role differences in Dutch secondary education

In a pilot study two Dutch secondary schools have been investigated with respect to four characteristics of school counselling as perceived by the school counsellors and students: (1) What counselling in the school should or should not be; (2) What are the reasons for starting a counselling activity; (3) What are the outcomes of school counselling; and (4) What are the necessities for school counselling.As a total group both males and females disagree with students on the practice of counselling within the context of the school, while both groups agree with students on the person oriented aims of counselling. Males and females perceive different reasons why counselling in the school is necessary and they perceive different kinds of outcomes. Female counsellors perceive markedly less reasons for counselling in school achievements of students than males, while they report more reasons for counselling than males where the prevention of conflicts between students in the classroom are concerned. Apart from discrepancies between male and female school counsellors, the students perceive more counselling outcomes than both groups of counsellors in terms of coping behaviour and conflict management. Students and counsellors disagree on several necessities for counselling, such as the amount of commitment required for counselling duties and the prerequisites of cooperation and support between counsellors.Paper presented at the XIIth International Round Table for the Advancement of Counselling, 22–26 June 1986, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden     

“What do I Share?” Personal and Private Experiences in Educational Psychological Counselling

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study is to explore and develop knowledge about how educational psychological counsellors’ personal and private experiences appear in their counselling practice. We conducted four focus group interviews with twelve counsellors from Educational Psychological Counselling Service. Through Thematic Analysis four themes emerged. The first is that counsellors’ personal and private experiences functioned as a backdrop for their counselling practice. The second theme is the counsellors’ use of different types of stories. The third theme deals with how the counsellors were holding back relevant stories. Finally, the fourth theme comprises the purposes of counsellors’ self-disclosure. The conclusion is that personal experiences form a backdrop for counselling practice and are relevant for how a counsellor makes sense of and understands a situation or a problem. Self-disclosure is in some situations used explicitly in the counselling setting. On the other side the counsellors sometimes consciously hold their experiences back.     

Culture-General and Culture-Specific Approaches to Counselling: Complementary Stances

For the past 40 years, the helping professions have attempted to address the uniqueness of therapeutic relationships that involve clients and counsellors of different cultures. Counselling psychology has been at the forefront in the cultural movement within the helping profession. Approaches utilized by multicultural counsellors can be classified into two basic stances: culture-general and culture-specific. This paper argues that an either/or perspective does not stand to benefit the profession; however, a framework that encompasses the best of both approaches provides the building blocks for a hermeneutic approach to multicultural counselling. The two stances are explained and each is critiqued. The false dichotomy that has evolved within the profession between these two stances is discussed and an argument for focusing research on multiethnic counselling relationships is given. Finally, an integrative approach that privileges hermeneutics is presented.     

Challenges and transformations: Counselling in a multicultural context

During the last two decades counselling in a multicultural context has been on the increase with more and more training programmes now including issues of race, culture and ethnicity. This has led to numerous approaches, for example transcultural, inter-cultural, cross-cultural, multicultural, Afro-centric, anti-racist and black feminist, which define counselling with minority groups. Although many of these approaches have a sound theoretical base, they nevertheless remain marginal in terms of convincing the minority communities of their value and effectiveness. This is clearly seen in the pre-mature termination and lack of participation by minorities in counselling and therapy. The chief criticism against counselling throughout this period is that, it has remained essentially, Eurocentric, ethnocentric and individualistic. Culture-sensitive counsellors and counselling within a "culture fit" model have been suggested as a way of making the process more appropriate to a diversity of cultures. Furthermore, this has led to some practitioners strongly advocating the inclusion of socio-economic and political constructs as part of a broader definition of multicultural counselling. For example, the issues of power and influence, cultural hegemony, racism and masculinities are becoming key schemas in cross cultural counselling practices. The challenge for multicultural counselling, in the next decade, would be to include traditional healing practices as part of its discourse, if it is to encourage the active participation of ethnicminorities. This paper is an attempt to explore some of these challenges and highlight some of the transformations that are taking place within multicultural counselling. Finally, through a discussion of a case vignette, the paper illustrates the need to accommodate traditional healing methods in counselling the culturally diverse client.     

What Can Clients Tell Us about Seeking Counselling and Their Experience of It?

Research on counselling is often unknown to or ignored by counsellors. Research that explores counselling from the client’s perspective is even less familiar to most counsellors, perhaps because there is far less of it compared to the quantity of research investigating the process from the counsellor’s point of view. Nevertheless, research presenting the client’s perspective can be a useful guide to both counsellors and their clients. With this aim in mind, this article summarises some of the research that has been conducted from the client’s point of view and suggests implications for counselling practice.     

Perceived Professional Identity among Experienced Canadian Counsellors: A Qualitative Investigation

This qualitative study addressed how experienced Canadian masters-level counsellors perceived the collective identity of their profession in terms of roles, abilities, reputation, and sense of unity. The study employed a variation of grounded theory methodology guided by two research questions: (a) how do experienced counsellors view the professional identity of counselling?, and (b) how do counsellors describe their professional roles and practices? Nine categories of counsellor perceived identity and nine categories related to roles and practices emerged. Findings are discussed in light of the emerging trend toward the statutory regulation of counselling and psychotherapy in Canada.     

Who Do We Think We Are? A Survey of Counsellors in Canada

The mental health service delivery system in Canada is complex and the need for services is growing faster than the development of methods and programs to address these. Masters-level counsellors are increasingly called upon to play important roles in the treatment of mental health concerns, yet both the public and other allied professionals (psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, medical practitioners) remain unclear about the role and functions of counsellors. The purpose of this study was to describe the essential characteristics of the counselling profession in Canada as revealed through perceptions of counsellors themselves. A web-based survey on counsellor professional identity was developed and distributed to all members of the Canadian Counselling Association with a 22.9% return rate. Results indicate that counsellors’ roles are diverse and that they are generally satisfied with their choice of profession. However, they do not believe that the profession of counselling as a whole has a solid identity. Implications for the counselling profession in Canada are discussed.

Counselling refugee young people: an exploration of therapeutic approaches

This paper presents and discusses the key findings from a study that considered significant issues that affect refugees and asylum‐seekers, and explored beneficial counselling approaches relevant to this group. In‐depth narrative interviews were conducted with three counsellors and three specialist children’s support advisors. Data were analysed using the methods of comparative analysis and theme mapping from a grounded theory approach. The key findings reveal that counsellors do not work from a particular approach but adapt a variety of therapeutic methods to the needs of the child. In addition, they focus on the therapeutic relationship; take into account lack of safety and loss of home, traumatic experiences and impacts, and resilience of the child; stress that both short‐term and long‐term therapy is beneficial; and show a concern over lack of specialised training for counsellors and obstacles to accessing counselling. Understanding the needs of young refugees and asylum‐seekers in the United Kingdom and considering counsellors’ experiences and perspectives on approaches has highlighted implications for practice, which include the necessity for more counsellors to be culturally reflexive and open‐minded in working with this group. In addition, this study may influence the way in which higher education professionals can develop research on refugee children and incorporate relevant pastoral care across the curriculum to accommodate refugee children from a wide diversity of backgrounds and experiences.     

Psychosocial Counselling in Nepal: Perspectives of Counsellors and Beneficiaries

The aims of this qualitative study were (1) to add to the understanding of the growing field of psychosocial counselling in Nepal, and (2) gather concrete points for improvement of services. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with clients (n = 34), para-professional counsellors (n = 26) and managers (n = 23) of organizations in which psychosocial counselling was taking place. The main findings were that stakeholders generally presented a positive view of the significance and supportive function of psychosocial counselling, while providing useful suggestions for improvement. Matters of ongoing training and supervision, confidentiality and integration of counselling within mainstream care provision need to be addressed and potentially adapted. Implications for other non-Western countries with little mental health resources are discussed.     

Principals’ Perceptions of the School Counsellor Role in Saudi Arabia

Many factors in Saudi society have led to a need for counselling services in educational institutions. However, concerns remain that the role of school counsellors in that setting is unclear. An aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of principals concerning the actual and ideal role of intermediate girls school counsellors in Saudi Arabia. It further aimed to identify the problems that face counsellors in offering effective services. Information was collected from a questionnaire survey, complemented by semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) programme. Findings indicate numerous differences among principals regarding the role of the counsellor, which suggests a potential for ambiguity and role conflict. Finally, recommendations are offered for improving the quality of counselling services in Saudi schools, including a requirement for increased awareness among all those concerned.     

Implementing Online Counselling in Australian Secondary Schools: What Principals Think

Today’s young people have integrated the online world into their everyday reality and schools have generally accepted the importance of technology in the education process. However, there has been limited use in schools of technology to counsel young people, although early indications suggest that school counsellors may be prepared to offer synchronous online counselling if they were supported by school principals. The aim of this study was to investigate Australian secondary school principals’ views about using an online format for counselling in schools. There were 33 principals who participated and they indicated technological competency and acknowledged the benefits of using technology in the counselling process. The principals were generally supportive of the provision of online school counselling, although their major concern was the need for more counsellors and the impact on the workload of current counselling staff. A few principals, however, were unconvinced about offering online counselling and had a fundamental preference for face-to-face communication experiences for students. Strategies for facilitating the acceptance of online counselling by principals and guiding implementation in schools are proposed.     

Raising achievement with adolescents in secondary education—the school counsellor's perspective

This qualitative study used data from semi‐structured interviews with eight school counsellors working with adolescents in secondary education and asked them how they perceived counselling interventions as helping to raise achievement. The present context in secondary education is perceived as results led. This adheres to government policy as manifested in the National Curriculum and the examination system. However at a grass roots level there is a growing acceptance of having counsellors working in schools to support the emotional and psychological needs of children and adolescents. The counsellors identified three areas in which they felt their clients' achievement was raised through a counselling intervention: developmentally, socially and less directly, academically. Further study is called for to explore what effect applying a complementary integration and understanding of counselling and educational philosophy might have on raising achievement with adolescents in secondary education.     

Story crafting: strategies for facilitating narrative career counselling

Narrative career counselling is a growing force in career guidance and counselling that offers a direction for the field to respond to the needs of increasingly diverse client groups. In this article, we review established and emerging approaches to narrative career counselling, then focus on the emerging story telling approach. We offer examples of how career counsellors may facilitate narrative career counselling through three levels of story crafting questions, as well as mapping and scaffolding, which are illustrated by a case example.     

My career chapter as a tool for reflective practice

The career assessment and counselling procedure My Career Chapter is presented as a tool for reflexive self-awareness within career counsellors. To demonstrate application of the procedure as a method of self-supervision, this paper presents a study in which the participant studies himself. Results indicate a reflexive consciousness for the career counsellor that extends his self-awareness as a professional into his personal, non-professional life. Implications are presented with a focus upon the scope of self-report in qualitative research and collegial supervision.     

Comparison of Client and Counsellor Satisfaction with Treatment Duration

Abstract

After termination of personal counselling at a large urban Canadian university, 72 subjects and their counsellors were asked to rate their satisfaction. The subjects were asked to rate to what extent the counselling had helped with the presenting problem, and with other secondary problems, and to rate their degree of overall satisfaction. Statistical analyses conducted to investigate the relationship among number of sessions attended and client and counsellor satisfaction, led to these results: clients who attended a brief number of sessions (1-3) reported no significant difference in satisfaction with the counselling compared to those who attended more sessions; and the majority of clients who had only one session were satisfied with their counselling; counsellors, however, were less satisfied overall with the briefer counselling process, and the author suggests that they were biased against it. The author recommends more research on this critical topic of counsellor expectations toward briefer treatment.     

Guidance and counselling in New Zealand

By conventional indices, the standards of living and education in New Zealand are among the highest in the world. Guidance and counselling services have been developing since the 1920s, and a sound research literature is now emerging. The main divisions of non-medical personnel are clinical psychologists, vocational counsellors, social workers, educational psychologists, guidance counsellors and visiting teachers. In schools, guidance networks have been developed to formalize functions and relationships for effective delivery of services. For social workers, training is provided mainly within government departments, but there are also university programmes for them and for all personnel except visiting teachers. Current needs include more programme evaluation and further development of professional supervision, but a sound indigenous basis in research, training, and service delivery has been laid.