British Journal of Guidance & Counselling

Asiain, Joaquín; Braun, Malena; Roussos, Andrés J.

doi: 10.1080/03069885.2021.1885008pmid: N/A

Virtual Reality (VR) has been defined as the use of technological interfaces to simulate the behaviour of 3D entities that interact in real time with a user immersed via sensorimotor channels. The aim of this study is to explore the possibilities and limitations in the use of VR systems in mental health treatment and research. We conducted a review of articles addressing the qualities of the current state of research regarding the efficacy and clinical applications of VR as a therapeutic tool. Despite finding general consensus about anxiety disorders, there’s a lack of published empirical evidence regarding other mental health disorders. Nevertheless VR components are being steadily used more often for the assessment, treatment and research for more pathologies.

Lipshits-Braziler, Yuliya; Amram-Vaknin, Sima; Pesin-Michael, Gali; Tatar, Moshe

doi: 10.1080/03069885.2020.1862757pmid: N/A

We proposed a typology of adolescents’ online support-related behaviours based on two facets: help-seeking and help-providing: (1) Transceivers seek and provide help; (2) Receivers seek help but do not provide it; (3) Transmitters provide help, yet do not seek it; and (4) Idlers refrain from seeking and providing help. Of the 528 adolescents, the largest group are Transceivers (45%), and they seek help mainly from peers through social networking sites, around social issues. For Receivers (5%) the most important facilitator of seeking help is anonymity. Transmitters (16%) refrain from seeking help due to self-reliance. Idlers (34%) refrain from seeking help due to their preference to face-to-face encounters. The characteristics of the four patterns are discussed in light of counselling implications.

Khan, Shereen; Shapka, Jennifer D.; Domene, Jose F.

doi: 10.1080/03069885.2021.1885009pmid: N/A

The study provides insight into counsellors’ experiences of counselling clients online. The foci include (a) counsellors’ experience of negotiating the therapeutic relationship online, (b) their experiences of utilising and adapting their clinical skills to assess clients in an online capacity, and (c) ethical issues associated with practicing online. Open-ended interviews were conducted with three counsellors located in Canada and one in the United States. Narrative analysis revealed eight major themes: convenience, therapeutic alliance, online counselling skills, assessing client suitability, reaching diverse clients, assessing client satisfaction, legal and ethical concerns, and personal and professional goals.

Barker, Gina G.; Barker, Edgar E.

doi: 10.1080/03069885.2021.1889462pmid: N/A

This study explored counsellors’ experiences with online therapy during the COVID-19 crisis, which presented an opportunity to examine how counsellors evaluated the drawbacks, benefits, and appropriateness of online therapy. Data collected through surveys from 114 professional counsellors, school counsellors, addiction counsellors, clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists in the United States were analysed. Results indicated the level of preparation for online therapy varied. The process was heavily impacted by technical functionality and perceived as more effective face-to-face. Counsellors found clients disengaged and distracted rather than comfortable and open. The effectiveness of online therapy was more strongly associated with client characteristics and treatment approaches than with diagnoses and treatment goals. Interpretations, clinical implications, and further research recommendations are provided.

Råbu, Marit; McLeod, John; Tønnessen, Tyra Bondevik; Moltu, Christian

doi: 10.1080/03069885.2020.1755419pmid: N/A

The growing scope and influence of qualitative research methodologies has generated an interest in the use of art-informed approaches to disseminating research findings. In the present article, our aim is to present a methodological case study of the development of a theatre play based on a qualitative study of senior therapists' life and work. Lessons learned from this project are presented in relation to ethical issues, the process through which qualitative data are transformed into a theatre performance, and the distinctive perspective afforded by a dramaturgical approach. Implications for research practice are discussed.

Reid, Emily Róisín

doi: 10.1080/03069885.2021.1934816pmid: N/A

Career guidance appointments in UK Higher Education Careers Services are being made shorter, in an attempt to see increasing numbers of students with the reduced resource. In this research, I explore the impact this is having on practice. Career guidance is found to be effective, but negatively impacted by these time constraints. The shortening of guidance means cutting valuable time for careers practitioners to undertake diagnostic work, which results in students leaving with unmet needs. Students have limited expectations of the service, and are overawed by the guidance they encounter, driving further demand for the service. Implications for practice are discussed relating to the professionalism of career guidance, service delivery and practice, and social justice.

Rice, Suzanne; Hooley, Tristram; Crebbin, Sue

doi: 10.1080/03069885.2021.1919860pmid: N/A

In this article we explore Australian policymaker perspectives on the quality assurance of career development (CD) programmes in schools. We found that Australian policymakers are concerned about the quality of CD provision in schools and have a wide range of approaches that they deploy to ensure and assure quality at the school level. Quality assurance within the country is focused on the qualifications and professionalism of the people delivering career development programmes rather than on systemic or organisational quality. We also found that the range of quality assurance tools that are deployed by such policymakers varies across the different Australian jurisdictions and is influenced by geography, the size of the jurisdiction and the level of priority given to career guidance.

Hearne, Lucy; Elftorp, Petra; de Paor, Cathal; Ryan, Karina

doi: 10.1080/03069885.2020.1811838pmid: N/A

In this article we discuss findings from an exploratory Irish online survey that examined professional practice issues for adult guidance professionals working in the Irish Further Education and Training (FET) sector. We explore current guidance counselling provision to adult learners in the context of major structural and systemic reforms that have been taking place in the FET sector since 2013.

Hooley, Tristram; Godden, Lorraine

doi: 10.1080/03069885.2021.1948503pmid: N/A

In this article, we propose a framework for understanding career guidance policy. We use a systems theory approach informed by Gramscian theories of politics and power to make sense of this complexity. Firstly, we argue that career guidance policy is made by and for people and that there is a need to recognise all of the political and civil society actors involved. Secondly, we argue that policymaking comprises a series of ideological, technical and practical processes. Finally, we contend that policymaking takes place in a complex, multi-level environment which is can be described across three levels as the policy framing, middle and street level tiers.

Godden, Lorraine

doi: 10.1080/03069885.2020.1784843pmid: N/A

Through a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study, I examined the intersection of document analysis, sensemaking and policy implementation, that revealed rich descriptions of situated policy contexts and nested working practices where policy actors from Ontario, Canada, and England, UK, translated and used career guidance policy documents. The different job roles of the study participants in Ontario and England influenced complex and differentiated activity during policy implementation, and underlined 25 very individual approaches to translating and using policy documents to support career provision decision-making in participating schools. Implications for future work include roles of all stakeholders as policy actors, opportunities for forming networks to source and access documents, and creating learning conversations to understand policy.