Search

A growing body of literature has focused on issues of migration in career development and guidance, however typically this research has focused on international migration rather than migration within a country's borders. This paper presents a specific case study of internal migration in the UK context, focusing on young people from two island communities as they move through higher education and into the working world. The paper is specifically focused on the importance of cultural differences, including workplace cultures, with regard to students' career development. The findings demonstrate the relevance of internal migration pathways to career development and indicate that a culturally informed approach to career guidance practice is important when working with internal as well as international migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political impetuses for raising the professional status of the careers sector in England have spanned more than a decade, driving an assiduous pursuit for professionalisation linked to the training and upskilling of its workforce. This paper builds on previous work by the authors and explores the necessity, and integration of theory for practice through the delivery of a training programme for adult career advisers to meet the requirements of units from the Qualification Curriculum Framework (QCF) Diploma 6 in Career Guidance and Development. The findings indicate that successful careers pedagogy should accommodate trainers' reflexivity and their theoretical stance(s). The integration of theory and reflection offers a powerful lens through which practice can be developed, supporting career advisers and trainers to engage in reflexive and reflective learning. The paper offers an original insight into the pedagogic approaches utilised and their effectiveness from both career advisers and trainer's perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we paper evaluate the effectiveness of eight sessions of cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) for treating obsessive morbid jealousy (OMJ), using a mixed-methods A/B with followup single-case design. Ideographic jealousy measures were collected throughout baseline (2 sessions), treatment (6 sessions) and follow-up phases (one session), creating a 160-day time series. Nomothetic measures were completed at assessment, end of treatment and at followup. A structured qualitative interview was completed. Significant reductions to idiographic jealousy measures occurred during the treatment phase, with these gains maintained over followup. The intensity of the jealousy shifted from moderate to mild and this change was attributed to CAT. Methodological issues and future directions for the treatment of OMJ are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing cultural diversity remains a challenge in secondary schools in Spain. In this paper, we approach cultural diversity from the standpoint of school counsellors, who are key professionals attending to immigrant pupils. Through the use of qualitative research techniques (semi-structured interviews and discussion groups), the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are identified by counsellors. The findings show the need to implement pupil-focused responses sensitive to their cultural identity and based on the collaboration of all agents involved. Likewise, the school is defined as a privileged setting in which to celebrate cultural diversity and the pivotal role that counsellors play in this process is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single session therapy (SST) is an increasingly popular approach to mental health treatment that aims to address clients' presenting difficulties in a single appointment. However, experiential approaches to SST are limited. In this paper I describe the theory and practice of "chairwork" – an integrative, action-focused method of intervention centred on the concept of self-multiplicity – and outline how these procedures can be coherently applied in a single-session format. A preliminary protocol for delivering single-session chairwork (SSC) or "brief dialogical psychotherapy" is presented, alongside a case illustration that demonstrates features of this approach. Finally, directions for future research and the continued development of chairwork as a psychotherapeutic modality are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings on motivational factors influencing teaching as a career choice from a qualitative study carried out in Scotland. Ten students undertaking a PGDE (Professional Graduate Diploma in Education) programme at one Scottish university were interviewed. The results indicate that the choice of a teaching career derived from the students' internal needs for personal achievement and from an altruistic dimension pertaining to helping and influencing young people. For some students, negative educational experiences played an important part in shaping their altruistic sense of offering the next generation an enjoyable school experience. Perceived intrinsic rewards of teaching appeared to deter and counteract negative thoughts or remarks about teachers' workload, salary and status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I address Jacque Lacan's theory of the four discourses, namely, master/slave, university, hysteric and analyst. The four discourses are explored via interviews with five postgraduate business students from a leading Irish business school. Three of the students were prepared to abdicate responsibility for career decision-making to me, thereby suggesting the discourses of the master/slave and university. The remaining two students expected to retain greater control over the career decision-making process which implies a shift in position to the discourse of the analyst. I propose that career counselling should primarily reside in the discourse of analyst, with supporting reference to the discourses of hysteric, university and master/slave. Currently, there is no inclusion of Lacan in career theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the theory of predictive processing, understanding in the present involves non-consciously representing the immediate future, based on probabilistic inference shaped by learning from the past. This paper suggests links between this neuroscientific theory and the psychoanalytic concept of reverie – an empathic, containing attentional state – and considers implications for the ways therapists intuit implicit material in their clients. Using findings from a study about therapists' experiences of this state, we propose that reverie can offer practitioners from diverse theoretical backgrounds a means to enter the predictive moment deeply, making use of its subtle contents to connect with clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A methodological challenge during my doctoral research led me to use collage to reflect upon my own life and career. The insights it allowed me into the relationship between who we are and what we do led me to conclude that such methods can also illuminate these connections for clients of career counselling. In this paper I argue that such constructivist approaches allow the examination of that psycho-social space within which career is shaped and understood, allowing access to both the conscious and unconscious meaning made of a career and life story. I further argue that in times of increasing complexity such methods will be an important tool for career counsellors to meet the holistic needs of clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrative Career Therapy (NCT) is recognised in this paper as having relevance for career practitioners who are working to create meaning for their clients in complex work life situations. Re-authoring Career Narratives is described as a practice that involves principles of NCT and these principles contribute to the exploration of agentive development. Re-authoring Career Narratives is demonstrated to support clients to navigate the reality that career learning is lifelong and evolving. We propose that a NCT requires practitioners to place emphasis on the contexts in which discourse is developed which can facilitate greater awareness of a client's career identity and capacity to navigate uncertainty. We use a narrative research approach to explore how re-authoring practices assist clients to make career decisions. We recommend that re-authoring practices assist clients to reconstruct their stories and to gain insight into career identity as an evolving contextual phenomenon responsive to changing career and work landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast-changing world of work has justified the need for contemporary, accessible and inclusive models of lifelong guidance, underpinned by principles of social justice and equity, that meet a range of needs, and have the ambition of leaving no one behind. While guidance provision is widely available across most education systems, guidance for the labour force is less accessible and often fragmented, varying in quality, scope, evidence-base and practice. For services to be fully effective adult and employment guidance practice must find ways to transfer knowledge and experiences of the daily practice of guidance, to advance professional learning and development, and ensure its assimilation into practice and policy for the benefit of clients. Drawing on qualitative data, this paper illustrates the role of praxis in informing a new model of employment guidance, the MEEG, and the challenges for adult guidance practice within activation-oriented public employment systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By examining the specific emotional phenomena of self-narratives and how they are expressed in normal counselling interactions, this paper highlights the importance of taking emotional information into account within a career-counselling context. Based on three cases taken from a corpus of 64 interviews and on a protocol identifying the essentially verbal expression of emotions and emotion management, the focus in the paper is on how emotions can erupt when the client is recounting biographical episodes and how counsellors handle the situation. The results highlight the discourse procedures used by clients (e.g. preliminary phrases, seeking ratification, hesitations, repetitions, reference to self) and by counsellors (e.g. reformulations, questions) and show that counsellors can transform the client’s emotional reactions, which can have a decisive impact on the outcome of counselling interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term unemployed young people are a ‘social concern’ in many countries. The focus for research is usually cities, but may also include rural areas. The qualitative study described in this paper focuses instead on four young people living in coastal towns in South East England. The study suggests that their experiences in education and employment markets are shaped, negatively, by their particular location and the ongoing opportunity structures. The paper outlines their views and discusses the three main themes that emerged from the analysis: opportunity structures, supported resilience and the impact of living in a coastal town. Implications for targeted youth guidance are considered, alongside a consideration of the reflexive role of the researcher in such work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The focus of this article is the youth labour market and how changes within it have (negatively) affected the economic prospects of young Britons. It suggests ways in which schools and colleges can respond to such change in order to optimise the life chances of their students. The paper reviews the perspectives of two important groups of people well-placed to offer informed views to educationalists: policy commentators close to the political and academic debates surrounding youth employment; and, HR professionals with first-hand experience of recruitment. Synthesising perspectives, the paper highlights three key changes demanding attention: the growing complexity of the labour market; increased competition for entry level employment; and, the changing requirements of employers who increasingly seek new employees well placed to be personally effective in applying knowledge and skills in changing situations. The paper concludes by offering a framework for structuring school provision to optimise the school to work transitions of young people. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to examine the characteristics of students who withdrew from a university counselling service in northern Italy. Differences found in the socio-demographic characteristics of counselling completers and dropouts and in the scores obtained in questionnaires administered at the outset were analysed. Furthermore, in order to identify reasons for dropping out, a qualitative approach was also used. The results suggest that premature termination is not a unitary phenomenon and that dropouts are a heterogeneous group. It is important not to always consider dropouts as a negative outcome of university counselling services. Additional research on dropouts is needed to help university counselling services to serve students more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a report of a qualitative study in which the aim was to investigate how counsellors who identified as practising members of a world religion or faith experienced undertaking counsellor training in the UK. All four participants were final year students on BACP accredited counsellor training programmes and identified as practicing Christians. Data was collated via semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings point to trainees experiencing significant anxiety with regard to talking about their faith during training for fear of eliciting negative judgments. As a result, participants either avoided talking about their religion or sought to defend it against negative perceptions. Participants tended to feel more comfortable talking to supervisors or therapists rather than their peers about religion when it was relevant to the client work or to personal issues. All participants reported receiving limited teaching input around religion and mental health on their programmes and felt this was a neglected area in counsellor training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to gain an insight into counselling supervision experiences of Singapore school counsellors (SCs). In-depth, semi-structured interview sessions with 14 SCs were conducted. Their taped interviews were transcribed and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Positive and negative aspects of their experiences included feeling more connected with other counsellors, experiencing a safe environment for sharing, and having supervision as a source of support and help; and feeling nervous about being judged or assessed, lacking in structure, and not having enough time in supervision. The Integrated Developmental Model (IDM) and Discrimination Model (DM) are discussed here to provide a framework for understanding the experiences of the SCs in group supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the cultural preparedness approach to analyse the interface between the aspirations of immigrants and their engagement with systems of the host country. It draws upon interviews with 84 immigrants from 35 developing countries living in 9 high-income countries. Based upon Edmund Husserl's hermeneutical phenomenology, two studies are presented to understand the disturbance of equilibrium in cultural preparation status experienced by immigrants as they try to find their way in a host country. Aspiration-Engagement themes and responses to the challenges of integration are discussed. A model of aspiration and engagement based on the cultural preparedness approach is proposed as a framework that guidance and counselling workers could use to help immigrants optimise their engagement with the systems of the host country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of current developments in the field potentially provide opportunities for preventative relationship and family interventions to be integrated into primary care. In this context, it is important to understand what family counselling is and how it might differ from family therapy. Thus, this paper investigates how the service of one low-intensity family counselling provider, Relate, is conceptualised and practised by counsellors on the ground. Questions about practice were posed to five focus groups of family counsellors and these were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings suggest that Relate family counselling is seen as ‘family therapy lite’, with a flexible, eclectic and integrative use of concepts and techniques within a systemic framework. Implications of this conceptualisation of family counselling for training, practice and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper presents an introduction of a newly developed, avatar-based virtual reality therapy, as an addition to the therapeutic programme, within a therapeutic community prison in the UK. The participants had six group sessions facilitated by a counsellor. The aim of the project was to investigate whether this approach would improve mental health outcomes for the prisoners, interpersonal relationships within the prison and facilitate the achievement of personal goals for the prisoners. The sample size (n = 4) was insufficient to make firm conclusions about the mental health outcomes. However, the qualitative analysis showed a strong engagement with the programme in addressing personal issues, the development of insight and empathy, and improvements in relationships within the participants and with the counsellor. Further research with a larger sample is needed to establish efficacy of this type of therapy with the prison population. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the views of a group of career development practitioners undertaking a postgraduate qualification as a form of continuing professional development (CPD). It offers insights into how these practitioners perceive and view different forms of CPD. A case study methodology was adopted to gather examples of the CPD activities practitioners engaged in and the value placed on these in supporting the development of professional practice. Their views were synthesised to create a typology representing a differentiated model of CPD. The model proposes three types of CPD: operational, experiential and formal. Formal CPD is perceived as having the highest value in developing professional practice. The study supports a deeper understanding of how careers practitioners engage with and understand CPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Career decisions are amongst the most important we make. Unsurprisingly, much published research exists on this particular aspect of career behaviour. However, the overwhelming majority of studies have been carried out on young people making initial career decisions. This paper extends our understanding by examining how mid-career adults in three European countries (Denmark, France and Italy) actually make career decisions. Characteristic patterns of behaviour recur when individuals approach points of transition or of crisis; each of these transitioning styles is illustrated by an iconic case. Emergent findings support the growing body of evidence that challenges the dominant policy and practice orthodoxy, which places rationality at the centre of the process, by recognising the importance of emotion and context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Moving to a new country is often seen as a disturbing event in sojourners' lives. Several models of adjustment postulate that the first phase of the sojourn is either categorised by euphoria or anxiety. Using a case study of three Indian Postgraduate students, this paper investigates whether the beginning phase of these sojourners was euphoric or anxious in nature. The findings revealed that they had varied experiences and even mixed experiences that were both pleasant and/or unpleasant which were in turn determined by their individual differences and personal experiences. Another salient finding of this study was that the psychological side of the sojourn starts much before the students have even first set foot in the UK. This could serve as a basis for further research and to conceptualise a model of cultural adjustment that takes into account the impact of the pre-arrival phase on the overall sojourn experience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study sought to explore the impact of ending therapy on counsellors working with children in schools. Five counsellors were interviewed and their responses were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four master themes emerged, one of which, empathic identification, is the focus of this paper. The findings of this study suggest that the counsellor's experience of ending therapy can evoke long-term powerful emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The primary objective of this study was to explore perceptions of UK school counsellors of confidentiality and information sharing in therapeutic work with children and young people, using qualitative methods. The research design employed a two-stage process, using questionnaires and follow-up interviews, with a small, non-random sample of school counsellors. Paper-based questionnaires were used initially to identify themes and sub-themes from respondents (n=13), and were followed up with face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, with a convenience sub-sample (n=6). Counsellors reported a lack of awareness of information-sharing policies, largely assuming a legal duty to report child abuse. Maintaining confidentiality was seen as valuable, in order to protect the therapeutic alliance, despite disclosures of risky behaviour by some young clients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to examine the influence of Māori culture upon psychiatric service provision in Aotearoa/New Zealand and the implications of this for career counselling of people with experience of mental illness in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The research explored the experiences of a group of women in Aotearoa/New Zealand who have been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, with the aim of gaining some understanding about how they negotiate issues around diagnosis, recovery and resilience development and employment. The women interviewed for the study ranged in age from 17 to late 60s. They displayed academic ability ranging from literacy issues to postdoctoral experience. Their psychiatric illnesses ranged from single episodes to chronic lifetime conditions and from depression to psychotic bi-polar disorder. Their occupations ranged from unemployed status to an acting CEO. All but one of the women identified as Pākehā/tauiwi. One woman had Māori heritage but had been adopted at birth by Pākehā adoptive parents and had no knowledge of her Māori whakapapa [genealogy; descent lines; ancestry] until later in her adult life. The key idea that emerged was the importance of mentors in vocational settings, and the helpfulness of Māori-focused group and family wellness models for renegotiating vocational identity when suffering from a psychiatric illness. Implications for career practitioners are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents findings from 11 in-depth interviews with Turkish undergraduate students, who were, by the time of data collection, about to spend a semester at a European university under the Erasmus exchange scheme. The students all agreed to be interviewed about their feelings about studying in a foreign culture, and were found to be anxious prior to departure about the quality of accommodation in the new destination, their language ability and the opportunity to form friendships. Fears were expressed about possible misconceptions over Turkey as a Muslim and a developing country. Suggestions are made for HEI interventions to allay student travellers' concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports some early findings from a research project about the impact on career guidance in England of 14-19 reforms in recent years. We begin by highlighting a paradox in English national policy, since reforms in education and training have created a heightened demand for career guidance, whilst reforms in youth support services have disrupted its infrastructure and reduced its funding. While previous authors have warned of the risks inherent in this policy, we present evidence of some of its actual outcomes on professional capacity for 14-19 career guidance, and consider some of the implications for future provision. We conclude in particular that there is a need for more rigorous baseline data about specialist professional capacity, to be monitored nationally and locally; and that greater clarity is needed about appropriate training and qualifications for professional career guidance practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent policy and practice debates about the expansion of the talking therapies in the UK have been concerned with the ideological premise of the programme or with questions of effectiveness, cost-benefit, availability and access. For the most part, however, discussion of the needs and demands for such services has been largely abstracted from any consideration of prevailing cultural orientations towards 'emotions talk' and the talking therapies. By drawing on survey data from a major Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded study of emotional support, this paper looks at how such beliefs and practices are patterned across and within the general population in the UK, with particular reference to the effects of gender and age group. In doing so, it challenges the implicit assumption that 'if we build it, they will come' and argues for an approach to service provision that acknowledges the highly differentiated character of emotional culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the quality of the working alliance in online counselling relationships with young people. A mixed method approach has been adopted which combines the completion of a self-report quantitative measure (the 'Therapeutic Alliance Quality Scale') and qualitative interviews with service users of a UK-based service (Kooth.com). Findings are generally positive, with approximately three quarters of respondents reporting the working alliance to have been of a medium or high quality. To give a more detailed sense of what users found helpful or unhelpful in developing good quality online working alliances, key themes from the interviews are also presented. Finally the implications and limitations of the study are discussed before outlining some thoughts for future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing emphasis being given to the importance of the relationship in counselling, this paper is based on an initial exploration of counsellors' experiences of risk when bringing their own person into play, and the way in which these experiences relate to the quality of psychological contact. Qualitative interviews with eight practising counsellors were conducted using a person-centred approach. Themes emerging included the process of risk-taking for counsellors, the process of reaction and response for clients and the effects on the relationship both in the immediate session and in the long term. Most participants expressed the view that the greatest impact of a critical moment of risk-taking was to facilitate deeper levels of contact, usually described in terms of being more 'authentic', ' real' and 'loving'. In a few cases the risk-taking intervention led to a rupture in the relationship, sometimes precipitating the end of the therapy. The study also highlighted the interdependence of the types of interventions and the quality of contact. The author's reflections are also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One way to address the shortages of nurses might be if more high school students have active support from their school counsellors. The aim of this research was to explore the perceptions of school counsellors in Bahrain about nursing and describe current nursing-related career guidance practices. A mixed-method study involving 10 high school counsellors was used. Data were analysed descriptively, and themes were created to capture key notions. The participants held positive perceptions about nursing and implemented a variety of activities; however, nursing was not considered in their usual career counselling plans. Although the results were similar to previous research in other countries, a discouraging finding was the neglect of schools in adequately informing students about nursing as a career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social isolation can have a negative impact on well-being, yet important strengths can emerge in adversity. Our aim was to explore how pre-university students in Singapore responded to the social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a thematic analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews with six pre-university students (three males and three females). Singaporean pre-university students found a "lack of face-to-face contact" (Theme 1) with friends challenging. However, they utilised "acceptance" (Theme 2), and "adaptability and resilience" (Theme 3) to cope with the changes associated with the COVID-19 restrictions. Educators, counsellors, parents and researchers may better support pre-university students' well-being by discussing how to enhance the students' strengths, rather than solely attempting to alleviate negative mental health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a widespread belief that youth mentoring contributes to students' holistic competency development, but research has not yet provided enough clarity on how exactly this contribution is made possible. To address this gap, in the current study we explore different mentoring strategies and their impacts on mentees' holistic competency development in an extracurricular mentoring programme for secondary school students in Hong Kong. Informed by both mentors' interviews and mentees' written/video reflections, we present three scenarios illustrative of the connection between mentoring strategies and impacts. Through detailed vignettes, we offer a productive and situated approach to understand the extent to which certain mentoring strategies are more likely to contribute to particular holistic competency outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how experienced Danish caseworkers who work with young people at municipal job centres justify and make decisions regarding referring young clients to psychosocial interventions. Twelve caseworkers and a line manager from two municipalities were interviewed. A thematic analysis was conducted. Key themes were: in-house and out-of-house collaboration; referral as an ongoing process; matching the young person with the service provider based on information about the service providers' target groups, and information about personal factors and individual contextual factors; dealing with regional gatekeepers; and the role of financial constraints and bureaucratic procedures. The caseworkers experienced a high degree of autonomy and were pragmatic in their approach to referring their young clients to service providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of our research is to analyse career dissatisfaction through the psychoanalytical lens of Jacques Lacan. Taking a multiple-case study approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven male, senior managers working in the highly competitive technology industry. We found that respondents are defining satisfaction against a socially constructed career system that obliterates the concept of an agentic self. By grounding our qualitative investigation in the research fields of career and career dissatisfaction in the under-researched realm of Lacanian theory, we extend career theory to include a psychodynamic lens. We also contribute to practice by providing an alternative approach to career counselling that encourages the client to co-construct a sense of liberation and empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite role transitions occurring frequently within organisations, career theories have often overlooked such transitions. Here we explore the role of personal agency and organisational attachment in shaping career capital enactment within intra-organisational role transitions. We propose a new career capital usage typology. Using an interpretivist approach, the research is based within a UK construction business and explores the role transition experiences of 36 business leaders. Through an analysis of workers' career capital use we identify a new typology and groups workers as follows: Passive Worker, Company Worker, Political Worker and Career Worker. We argue that type varies in accordance with levels of personal agency and organisational attachment and that this variation in type is particularly important during intra-organisational role transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students' degree choices are often made without an achieved vocational identity. In fact, some students perceive a discrepancy between their ambitions and their university course choices. In this preliminary study, I employed the interpretative phenomenological analysis approach to study the experiences of two master's degree economics students enrolled in two Italian universities. The aim was to understand the students' perception of emotional costs associated with the discrepancy between their vocational identity and their university degree choices. Five themes, regret, disappointment, selfishness, the influence of family/teachers and job opportunities emerged from the interpretation. The emotional cost of wrong degree choices hindered the students' process of overcoming their psychosocial crises. Finally, recommendations were made for providing counselling services in secondary schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we explored helpful and unhelpful processes in psychological therapy for women with a diagnosis of substance use disorder (SUD). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight women, seven of whom were white; and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three superordinate themes emerged: What words can't express – finding another language, Identification with my therapist, and Getting towards acceptance. Emerging clinical implications are that therapists should consider strategies for helping clients with SUD "de-shame"; and be willing to challenge their resistance and avoidance from an empathic, accepting, and professional standpoint. Creative methods may help clients to identify and express their feelings, while the availability of therapists with their own histories of recovery may support hope and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increased belief in the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICT) in healthcare, but the perceived benefits of ICT in family caregiver support need to be explored. This qualitative interview study aimed to describe how family caregivers and healthcare staff in COPD care experience ICT. The results showed that both family caregivers and staff had limited interest in ICT and stated that it might be better for a new generation but not for themselves. Both groups preferred face-to-face meetings instead of contact via ICT. Meeting the needs of an ageing population will require that health services adopt new technologies. Still, the importance of eye contact must not be underestimated, particularly when encountering fragile patients and their spouses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School counsellors in Hong Kong constitute an underutilised resource in supporting the wellbeing of young people. We investigated how counsellors working in local and international schools perceived their roles and professional status. Counsellors were both surveyed and interviewed. Findings indicate that local school counsellors have a low professional status and an unclear identity compared to their international counterparts. As a group, they are marginalised and disempowered within their own school settings, reducing their effectiveness, and limiting the benefits they can provide to students. Policy innovation at school level is needed to better utilise school counsellors. Professional organisations have an important role to play in educating the community about school counselling and advocating for policy change at school and government levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young adults (21-to-35-years) from six rural coastal villages in South India described their past and current careers and means of livelihood; an intergenerational comparison was also made. Sixty-eight young men and women engaged in paid work were interviewed; supplementary data was obtained about 224 young adults co-residing with the 68 interviewed participants. The careers and livelihoods of these young adults were marked by intersectionality of rural community, geography and gender. The geography of a coastal region privileged men in having coastal/marine careers whereas many women played supportive roles in their spouse's/brother's coastal livelihood. The fewer women engaged in paid work were employed in education, banking/finance, and nursing sectors. Implications for career guidance programmes for the rural population are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents New Zealand school counsellors' narratives of counselling adolescents from a strength-based perspective. Strength-based counselling encompasses several counselling modalities including positive psychology, narrative and solution-focused brief counselling and promotes adolescents' strengths to enhance wellbeing. Using semi-structured interviews, eight secondary school counsellors with a strength-based practice focus were interviewed. Narrative analysis drawing on a categorical-content mode of reading across participants' narrative data showed that the school context plays a significant role in shaping counsellors' practice. Metanarratives of both strength and deficit, and metanarratives of the school context were identified as having an impact on counsellors' strength-based practices. Dominant deficit metanarratives were juxtaposed with metanarratives of strength. Implications of how counsellors negotiate counselling in a school context are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many researchers have drawn attention to the importance of intersectionality and anti-racism in career guidance, but literature thus far contains few practical examples of how to go about dismantling ethnic and racial normativities that shape educational and labour market transitions. The aim of this article is to deepen the understanding of anti-racist and intersectional career guidance by presenting the results of a study which analysed 22 interviews with counsellors, who work among ethnic and/or racialised minorities and recognise a need to tackle societal inequalities. The study gives examples of critical practices as well as underlines the importance of mainstreaming intersectionality and the advocacy on behalf of oppressed minorities in the guidance practices and ethical guidelines of the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes a social justice perspective to the ongoing discussions about the concepts that inform career guidance theory and practice. Due to the field's psychological tradition, career guidance practices often adopt highly individualised notions of agency that fail to grasp the contextual factors and societal structures from which agency emerges. In this article an alternative approach to agency is offered by repositioning agency as a relational phenomenon. First, based on the findings of an ethnography that focuses on career guidance for youth in the margins of education and work, I explore how agency emerges as a relational and joint construction. A concept of co-agency is elaborated to express the embedded, co-constructed and political nature of agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to create career learning environments which provide students with work experience, skills for making choices and career guidance dialogues, appear to stagnate in vocational education and training (VET) institutions in the Netherlands. In this case study we explore how teachers and their managers make sense of career guidance. We found varying views of career guidance, which may be contributing to the stagnation. Dialogue between teachers and managers is crucial in coming to a collective sense-making of career guidance, and a transformational management style seems to instigate sense-making and ultimately change. A collective sense-making of career guidance may be an area that needs to be examined for new possibilities of transforming behaviours relevant to providing career guidance to students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of parent-child relationships during adolescence has the potential to impact adolescents' mental health. This study explored how seven dyads (parent-child) might experience a two-component intervention (Method of Levels therapy-MOL and a parent-child activity) over four months. Following this, six dyads were interviewed and a thematic analysis was conducted. The most helpful aspect of the intervention for participants was the opportunity to talk. The intervention facilitated helpful conversations that increased participants' awareness and broadened their perspective on the topics discussed. This process helped participants find solutions to their problems. Young people and parents reported that the Shared Goals activity helped them improve their communication and relationships. Young people stated that MOL allowed them to figure things out for themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bereaved people frequently report perceiving the continued presence of the person they lost in the form of a voice, a vision, a felt presence or any other sensory perception. This report explores this psychological phenomenon, experiences of presence, using narrative interviewing and analysis. Ten people were interviewed, in English or Spanish, using a biographical narrative procedure. The analysis, part of a project focused on unwelcome continued presences, was focused on the sources of distress, ambivalence and comfort reported in participant narratives on their experiences, as well as on the sociocultural processes influencing them. Identified properties were grouped into nine categories, with this report being primarily focused on sources related to distress, or ambivalence, and their relevance for clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]