Counselling training for tutors in higher education

Traditionally the relationship between tutor and student has been regarded as of great importance in higher education. With the recent growth of student services in universities, polytechnics and colleges, some tutors have felt redundant or de-skilled. This article describes a course which aimed to restore an important role to tutors by helping them to develop their skills and see their work in a wider perspective. The course was basically practical and did not aim to produce fully-trained cousellors. Rather, it explored the hazards of adolescence, practical skills in tutoring, and sources and techniques of referral.     

Counselling in higher education: Some basic issues

A survey was undertaken in May/June 1972 into conditions of service and training among members of the Association for Student. Counselling. The replies revealed considerable diversity and confusion among employers and practitioners alike over such issues as the range of duties expected, qualifications acquired and required, the need for specific training, and salaries     

Counselling in higher education: the experience of lone counsellors

A qualitative study was conducted into the experience of student counsellors working as lone counsellors or as members of a small team in higher education colleges. The data, gathered through semi-structured interviews of eight participants, all of whom were responsible for the management of their counselling service, revealed the complexity of the student counsellor's role. While the one to one work with clients was seen as the primary task, the significance of the counsellor's involvement in the organisation was not to be underestimated. Issues around case load, support and relationships with colleagues, which can be problematic for counsellors working in organisations generally, were highlighted for those working as lone counsellors.     

Mental health and education: Counselling as prophylaxis

Though school counselling is concerned primarily with prevention rather than cure, in practice the urgent needs of the wayward and the sick leave little time for genuinely preventive work. Furthermore, effective prophylaxis in the strong sense of laying foundations of robust mental health, competence and well-being in all children must involve the whole school to some degree, and particularly a team of willing and able teachers working along with the school counsellor on curriculum development in personal and social education. Though the needs of the few can be met by one-to-one counselling, the needs of the many will be answered only through group work. Trained counsellors must take the initiative in such work. They will retard the mental health movement if they permit their colleagues to feel complacently that the appointment of a school counsellor is an ample school contribution to the objectives of preventive psychiatry. Mental health is every teacher's business.     

Counselling and careers education in the united states: Some current trends

The author visited the United States in May/June 1972 with a grant from the US Department of State under their Leaders and Specialists Programme. He visited nine major cities and met nearly a hundred people in the guidance and counselling field, including some of the leading figures. This paper identifies some of the main current trends in American guidance work — notably the reevaluation of the counsellor's role and the push for “career education” — and examines their implications for guidance work in Britain.     

Counselling in dyslexia

This paper is basically a report of personal experiences. In Part one I shall describe and comment on some of the things which are said and done when parents bring their children to me to be assessed for dyslexia; in Part Two I shall consider what conclusions, if any, can be drawn which are relevant to counselling in general.     

Transformation in Counselling

The view is put forward that counselling appears to be undergoing a transformation which renders the old distinction between counselling and therapy no longer meaningful or practical. This transformation reflects the psychic backdrop of our times; it has come about because the needs of people seeking help, as well as the needs of those counselling, have altered and developed. Increasingly, clients are acknowledging the need for radical change which involves exploration of all levels of their being. This transformative work, a moving across inner barriers and coming into wholeness, necessarily involves active awareness of spirit. Thus it is no longer possible to be a client-centred counsellor without being willing to address the spiritual dimension ofhuman-beingness.     

Counselling, careers education and pastoral care: Beyond the National Curriculum

The National Curriculum and other recent educational reforms in the UK have had the effect of compartmentalising children's education into the measurable—usually the academic—and of undervaluing its socio-emotional aspects. A symposium presenting different views of the implications of these reforms is introduced. A plea is made for all professionals involved in education to move from a reductionist view to one which truly enhances the whole child.     

Impartiality in pre-entry guidance for adults in further education colleges

The growth in the provision of guidance through institution-based services in the United Kingdom has raised concerns about whether the principle of impartiality is being compromised. The understandings and practices of impartiality among those involved in providing pre-entry guidance to adults in three further education colleges in London are examined. A complex picture is presented in which impartiality is only one aspect of guidance and one with different and uncertain meanings emerging from and situated within differing individual, social and institutional contexts. Thus while the meaning of impartiality can be clearly stated in professional codes of practice and quality frameworks, its meanings in practice are less clear. Further areas of research are identified.     

Pastoral Counselling

The beginnings of the modern pastoral-care and counselling movement in the 1960s are reviewed, in particular, the attempt to integrate theology with the behavioural sciences, and the theories born of that integration with the practice of pastors and religious leaders. The developments of the last ten years are explored and the tensions of the movement analysed. Pastoral counsellors' contribution to counselling in general in the United Kingdom, and to pastoral ministry both here and overseas, is assessed.     

Counselling in Medical Settings

The slow development of counselling as an alternative to traditional treatment within the medical model is described. Counselling in medical settings has its roots in the work of the Marriage Guidance Council and the influence of Balint towards psychotherapy. 10-30% of all consultations in general practitioners' surgeries are related to emotional distress, yet the adoption and rise of counselling is more patchy than widespread. The factors which have hindered its expansion in the past are discussed, and it is concluded that its development in the future will depend largely upon pronounced changes in public health policy.     

Spiritual Experiences in Counselling

Three questions are addressed. First, what are spiritual experiences? The one-two-three-infinity theory of spirituality is questioned, and it is suggested that there are at least nine distinguishable spiritual experiences. Second, how do we use such experiences in counselling? Examples are given of how this approach is useful in counselling. and particularly in dream work. The importance of intuition is stressed, and group work is discussed. Third, what are the implications for the training of counsellors? The issues of ego inflation and psychosis are raised, and it is suggested that the training of future counsellors needs to include the coverage of such issues, as well as the more general material dealt with in this paper.     

Counselling Psychology in Japan

Les caractéristiques du conseil psychologique au Japon ont été passées en revue selon les points-de-vues suivants: (1) l'histoire du conseil psychologique. (2) le conseil psychologique aujourd'hui, (3) le conseil psychologique comparé au psychologue clinicien. (4) l'avenir du conseil psychologique, et (5) le conseil psychologique appliqué au, conseil d'etudiants. Au Japon, le conseil psychologique est encore jeune, si Ton en juge par sa familiarité chez les professionnels comme chez les non-professionnels, probablement autant à cause des caractéristiques nationales des japonais que du système scolaire. Il semble important que le conseil psychologique sauvegarde son identitéà I'intérieur des disciplines de la psychologie appliquée et/ou de la psychologie de la santé.
The outlook for counselling psychology in Japan has been reviewed from the following viewpoints: (1) the history of counselling psychology, (2) counselling psychology today, (3) counselling psychology compared with clinical psychology, (4) the future of counselling psychology, and (5) counselling psychology applied to student counselling. It is found that counselling psychology in Japan is still young in terms of its familiarity to both professionals and non-professionals, probably because of the national characteristics of the Japanese as well as the certification system. It seems to be important for counselling psychology to secure its identity within the discipline of applied psychology and/or health psychology.     

Youth Counselling

Youth counselling and advisory work takes various forms in various settings. Against a background of key trends affecting the lives of young people, the range of such services is outlined. Particular attention is paid to generalist youth counselling and advisory agencies, to guidance and support in the Youth Training Scheme, and to relevant work in the Youth Service. The importance of promoting autonomy, and at the same time responding to wider social and political influences on individuals and services, is emphasised.     

Counselling studies

It is proposed that a discipline of 'counselling studies' be considered as an extension of counselling and a contribution to social guidance. Likely features of such a discipline are suggested, including a focus on the individual person, interdisciplinarity, humanistic values, applied and theoretical dialectic, critical attitude and dynamic nature. Questions of suitable name, location and goals are considered. Some indication of possible contents is given in the article.     

Counselling Psychology in Canada

Counselling psychology in Canada has experienced tremendous growth and greater recognition within the last 30 years. However, there is little empirical research on the practice of counselling psychology in Canada and the characteristics of Canadian counselling psychologists. We administered a 74 item questionnaire to 79 counselling psychologists who were members of the Counselling Psychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association, achieving a 35.4% response rate. The survey asked various questions organized under the headings of: Background Information, Theoretical Orientations, Professional Activities, Training and Career Experiences, and Future. Overall, these Canadian counselling psychologists seem to see the discipline as moderately different from clinical psychology and from counsellor education, and are largely satisfied with their choice of career in counselling psychology. Results further indicate that independent practice is the most common work-setting and that respondents spend a large share of their time providing individual, non-career related, counselling/psychotherapy of primarily a rehabilitative/treatment-oriented nature. A strengths-focused approach was also highly valued by the sample. The development of the field, distinctive characteristics of Canadian counselling psychology, the place of counselling psychology in the Canadian health care delivery system, credentialing, professional organizations, education and training issues, allied professions, opportunities for the field, and threats to the field are also discussed.     

Rehabilitation Counselling: The Development of a New Course Specialism in British Counselling

The introduction of rehabilitation counselling to the UK in 1990-initially as a diploma and now as an MSc—is described. The worldwide development of rehabilitation counselling from its beginnings in America in the 1950s is outlined, highlighting key areas of debate. Evidence of the need for rehabilitation counselling in the UK is presented, and the current course is described with reference to its integrative counselling approach and specialist areas of enquiry. The future development of rehabilitation counselling in the UK is considered, emphasising the need for this specialism as we move towards more holistic models of care.     

The Counselling Interview Rating Form: a teaching and evaluation tool for counsellor education

The Counselling Interview Rating Form (CIRF) was developed to evaluate trainee counsellors' use of microskills and other aspects of the counselling session. The CIRF provides a structured format for evaluation that enhances the teaching and learning of interviewing skills by supervisors and trainee counsellors respectively. Uses of the CIRF in educational and clinical settings are described.