Competing schools or stylistic variation in careers guidance interviewing

We know very little about how careers officers conduct careers guidance interviews. Research was carried out to discover how careers officers view interviewing, the factors that lead them to vary their interview style, and how they modify their approach with experience. There was little evidence that officers vary their style by using radically opposed models in different circumstances. Instead, variations in approach are best regarded as different combinations of ideas and techniques. Careers officers adapted their interview styles largely in response to the perceived needs of clients. Initial training course attended appeared to have a limited but enduring effect on interview style, but there was also evidence that with experience careers officers develop more confidence, coherence and flexibility. Careers officers judged their interviews to be most effective when they were able to establish a rapport with the client, to spend time drawing up a contract, to challenge clients in a sensitive way, and to structure the interview appropriately.     

Expectations, recall and evaluation of careers guidance interviews by pupils and careers advisers: a preliminary study

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the perceptions of initial careers guidance interviews as expressed by pupils and careers advisers. A sample of 51 careers guidance interviews were studied, which were carried out by 16 qualified careers advisers operating under normal working conditions. The school pupils were from the lower streams of 16 different secondary level schools, half were male, and the majority were either unsure of leaving or were planning to leave school at the earliest opportunity. The study adopted a quantitative repeated measures design where both interview participants completed pre-interview expectation questionnaires, post-interview recall questionnaires and scales measuring interview evaluations. The results suggested a range of differences between careers advisers' and pupils' expectations, recall and evaluations of careers guidance interviews. However, both participants' overall satisfaction with the careers interview was significantly related to the interpersonal aspects of the process, while the provision of careers advice contributed to overall satisfaction expressed by careers advisers only. The findings are discussed in relation to evaluation of provision and the preparation of clients for participation in careers guidance interviews.     

Tailoring computerised interventions to client needs

The results are reported of an experimental study in which 91 subjects rated the perceived helpfulness of three computerised interventions - a work values inventory (WAPS), a job-bank (JOB), and a decisions exercise (DECISIONS) - for hypothetical clients with identity, self-awareness, opportunity-awareness, decision-making and implementation problems. As predicted, WAPS was perceived as most helpful for clients with a self-awareness problem, JOB for clients with an opportunity-awareness problem, and DECISIONS for clients with a decision-making problem. Potential applications of the model implicit in the study to counsellor training, to the assessment of client problems and to careers education programmes are discussed.     

Marriage guidance counselling: I. What clients think will help

Thirty-one first-time attenders for marriage guidance counselling were given a non-schedule standardised interview and a client questionnaire. The main aim was to identify the counselling and counsellor characteristics which clients considered would be most helpful in dealing with their problems. Traditional counselling skills such as the ability to be warm, supportive, understanding and a good listener were seen to be important by most clients. However, the vast majority of clients indicated that it would be helpful to receive the counsellor's opinion about their marriage, their personal problems and marriage in general: this is incompatible with a non-directive approach to counselling. Whilst clients may not know best how they should be helped, counsellors who fail to address their preconceptions risk mutual disappointment and premature termination of counselling.     

Should your lips be zipped? How therapist self‐disclosure and non‐disclosure affects clients

Is therapist self‐disclosure a therapeutic technique or a therapeutic mistake? Is it useful? Is it ethical? This study attempts to address this controversy among therapeutic modalities by asking clients about their perceptions of self‐disclosure and non‐disclosure. Eighteen people (16 women, two men), currently in therapy in two Canadian cities, generated 157 incidents of both disclosure and non‐disclosure. The incidents were first coded as helpful or unhelpful. Cross‐tabulation of the results showed that disclosures were more than twice as likely to be experienced as helpful; non‐disclosures were twice as likely to be unhelpful (χ² (3, N=157) = 14.439, p≤0.002). One‐quarter of these incidents was coded by two independent raters; inter‐rater reliability was high (Pearson corr. ranged from 0.755 to 1.0, p≤0.01). The data was then sorted, using the Constant Comparison method, into themes, starting with, but not limited to, the themes suggested by the literature. The greatest single effect was on the therapeutic alliance, both positive and negative. Clients’ perceptions of helpful disclosures and non‐disclosures generally supported therapists’ rationales. There was also some evidence that when clients found disclosures unhelpful, the reasons also supported theoretical rationales against disclosing. Rather than simply supporting either position in the controversy, this study suggests that skill, or lack of it, was the intervening variable that affected the perceptions of both techniques. Further research on the effects of skill on both disclosure and non‐disclosure are warranted. This study has implications for both researchers and practitioners.     

Careers guidance and social mobility in UK higher education: practitioner perspectives

This paper reveals findings from a small-scale research project which explored how university careers advisers experience their role in guiding clients within a labour market where barriers to social mobility prevail. The research discovers that advisers' daily work gives them a depth of insight into social mobility. The professional turbulence in which advisers operate and the evolution of their role from in-depth work to a focus on breadth is chronicled. University environments vary with regard to the scope advisers have to impact lives, but a strong set of values anchors them. Recommendations are made with regard to how high quality careers information, advice and guidance can support social mobility for traditionally disadvantaged students into the labour market.     

ICT – the new frontier? Pushing the boundaries of careers practice

Much progress has been made in integrating information and communications technology (ICT) into careers practice, but there is still room for improvement. An international lens is adopted to examine some key elements that contribute to the successful integration of ICT into careers practice. We start by exploring the role of policy, using the UK as a case study. Next, the perceptions that Finnish career practitioners have of ICT are reviewed using research findings into the different ways they think about social media and its purpose in career services. Finally, lessons learned from the design and integration of online services within career development programming in Canada are discussed that ensure accessibility both to practitioners and their clients.     

Mental health and mediumship: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

There is a lack of research examining the mental health of practicing mediums, yet the nature of mediumship work inherently presents a number of challenges to the mental health of practitioners. In this study, we aimed to gain an understanding of how mediums experience their mental health in relation to their mediumistic practice and how they recognise and respond to psychological difficulties experienced by their clients. Fourteen mediums from the North West of England took part in one-to-one interviews, which were transcribed and subject to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four themes were identified: from past traumas to mediumistic identity; spirit makes sense, mental illness is chaos; being resilient but vulnerable; and ethical mediumistic practice. The research highlights the value of not dismissing or attempting to change appraisals of valued aspects of mediums’ anomalous experiences. However, the findings do indicate that support for exposure to clients’ difficulties might be helpful.     

Counselling adults who were abused as children: Clients' perceptions of efficacy, client-counsellor communication, and dissatisfaction

Despite the amount of clinical material relating to adults who were abused as children, there is a dearth of research which has examined the effectiveness of counselling such clients. In order to examine the perceived efficacy of counselling with this client group, a total of 53 in-depth interviews were undertaken with a sample that included adults abused as children who had received counselling, counsellors working with this client group, and counselors-who-were-abused-as-children. The findings indicate that there are many similarities in what abused clients and the general client population judged to be helpful and unhelpful factors in counselling. However, certain aspects of the counsellor-client relationship appear to have specific impacts and meaning for an abused client group, especially when they have little prior knowledge or experience of counselling. Data are presented relating to clients' evaluations of counselling. These illustrate clinically relevant issues in relation to communication and experiences of dissatisfaction. One conclusion from the study is that in terms of their responses to counselling, it is simplistic for adults who were abused as children to be categorisied as a unitary group. Nevertheless, there are certain aspects of counselling with such clients which do merit particular attention if practitioners are to minimise the possibility of counselling being ineffective, unhelpful or, at worst, re-traumarising.     

Client perceptions of hindering experiences in counselling

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of what clients perceive as hindering experiences in counselling. In‐depth interviews combined with concept mapping were used to gather, organize, and understand clients' perceptions of hindering aspects of therapy. In the initial data gathering stage, 8 adult client participants, aged 18 or older (average of 14.1 sessions) were asked to respond to the following open‐ended questions:

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Clients talk about their experience of the process of counselling

The purpose of this study was to ascertain clients’ experiences of their counselling. This was done through use of a questionnaire and follow-up, semi-structured interviews with 20 counselling clients who were seen at a walk-in agency located in a mid-sized city in New Zealand. Several themes were identified and discussed in relation to the literature on clients’ perceptions of their own counselling. Specifically, clients were asked to comment on whether their counselling was effective, how much of their improvement was due to counselling versus other factors, the quality of the relationship with their counsellor, specific in-counselling events that were helpful or unhelpful, and how their counselling was terminated. Implications for practice were suggested.     

Developing careers education and guidance in a tertiary college

The growing number of tertiary colleges presents careers education and guidance with challenges different from and additional to those of secondary schools, sixth-form colleges and further education. This article describes and analyses how one tertiary college, founded four years ago, has responded to these challenges. The background to the setting up of the college, and of careers education and guidance within it, is described and some areas of difficulty and ambiguity are identified. The emergence of principles (comprehensiveness, time-tabling, timing, identification of need, and curriculum negotiation) underlying the organisation of careers education is documented. Four types of careers course (Introductory, Exploratory, Focusing and Practical Guidance) are described and examples of how they are used are given. Particular attention is drawn to the innovatory use of 'Careers Workshops'.     

Addressing multiple relationships between clients and therapists in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender communities

Therapists working in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities are likely to experience the potential to engage in multiple relationships with their clients. Currently, the American Psychological Association's (2002) ethics code and the related literature base offer minimal direct guidance to therapists practicing in LGBT communities. In this article, the authors review current literature regarding multiple relationships in psychotherapy, considering how this literature addresses issues specific to practitioners working within LGBT communities, present a case study highlighting the negotiation of a multiple relationship between a client and therapist who both identify as lesbian, and offer recommendations for practitioners working within LGBT communities.     

Only qualifications count: exploring perceptions of continuing professional development within the career guidance sector

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.     

Story telling: crafting identities

ABSTRACT

Career guidance clients are seeking to craft new identities that better position them in their careers. The focus of the present article is on narrative career counselling's potential contribution in providing a meaningful and useful experience for career guidance clients. To illustrate the potential of narrative career counselling, the story telling approach is offered as an example to illustrate how identity can be crafted in contextually and culturally sensitive ways.     

The practice research network: Research into practice,practice into research

The purpose of the broader project on which this report is based was to utilize a Practice Research Network, an alternative to traditional clinical studies to 1) identify demographically one practice group, namely professional counselors in the United States, 2) describe their practice patterns, and 3) identify their client population and the efficacy of their clinical work through client outcomes based on actual client reports. This article describes the development of one such nation‐wide Practice Research Network (PRN) and provides some preliminary findings for each phase of the project. Use of the PRN model can help overcome the traditional “research to practice” gap and provide research results into community practice thus integrating outcomes measures into the daily practice of mental health professionals. During the early phases of this project, a software program was developed upon which the participating practitioners could identify the data elements within the parameters of the focus on their agreed‐upon research interests, enter data following client visits over time, and by comparing their own composite profiles and effectiveness with those of other participating practitioners who had clients presenting with similar diagnoses, could alter their own service delivery patterns, therapeutic interventions, or approaches while working with the clients and thereby improve the efficacy of their service. By participating, the practitioners benefited by access to downloadable and printable reports on profiles of 1) their specific clients, 2) their service delivery patterns, and 3) the outcomes or efficacy by their clients’ direct feedback. They were also able to compare these results with the composite data from other practitioners.     

Arts for the blues – a new creative psychological therapy for depression

ABSTRACT

Routinely prescribed psychological therapies for depression are not always effective. Arts therapies, particularly Dance Movement Psychotherapy, may offer additional therapeutic mechanisms for depression. Therefore, client-reported helpful factors from various therapy types, along with client preferences, are key in devising new therapeutic interventions. We present a framework for a new pluralistic “meta-approach” of therapy for depression, based on an interdisciplinary thematic synthesis (Thomas, J., & Harden, A. (2008). Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 8[1], 45) of active ingredients from both talking therapies and creative approaches. Lastly, we offer an illustrative group therapy workshop based on this approach, to be piloted with clients and practitioners within an NHS mental health service. Further research is required to evaluate this pilot and to devise a full treatment for trialling within the service.     

Careers guidance and ethnic minorities in Holland and Britain: Confronting fear and anger

The development of equal opportunities for ethnic minorities through careers guidance is discussed. The provision of careers guidance services in Holland and Britain are described in relation to a model of organisational development. The emotional barriers of fear and anger are discussed in a structural context, both in relation to face-to-face client work, and in relation to service development. The concept of 'career negotiation' is presented to reflect the processes of internal and external dialogue needed to empower clients.     

What are careers officers thinking of? How information cues are selected and used in careers interviews

This paper explores the information-seeking practices of careers officers during careers interviews. Research in decision-making is used to establish hypotheses, with a focus on findings in the fields of heuristics, cognitive mapping and medical diagnostics. Sensitive areas for careers guidance providers in this research field are outlined. A small-scale research project is described, which indicated support for several of the hypotheses. A model is suggested of how careers officers may elicit and use information cues in order to mentally match clients' post-16 choices against perceived opportunities. The implications for careers officer practice and careers service fundholders are discussed.     

Distance Guidance: Careers Advice by Post

Careers guidance is traditionally carried out face-to-face. Use may be made of facilities such as job-information leaflets and computer programs which the client uses on their own (perhaps at the suggestion of the counsellor), but the core of the guidance process is generally the careers interview. Issues examined include: is it possible to provide adequate guidance without face-to-face contact between client and counsellor? what might be lost or gained by the difference in approach? what are the circumstances in which distance guidance might be appropriate and how is it best provided?