Counselling at a distance: Challenges and new initiatives

Traditional views of the possibilities of counselling at a distance, mediated by telecommunications technology, are challenged. The current status of telephone counselling is reviewed- it is proposed that the telephone is a vibrant innovative medium for therapeutic work. Computer involvement in therapeutic work is defined, and the issues confronting computer-mediated therapy are contrasted with developments in computer-supported co-operative work. It is concluded that active collaboration between therapists, social scientists and computer scientists is required to develop therapy-specific computer applications to mediate in therapy-at-a-distance.     

Counselling in schools: Looking back and looking forward

The history of counselling in schools is briefly outlined. Recent educational reforms have led to a fragmented approach which represents a return to the earlier view that counselling should be provided by outside specialists. This is particularly evident in relation to the issue of student exclusion from schools. It goes against the growing emphasis on the inclusion of students and on attention to the student voice in education. Counselling has an important part to play in enhancing both learning and effective schooling. Interviews with staff and students in two schools are drawn upon. It is argued that a polarisation of the cognitive and the personal/social is false and shortsighted.     

Scaling apparent distance in a large open field: some new data

Judged distance in a large open field, scaled by the method of magnitude estimation, is related to physical distance by a power function with an exponent smaller than unity. The exponents obtained with two ranges of distance were not affected by the availability of a standard. The mean exponent for all 80 individual power functions was 0.86, with a standard deviation of 0.11.     

Counselling and the Organisation: An Introduction

The links between counselling and organisation development are discussed, drawing from personal consulting experience. The structure and aims of the symposium are outlined.     

From residential care to school: peer relationships at school of minors in residential care

In this study, peer relationships of minors in residential care in a school context are analysed, both from the perspective of the peers and the teachers. Using a sociometric test and an evaluation protocol for teachers in 50 classrooms, a sample of 60 minors in care is compared to a normative sample of 843 minors. The results show that minors in residential care have a higher rate of rejection by their classmates in academic activities, but not for leisure ones. Furthermore, in comparison with the normative sample, they are more frequently described with negative adjectives. There is a high level of agreement between the peer evaluation and that of the teachers in the most visible aspects in the classroom. The implications of these results for the improvement of the adjustment of this group are discussed.     

Counselling the counsellors: Support groups in Devon

The establishment of support groups for school and college counsellors in Devon is described. Reference is made to the pressures which led to their creation, to the way the support system has gradually been developed and modified, to the membership, organisation and purpose of the present groups, and to some initial problems and adjustments. Possibilities for future development are suggested.     

Unscrambling the B-Picture: Counselling Consultancy and Strategic Management

Some reflections are presented on the author's experience as a management counsellor and how he works with people in organisations. The basic assumption is that the critical unit is the individual and that working with organisations means working with people firstly as individuals alone and secondly as individuals in groups of one sort or another. Each individual experiences an organisation differently and these individual perceptions drive behaviours in organisations. The idea that the best modes of working are through psychologically close team with common perceptions and values is questioned. The author's preference is to counsel people individually and then help them to relate collectively at levels which are mutually tolerable. The optimum performance of individuals within an organisation is when they have learned to accommodate their needs in a mutually agreeable organisational culture.     

Launching at a distance: The effect of spatial markers

It has been widely reported that spatial contiguity is important to judgements of causality involving one object launching another [Michotte's “launching effect” (1963, 1991)]. The present study examined the impact of different types of spatial markers on causal judgements of a distal launch (one object approaching other, stopping short of it, and the second object subsequently moving along the same trajectory). The spatial markers were objects that either partially or completely bridged the spatial gap between two objects (Experiment 1), or they were dashed lines that marked the stopping location of the first object or the starting location of the second object (Experiment 2). The presence of either objects or dashed lines could produce higher causal ratings, but the location of the marker mattered. The results suggest that altering a cause's ability to predict when the effect would occur (via a spatial marker) and the presence of a conduit for energy transmission have independent effects on causal judgements of object interaction.     

Counselling issues in the fostering and adoption of children at risk of HIV infection

The heterosexual nature of the HIV epidemic in Lothian is such that a number (50 to date) of babies have been born to women who have HIV. Some have needed social work services such as Children Centre placement, foster parents or adopters. Since this work began in 1986, our understanding of the transmission and manifestation of HIV infection in children has grown. However, it is still not possible until children reach the age of two to be certain whether or not they have been infected, or what the outlook is for them. Even then there are some further areas of uncertainty. We have developed a programme of preparation, training and support which has enabled a number of families to live with this uncertainly in offering placements to children at risk of HIV infection.     

Counselling in the treatment of pathological gambling: An overview

Gambling is an activity that will become increasingly known to the counselling profession as the problematic effects of gambling deregulation in the United Kingdom slowly take effect over the nextfive to ten years. The gambling literature and the phases of the pathological gambler's career are briefly examined. Counselling approaches that have been used in the treatment of pathological gambling include (i) psychotherapy, (ii) conjoint marital therapy, (iii) minimal interventions, (iv) behavioural counselling, and (v) practical approaches to the treatment of adolescent problem gamblers. It is concluded that, although a number of evaluation studies have been carried out, few are directly comparable with one another, and several have methodological problems which may undermine the value of the evidence produced.     

Stewardship Models of Pastoral Care,Counselling and Supervision: The Commonians Meet Ricoeur at Worship

The common factors debate in psychology and, more recently, marriage and family therapy is slow to erupt in pastoral care and counselling. This article introduces the common factors debate into pastoral science by proposing the Stewardship Models of Pastoral Ministry and Supervision. The model integrates common factors research and pastoral practice using Ricoeur’s “economy of the gift” ethic. The model’s focus is pastoral care, counselling and supervision in congregations, a unique community context in search of an adequate pastoral praxis.     

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.     

Spirituality in Counselling: A View from the Other Side

Some clients will already be aware of a spiritual dimension when they come to counselling, and others may become aware during the course of it. Counsellors should be able to work with either situation, or should refer the client to a more suitable colleague. Spiritual awareness may develop gradually or be very sudden; the two ways could be likened to 'karma' and 'redemption', and each has particular virtues and difficulties. The author's own experience demonstrates some of the qualities of the sudden, or visionary, way. The interface between the psychological and spiritual dimensions is the natural and obvious next area for exploration and clarification, and counsellors have an important role in this work.     

Counselling the young unemployed: The experience of 'just the job'

Some issues involved in counselling the young unemployed are explored on the basis of the experience of 'Just the Job', an experimental project which operated in South-West England between 1977 and 1980. The counselling support which the project aimed to provide is examined in terms of counsellor recruitment and selection; of contact between counsellors and other formal and informal agencies in the job-search process; of the aims and expectations of the counsellors; and of their identification of problems and proposals for change. A client-based evaluation of the counselling is also reported.     

Scales for perceived egocentric distance in a large open field: comparison of three psychophysical methods

Scales for perceived egocentric distance produced by three psychophysical methods in four ranges of distances were compared. It was found that (a) the exponents produced by ratio and fractionation methods are in good agreement; (b) the exponents of both these methods were larger than those produced by magnitude estimation; (c) an increase in range of distance was associated with a decrease in exponent, but this diminution seems to interact with the method used; (d) for all the psychophysical methods used, there was large variability in the individual exponent; (e) the exponent was smaller than 1.0 for approximately 78% of the pooled sample, with all adult observers (N = 612) considered; and (f) an arithmetic mean exponent equal to 0.90 represents fairly all the results obtained.