Counselling in the workplace: How time‐limited counselling can effect change in well‐being

Background: Many employers provide counselling support on work and personal issues for their employees, but in times of economic pressure such services can be at risk if their effectiveness is not demonstrated. Aim: To evaluate whether time‐limited counselling in a workplace can effect sustained change in well‐being. Method: The study was carried out by a staff counselling team in a university setting. The Warwick‐Edinburgh Mental Well‐being Scale (WEMWBS) was completed by clients at the beginning and end of counselling, and at three and six months following. A non‐treatment comparison group completed the survey at the same intervals. Results: The results of our investigation show clearly that the effect of time‐limited counselling (average seven sessions) on distressed clients is positive. The evidence of our treatment group suggests that they acquire an increased sense of well‐being as a result of the experience of counselling with a significant statistical difference between pre‐and post‐counselling treatment group scores on the WEMWBS and consistently higher scores found post counselling. The improvement was maintained at the same level for at least six months following the end of counselling. Conclusions: The provision of time‐limited counselling by employers is an effective support for personal difficulties affecting work.     

Treatment‐seeking young adults from families with alcohol problems. What have they been through? What state are they in?

Aims: This study surveys the childhood experiences of treatment‐seeking young adult offspring of problem drinkers (AOPDs) and their psychological state at treatment baseline. Methods: Clients (N=502) entering a Danish nationwide treatment facility for young AOPDS completed the survey. Clients completed the Adult Children of Alcoholics Trauma Inventory, The Family Tree Questionnaire, the CORE–OM 34, Major Depression Inventory, and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale at treatment start. Results: A total of 48% of the clients' mothers and 75% of the clients' fathers were problem drinkers. Both parents were problem drinkers in 25% of cases, and 27% had at least one problem drinking stepparent. Mothers had on average drunk during 11.4 years of the clients' childhood (0–18 years). Fathers had on average drunk during 13.4 years; 46% knew or believed that at least one of their parents suffered from a psychiatric illness; 44% reported physical violence; 63% reported psychological abuse; and 38% had not spoken to anyone about their family's problem. A further 20% had only spoken to a parent or sibling. Conclusions/implications: The study highlights the high degree of variation in AOPD clients' childhood experiences and in their levels of distress, corresponding with studies of non clinical samples. The study offers a bleak image of the extent of parental drinking and of other negative factors in these clients' childhood homes, coupled with the finding that clients have often not spoken to others about their parents' drinking. Mentioning parental drinking to a counsellor is thus a potentially highly significant counselling event, demanding counsellor sensitivity and attention.     

Counselling the (self?) diagnosed client: generative and reflective conversations

In this paper, we address the phenomenon of clients who present their concerns in the medicalised discourse of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition (DSM-5). We contextualise this phenomenon, highlighting how a ‘diagnose-and-treat’ logic increasingly pervades everyday understandings and informs people's efforts to make sense of their concerns. We relate these cultural ways of sense-making to discursive counselling practice, noting possibilities for circumventing ‘discursive capture’ through reflective and generative dialogues. We then turn to two common ways in which clients present their concerns in counselling: (1) arriving self-diagnosed or diagnosed by another professional and (2) as a family in which parents present a child as having a mental disorder. We suggest ways of moving beyond medicalised discourse via resourceful and critically reflective conversations with clients.     

Understanding the context of suicide in master's level counselling programmes in Australia

The purpose of this study was to understand the context of suicide in master's level counselling courses in Australia. The sample comprised courses accredited by the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) and the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA). A mixed methods content analysis was used to identify the explicitness of suicide in these courses and identify themes that emerged during the analysis. The sample consisted of 405 units of study contained in 26 courses. Suicide was explicit in 23 units in 17 courses. Suicide content was overshadowed by cultural diversity, ethics, morality and philosophy, research and self-awareness, which was explicit in all 26 courses.     

Transforming career stories through poetry: a group-based career counselling intervention

ABSTRACT

Contemplating the school to work transition in the insecure and unpredictable twenty-first century world of work can be anxiety inducing for college students. Consequently, college students may develop disempowered career stories in which they feel ill prepared to explore career prospects or engage with the world of work. This paper describes a career counselling intervention aimed at transforming the disempowered career stories of college students into more empowered versions. Grounded in career construction theory and designed as a group modality, the intervention employs poetry therapy to enhance the development of internally defined and motivated career stories among the group participants. Although this paper highlights the Kenyan context, the intervention itself can easily be adapted to other contexts.     

Improving the psychosocial wellbeing of international students: the relevance of mindfulness

ABSTRACT

In this study we analysed the potential of a mindfulness programme for improving psychosocial wellbeing among students at a Dutch university. Based on interviews and observations of sessions, the study demonstrated that students joined the programme to manage stress and anxiety, cultivate self-awareness, and regulate difficult emotions. They all reported positive outcomes, but students who participated in the sessions regularly and did the homework assignments reported better outcomes, including enhanced self-awareness, self-care, and positive attitudes towards others. Although students reported improved emotion regulation, many still believed that the programme was less strong in this area. The study affirms the potential of mindfulness programmes for improving the psychosocial wellbeing, and builds a case for the integration of mindfulness interventions in university counselling services.     

Self-compassion,coping strategies and gender differences in psychology,counselling and psychotherapy practitioners during COVID-19: Lessons learnt

Effective coping strategies can protect against the adverse effects of stress. This study investigated self-compassion's ability to predict approach and avoidance coping in psychology, counselling and psychotherapy practitioners (PCPPs) during COVID-19, and whether this differed between genders. To date, no research has investigated this relationship, despite positive associations being drawn in other populations. Three hundred and nineteen PCPPs completed an online survey including the Brief COPE and Self-Compassion Short Form. Self-compassion significantly predicted greater use of approach coping and reduced use of avoidance coping. The predictive ability of self-compassion was slightly better in female practitioners. Self-judgement arose as a prominent subscale of self-compassion across genders, increasing both approach and avoidance coping. Implications for future research and practice are discussed, concerning barriers to self-compassion and the requirement of therapeutic programmes and psychoeducation as a prerequisite for effective coping strategies in the PCPP population.