INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COUNSELLING最新文献

Abstract

Each year, thousands of high school adolescents in Ghana apply for placement into senior high schools via the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) by choosing subject bouquets that have the potential to determine their career interests and subsequent university majors, with little or no guidance from career counselling and assessment professionals. The vocational interest literature has shown that young people develop their career interests and engage in career aspirations much earlier in life. Yet, studies exploring the career interests and choices of high school adolescents in Ghana are sparse. This study aimed to identify the career interests of senior high school (SHS) students in the Tamale Metropolitan Area of northern Ghana and to explore the factors that influence those interests. Data were collected through qualitative interviews with 31 students. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The students expressed interest in various careers such as becoming agricultural extension officers, medical doctors, teachers, engineers, soldiers, footballers, bank managers, journalists and musicians. Other findings showed that family, socio-cultural factors, personal interest and academic programmes pursued at the SHS had important influences on the career interests and choices of the students. Findings suggest a need for career fairs for high school adolescents as well as group career counselling for students and their parents/guardians. Furthermore, the CSSPS could embed a career interest assessment tool in the first step of the application process, which, in turn, would automatically direct applicants to courses that align well with their vocational interests.

Although the therapeutic alliance has been established as among the most potent ingredients that promotes positive treatment outcome, the alliance-outcome relationship for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) clients as compared to White clients remains unexamined. The current study investigated the differences between BIPOC and White clients regarding therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome, as well as clients’ race/ethnicity as a moderator of the alliance-outcome relationship such that it would be weaker for BIPOC clients. Archival data from a training clinic at a large Midwestern university in the USA was used, including 308 White and 132 BIPOC clients. The differences in therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome were analyzed using independent-sample t-tests. Moderation analysis was conducted using hierarchical linear regression. Therapeutic alliance reported by BIPOC clients, especially Asian and Pacific Islander and Black clients, was significantly lower than White clients. There was no significant difference in treatment outcome between BIPOC vs. White clients. Clients’ racial/ethnic status did not moderate the alliance-outcome relationship. The findings indicated that BIPOC clients who persisted in psychotherapy benefited from it as much as White clients. However, BIPOC clients experienced a weaker therapeutic alliance. The results highlighted the importance of building an effective therapeutic alliance with BIPOC clients by providing culturally sensitive and race-informed psychotherapy.

The Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire-Child Self Report (SMFQ-C; 13-item) was developed to assess depression among children and adolescents. The SMFQ-C is one of the widely used instruments due to its easy administration, open-access feature, and good psychometric properties. The present study attempted to investigate psychometric properties of the Turkish translated version of the SMFQ-C with a total of 428 children and adolescents, between ages 9 and 17. To analyze data, independent samples t-tests, ANOVA, Cronbach’s alpha statistics, Pearson’s correlations, and confirmatory factor analysis were utilized. Our study findings suggested that the test–retest reliability of the 13-item Turkish SMFQ-C was significant, and there were favorable evidences for both convergent and discriminant evidence. Confirmatory factor analysis supported that the Turkish version of the SMFQ-C has appropriate psychometric properties for utilization, including reasonably good fit of the model with a Cronbach’s alpha value of .89. Group comparison analyses revealed that female students and high school students scored significantly higher on the Turkish SMFQ-C. We concluded that the Turkish translated version of the SMFQ-C is a reliable and valid tool for rapid screening of depression among non-clinical, Turkish-speaking children and youth.

In K-12 public school settings, African American students experience racial disparities impacting their academic outcomes, career readiness, and social-emotional wellness (Bottiani et al. in Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(4), 532–545, 2017). To ensure equitable outcomes for these students, school counselors should view them through an intersectional lens, embracing their distinct hierarchical positions in comparison to their counterparts. As social justice change agents, school counselors model transformative leadership in an attempt to minimize racial, systemic, and institutional disparities experienced amongst this population (Cobb, 2019). The manuscript aims to provide practical interventions for school counseling leaders through the efforts of advocacy, data analysis, and systemic change.

Clinical supervision is a valuable practice for mental health professionals working in any therapeutic capacity (Bernard & Goodyear, 2009). However, the application of supervision is not uniformly applied across counseling professions and contexts. School counseling supervision, for example, has been a topic of complexity and debate within the counseling profession, as professional identity and development needs differ. Current literature has largely centered on operationalizing the process of school counseling supervision through counseling theory and proposed models of supervision (Hilts et al. in Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 9(2), 99–114, 2022). There is an identifiable gap in understanding the nuanced needs of school counselors and how to address those needs to make clinical supervision accessible and practical in the workplace. This interpretative phenomenological analysis study examines the experiences of seven practicing school counselors in the USA who engaged in ongoing peer-to-peer clinical supervision with author one. Results from this study include three superordinate themes that inform foundational concepts of effective school counseling supervision as “simple, not easy”: (1) counselor growth, (2) supervisor knowledge, and (3) sustainability. The practical implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations are provided.

Pakistani-American women exist at the intersection of multiple cultures and identities that have profound impact on their experiences. Therapy from an intersectional feminist lens can be empowering for Pakistani-American clients. Patriarchal expectations for Pakistani-American women are impacted by historical and political events as well as social and cultural values, which will be expounded upon in the manuscript. These expectations impact Pakistani-American women’s presenting concerns in therapy. Counseling implications that address how patriarchal expectations may influence clinical work with this population are discussed. A case vignette that presents intersectional feminist therapy between a counselor and a Pakistani-American client is explained.

The authors investigated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depressive symptoms among university students in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in a cross-sectional study involving 375 students. Results showed that 39.5% reported PTSD symptoms, 37.3% anxiety symptoms, and 51.4% depressive symptoms. PTSD is significantly correlated with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Female students reported significantly higher PTSD and depressive symptoms. There was a significant association between race, PTSD, and anxiety symptoms. Participants who stayed at residential college (46.2%) and had underlying health problems (70%) reported having significant anxiety symptoms. A significant association between ethnicity and depressive symptoms and underlying health status was also found. The high rates of PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms call for action for mental health promotion and improving mental health delivery services to higher education students in the wake of COVID-19.