Providing helpline services to children via texting (i.e. Short Message Service or SMS) is being used increasingly. However, little is known about the quality of SMS counselling and its effect on the service users. Through a quantitative content analysis of 448 SMS sessions at the Danish child helpline, we studied counsellor behaviour and session…

There is a dearth of research concerning the career development and counselling issues that are relevant for high school students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ). As such, little is known to understand LGBTQ students when it comes to their career-related struggles and needs. This article attempts to examine…

It is important to demonstrate replicable evidence of the effectiveness of counselling procedures. The study aimed to contribute to the currently limited evidence base examining the effectiveness of university student counselling in the UK. Information on therapeutic outcome [based on Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure…

Arguments about online delivery of career development are too frequently couched in polarising terms setting traditional face-to-face guidance practice against online systems. The focus has been on the alleged dehumanising impact of technology and the speed, economy and efficiency of online systems. The possible synergies delivered by the…

The speed at which technology evolves, and therefore the speed at which online mental health services evolve and the training required to keep up with them, has become a real concern for the profession. The need for training in transferring face-to-face skills to the online environment has been recognised for some years by leading professional…

Young people are increasingly turning to online support, especially when traditional mental health services are not immediately available. Using a cross-sectional design, sociodemographic information and self-reported perceptions of the strength of the working alliance and client satisfaction were collected from a sample of participants (n = 78)…

Despite the exponential growth of non-appointment-based web counselling, there is limited information on what happens in a single session intervention. This exploratory study, involving a thematic analysis of 85 counselling transcripts of people seeking help for problem gambling, aimed to describe the presentation and content of online…

This study evaluated the effect of single session email consultation (SSEC) on empowerment of parents. Practitioners in a control group (n = 19) received no training and practitioners in an experimental group (n = 21) were trained to use empowerment-oriented techniques in online consultation. Parental empowerment was measured (n = 96) through a…

The aim of the current study is to investigate the impact of counselling-based training on online peer support by comparing the interventions of trained peer supporters as opposed to non-trained peer supporters. Two independent raters analysed 746 support posts published during a period of one year at the "Student to Student" online peer…

The aim of this study was to evaluate secondary trauma and job burnout and associated factors in a sample of 71 HIV lay counsellors in South Africa. Results indicate that 49.5% were not satisfied with their work environment and 51.4% were potentially secondary traumatic stress cases. In univariate analysis, seeing more HIV counselling and testing…

This paper reviews various factors that interplay in the counselling sessions within the cultural milieu of African society, especially Nigeria and particularly within the context of school-based counselling provision. These factors, which were found to be both sociological and cultural, hamper effective client self-disclosure during counselling…

We report in this article on the second phase of an in-depth project examining practitioners' use of a narrative model for 1-1 career guidance interviews in England, derived from the work of Mark Savickas. Using biographical narrative interviews, we explored the impact and constraints experienced by eight practitioner participants when engaging…

The influence the counsellor has on his or her clients is problematic both theoretically and practically. This article explores how counsellors in six focus groups talked about counsellor influence in response to a series of scenarios and questions. The counsellors adopted three main, or "core", positions about influence: "counsellors shouldn't…

The UK Learndirect helpline is the largest telephone helpline service in the guidance field. The development of the helpline is placed in the context of the transformations in service delivery in other sectors. Reviews the use of the telephone in career guidance, and describes the evolution of Learndirect, with particular attention to its policy…

Describes a study that involved setting up an expanded counseling network with an emphasis on professional service provision, and combining this with the training and professional development of a network of part-time counselors. Ethical and practical issues are explored in detail, and encouragement is given to other institutions to use a similar…