J. Westergaard

Career guidance and therapeutic counselling: sharing ‘what works’ in practice with young people

ABSTRACT Many young people in the UK and across the world, where austerity measures are biting deep, find themselves at a time of crisis and uncertainty in their lives. The assumptions previously held of clear and straightforward career paths are being challenged and ‘career’ has come to mean more than simply ‘work’ or ‘employment’. This has implications for career practice, where career advisers are engaging with a range of complex issues in their guidance interactions with clients. This article draws on research undertaken with therapeutic counsellors into ‘what works’ when counselling young people. It offers career practitioners the opportunity to reflect on four key emerging themes and to consider how the discipline of therapeutic counselling might inform guidance practice.

Line Management Supervision in the Helping Professions: Moving from External Supervision to a Line Manager Supervisor Model

Clinical supervision is a fundamental component in key fields of practice; counseling, social work, and health, for example. However, there are increasing numbers of organizations whose focus is to engage and support clients to manage their lives effectively, but which are not required by mandate to provide supervision for their staff. This article shares the experiences of five supervisors working in just such a “helping” organization, which has moved from an external supervisor to a line manager supervisor model. The participants share their stories about clinical supervision from a line manager perspective and reflect on the part supervision could play in supporting staff who work in the helping professions.Clinical supervision is a fundamental component in key fields of practice; counseling, social work, and health, for example. However, there are increasing numbers of organizations whose focus is to engage and support clients to manage their lives effectively, but which are not required by mandate to provide supervision for their staff. This article shares the experiences of five supervisors working in just such a “helping” organization, which has moved from an external supervisor to a line manager supervisor model. The participants share their stories about clinical supervision from a line manager perspective and reflect on the part supervision could play in supporting staff who work in the helping professions.

Counselling young people: counsellors’ perspectives on ‘what works’ – an exploratory study

Abstract Aim: Counsellors who work with young people in a range of contexts know that they are not engaging with ‘mini-adults’. The issues young people bring to counselling are often complex, challenging and wide-ranging, as adolescents are experiencing times of turbulence and change in their physical, emotional, social and psychological development. This paper focuses on a research project undertaken with five counsellors who work with young people, and asks the question: ‘What works?’ Method: The research project is an in-depth qualitative study into the counsellors experience of counselling young people, using a narrative approach. Findings: Four key shared themes emerged: the significance of ‘safety’ in the relationship; building the therapeutic alliance; flexibility and integration relating to theoretical orientation; and the use of creativity. Outcomes: This paper offers counsellors the opportunity to reflect on ‘what works’ and consider the professional knowledge, which underpins their own counsel...

Counselling and the PA Role: Are These Connected?.

With the emergence of the personal adviser (PA) within the Connexions Service (the government’s new Youth Support Service for all 13 /19-year-olds), the time is right to clarify the role and responsibilities of this new profession. Greater understanding of the PA remit and function will ensure that personal advisers who are working alongside a range of existing professional services within schools and the community are recruited, selected, and trained according to clear and well thought out job specifications. In my position as an educator of personal advisers and a counsellor for young people at risk, I have a keen interest in ensuring that appropriate approaches to working with young people are adopted by individuals engaged in PA work. I have recently undertaken research with 12 PAs, employed in a range of contexts across a broad geographical area, in an attempt to ascertain their perceptions of the PA role and responsibilities in relation to their work with young people. However, the findings from my interviews with PAs, particularly those who work with the ‘targeted’ client group (i.e. those young people with complex issues and needs), indicate that in many cases, the practising personal adviser is operating with a distinct lack of clarity about who a PA is and what a PA does. At the time of writing, the initial Connexions pilot projects are being evaluated and the first Connexions partnerships are forming. Clearly, an important function of a pilot programme is to experiment with a range of possible models of practice and draw from existing modes of delivery in related disciplines, to begin to establish focus about ways in which a new profession might evolve. Experiences of Connexion PAs in pilot areas must be reviewed against existing frameworks for established professional practice in advice, guidance, and counselling. Clearly, it is appropriate to consider the evidence base from practice in these related fields when determining ways in which clients can be supported. At the same time, however, there will be a British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, Vol. 31, No. 2, May 2003

‘Oh I do like to be beside the seaside’: opportunity structures for four un/underemployed young people living in English coastal towns

ABSTRACT Long-term unemployed young people are a ‘social concern’ in many countries. The focus for research is usually cities, but may also include rural areas. The qualitative study described in this paper focuses instead on four young people living in coastal towns in South East England. The study suggests that their experiences in education and employment markets are shaped, negatively, by their particular location and the ongoing opportunity structures. The paper outlines their views and discusses the three main themes that emerged from the analysis: opportunity structures, supported resilience and the impact of living in a coastal town. Implications for targeted youth guidance are considered, alongside a consideration of the reflexive role of the researcher in such work.

Supervision in the helping professions: Making the case for support and supervision for career counsellors:

The case for supervision for career counsellors has been made strongly. However, there is still a distinct lack of formal support and supervision for career practitioners in the UK and elsewhere. This paper begins by defining support and supervision in the helping professions. It goes on to report the findings of a research project undertaken with a group of supervisors working in the context of ‘youth support’ and considers how the results might be applied to the career counselling profession. The hope is that the debate concerning the need for supervision for career practitioners is reignited.