Robert J. Manthei

Teacher stress in intermediate schools

Summary Intermediate school teachers from the same eight New Zealand schools were surveyed five times over four years using the self‐report Stress in Teaching Questionnaire. Sources of teacher stress were found to be similar to those identified in previous research. Higher levels of stress were related to lower job satisfaction and a reduced commitment to remain in the job long term. Absence due to sickness was not found to be correlated with stress. No marked increase in stress among teachers was found over the five survey episodes.

The effect of paid employment on university students' lives

Purpose – Owing to the increasing debt students are accumulating to finance their tertiary study, many are having to work during term time. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of this paid employment on their study time and other aspects of their lives.Design/methodology approach – Eighty three undergraduates completed a questionnaire about their academic workload, their paid employment commitments during term time, their earnings and expenditure, and their recreational and cultural activities.Findings – Results indicated that 81 per cent of the students held at least one job during term time for an average of 14 hours per week. The money earned was typically spent on essential living expenses. Working left less time than desired for social activities, study and recreation.Research limitations/implications – The findings are limited by the relatively small sample size of self‐selected students: mainly young, female and enrolled in Arts courses.Practical implications – The results suggest that w...

Clients talk about their experience of the process of counselling

The purpose of this study was to ascertain clients’ experiences of their counselling. This was done through use of a questionnaire and follow-up, semi-structured interviews with 20 counselling clients who were seen at a walk-in agency located in a mid-sized city in New Zealand. Several themes were identified and discussed in relation to the literature on clients’ perceptions of their own counselling. Specifically, clients were asked to comment on whether their counselling was effective, how much of their improvement was due to counselling versus other factors, the quality of the relationship with their counsellor, specific in-counselling events that were helpful or unhelpful, and how their counselling was terminated. Implications for practice were suggested.

The effect of client choice of therapist on therapy outcome

This study compared the therapeutic progress of three randomly assigned groups (n=14 in each group) of community mental health center clients: (a) clients who viewed a slide/sound presentation about all available therapists and chose their own therapist; (b) clients who viewed the presentation and were assigned to a therapist by the centers clinical director; (c) clients who were assigned to a therapist by the clinical director without seeing the presentation. There were no significant differences among the three groups in their initial reaction to the clinic, number of therapy sessions, type of termination, severity of presenting problems, General Well-Being Schedule scores, Current Adjustment Rating Scale scores, or therapists satisfaction with therapy. Further analysis revealed that three out of four clients had improved significantly as a result of therapy. It was concluded that in the absence of research evidence demonstrating the efficacy of client choice on therapy outcome, support for the notion of client choice must be based solely on social, ethical, and legal considerations.

A follow-up study of clients who fail to begin counselling or terminate after one session

Counselling clients who fail to begin counselling or terminate after one session are often labelled failures, dropouts, unmotivated, etc. There is some evidence, however, that such clients cannot be assumed automatically to be failures or unimproved. The present study used a series of self-report questions similar to those reported in Talmon (1990) in a telephone follow-up of ‘no show’ and ‘one session only’ clients at a community counselling agency in Christchurch, New Zealand. The aims were to replicate Talmons research by determining the rates of improvement and the reasons for not commencing or continuing counselling in these two groups of clients. In addition, the reasons for any improvements among clients in both groups were investigated. Results indicated that substantial percentages of both groups reported problem improvement. Reasons for not beginning or continuing in counselling included excessive cost, being waitlisted and practical problems like lack of transportation. Reasons for improvement included efforts at self-improvement and/or having sought counselling elsewhere (‘no show’ clients) or having benefitted sufficiently from their single session (‘one session only’ clients). Implications for counselling agencies are discussed.

Group Work in Counsellor Training: Research and Development in One Programme

Abstract Group work as an integral part of counsellor training appears to have been under-utilised. Certainly it is the case that empirical evaluations of such group work appear rarely in guidance and counselling journals. An attempt is made to remedy these deficiencies by reviewing studies relevant to counsellor training and to report on 17 years of research and experience with group work within a counsellor training programme at a New Zealand university.

Client–counsellor agreement on what happens in counselling

ABSTRACT This study used parallel questionnaires to gauge the level of agreement between 31 pairs of clients and their counsellors. Topics investigated included clients’ help-seeking behaviour, the working relationship, events regarded as helpful and unhelpful, the importance of counselling versus outside factors in achieving positive outcomes, and terminating. Results indicated that there was group agreement between clients and their counsellors on many aspects of their counselling experience. However, pair-specific agreement was less common with levels varying from low to moderately high. The findings suggest that understandings of the client/counsellor relationship based on group analyses can mask the actual relationship revealed by pair-specific analyses. The findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature and implications for practice are suggested.

Counselling psychology in New Zealand: The quest for identity and recognition

Counselling psychology in New Zealand has a relatively brief history, one that has been characterized by a struggle to establish a clear identity and muster widespread support both within the profession and with the public. From its inception it has had to compete with other disciplines in psychology: clinical, educational, community, and industrial. It has had to withstand indifference and, at times, opposition. Nevertheless, a Division of Counselling Psychology has maintained a presence within the New Zealand Psychological Society since 1985 and there are recent signs of renewed vigour and commitment to developing the specialization as a valuable alternative psychological service. This paper describes the struggle endured by counselling psychology and outlines the current challenges facing counselling psychology and psychologists in New Zealand.

Clients talk about their experience of seeking counselling

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the help-seeking behaviour of a sample of counselling clients using a questionnaire and follow-up, semi-structured interviews with 20 counselling clients who were seen at a walk-in, affordable counselling agency located in a mid-sized city in New Zealand. Specifically, clients were asked if they had received counselling previously, what efforts they had made to solve their problems before seeking counselling and with what success, why they chose this particular agency, their initial impression of their relationship with their counsellor, and their reactions to participating in the research. The data were analysed to ascertain themes associated with their decision-making and choices. Findings were discussed in relation to the literature on seeking counselling, how clients determine their need for counselling and the process they go through in deciding when and where to get it. Implications for counsellors are discussed.

Helping the reluctant client to engage in counselling

Abstract The reluctant or resistant counselling client is a common though frustrating client for many school counsellors. A number of techniques designed to aid reluctant clients to engage in the process of counselling are described.