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Barriers to Seeking School Counselling: Malaysian Chinese School Students’ Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 October 2015

Kai Shen Chen  and
Jin Kuan Kok
Kai Shen Chen*
Affiliation:
Tunku Abdul Rahman University, Kampar, Malaysia
Jin Kuan Kok
Affiliation:
Tunku Abdul Rahman University, Kampar, Malaysia
*
address for correspondence: Kai Shen Chen, Department of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, Kampar 31900, Perak, Malaysia. Email: chenkaishen1111@hotmail.com
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Abstract

School counselling services have always been unpopular among Malaysian students. Many researchers have studied what prevents students from seeking mental health services. However, there is a lack of study on the barriers to seeking help in the context of Malaysian school counselling services. Using a sample of Chinese high school students (N = 277), this qualitative study explored the under-utilisation of school counselling services. A thematic analysis was used to analyse an open-ended question, and the findings uncovered contextualised issues such as: conceptualisation of problems and the shameful, fearful, concerned, and responsible self that contributes to the under-utilisation of school counselling services.

Keywords

school counsellingbarrierswillingness to seek helpChinesesecondary school
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , December 2017 , pp. 222 - 238
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015 

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