This study was a qualitative examination of the stress responses and coping strategies of 21 teachers (12 women & 9 men), and school response mechanisms following a critical incident involving the death of a student or colleague. In order to explore the possibility that deaths of a relatively common nature can evoke high stress and grief responses, exceptional or large scale events, or those generating widespread public or media attention, were excluded. Findings showed that the impact on participants was high, and included cognitive, emotional, functional and physiological responses. Six discrete wellness factors, considered to contribute to effective coping, were identified: emotional and practical support, active involvement, responding according to individual need, access to information, readiness, and leadership. A salutogenic (wellness) approach to critical incident management was considered to provide a comprehensive and effective model for supporting individual teachers and the school in mobilising coping and restorative strategies and mechanisms. Implications for critical incident management in schools, and directions for further study, are discussed.

During the transition from secondary school to university many students experience stress associated with academic concerns and difficulties in coping with new academic and social demands. The present study investigated first year university students' level of academic stress across first semester and evaluated the coping strategies employed by students to deal with academic concerns. Students' level of academic stress was greater at the beginning of semester, during the transition period than at the end of semester, prior to the examination period. A positive relationship between academic stress and non-productive coping was also revealed. It was concluded that effective and timely assistance needs to be provided to students prior to, or during the transition period to make the commencement of university a positive experience.

Adoption as a social phenomenon has always given rise to emotional controversy and the over-representation of adopted children at clinics and mental heath facilities has lead to studies which have focussed on the concept of psychological risk associated with adoption. Referral for assistance requires that counsellors and therapists appreciate the unique circumstances and vulnerabilities of adoptive families and are able to differentiate between normal transitional crises and adoption issues. To this end an overview of adoption concerns and, in particular, a developmental approach to adoption, is presented as a guide for those health professionals working with adoptive families.

Adoption has provided a fertile area of investigation into family attachment and functioning, and in particular the relative impact of nurture versus nature in human growth and development, although the secrecy surrounding adoption and the sensitivity of the process has created methodological problems and made it difficult to conduct representative large-scale studies. A re-occurring question has been whether the process of adoption itself is a stressor which predisposes adoptive families to psychological distress and maladjustment, and if so how does this manifest itself?

Adolescence is believed to be a highly problematic period when depression is prevalent. This study aims to investigate the relationship between adolescents' depression states and their feelings of guilt and shame in respect to gender, age, school performance and parental education levels. The participants consisted of 187 teenagers; 88 (47.1%) girls and 99 (52.9%) boys. Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), the Guilt and Shame Scale (GES, Şahin), and a personal information form developed by the researcher were used as instruments. The study found a relationship between guilt and shame, that levels of depression were higher in 17-year-olds, and also that levels of depression, guilt and shame were found to be higher in girls than in boys. There was also a negative relationship seen between increased guilt and shame, and a decrease in mothers' education level.

This article describes an intervention program to improve writing skills, intended to be a useful tool for everyday remedial work in primary school. The design was based on an initial review of the approaches most often used for writing intervention and identification of the main concerns for such intervention; namely, the use of direct and explicit instructions, the importance of feedback, recommended levels of intervention, the main content to consider, and use of motivating activities to get the student engaged or even to enjoy the intervention. All these considerations guided decision making about the appropriate features that would ensure an effective intervention in children with general and specific writing difficulties. The intervention program follows evidence-based practice strategies and may be useful for educational professionals in primary school, acknowledging that the program needs to be experimentally evaluated.

This article describes the history, development and status of MindMatters Plus (MM+). MM+ is a project developed within the context of MindMatters (MM), an ongoing initiative which aims to promote mental health within Australian secondary schools. MM+ is an integral component of the MM suite of initiatives and is consistent with its underlying philosophy of developing student resilience through a “whole of school”, capacity-building approach. The specific goal of MM+ is to develop best practice approaches to improving the mental health outcomes of secondary school students with high support mental health needs (SWHSNs) and is achieved in several ways: (1) assisting schools in early identification; (2) facilitating the implementation of preventative and other interventions; (3) developing new initiatives and refining existing processes, policies and strategies and; (4) encouraging the development of timely and accessible networks of care with external agencies and community partnerships.

This paper discusses the application of Gardner's (1983) Theory of Multiple Intelligence to the counselling of children, particularly young children, who have not developed the language required for more verbally orientated counselling sessions. Specifically this paper asks: Does Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligence have an application to counselling theory, and if so how would this theory impact on counselling practice?

Although the last 20years have seen a focus upon evidence-based therapies, there are arguments that much of the so-called “evidence” produced is, in fact, irrelevant to the mental health practitioner in the field, principally because of the use of large-scale group designs in clinical controlled studies of the effectiveness of one therapy over another. By contrast, and with particular relevance to the practitioner who is both scientist and therapist, single subject research designs and methodologies for data analysis can be applied in ways that allow for generalisation to everyday practice. To inform the readership, the rationale underlying n = 1 studies is described, with some explanation of the major designs and their application to typical cases in guidance and counselling. Issues of inferential deductions from data, variations of design, data analysis via visual and statistical procedures, and replication are discussed. Finally, a case is argued for the introduction of n = 1 reports within the Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling to better inform the readership about clinical research findings relevant to their practices.

From Freud through to modern times researchers have aimed to develop a clearer understanding of therapeutic processes and outcomes. Despite this continued interest in the field, the representation of psychotherapy processes and the applicability of research findings and recommendations to the therapeutic field continue to prove difficult. Quantitative and qualitative studies each purport to provide answers, however, they differ greatly in their research methods and underlying ontological and epistemological views. Efficacy and effectiveness studies and the measures of statistical significance and clinical significance are explored with their inherent strengths and weaknesses highlighted. This paper presents the view that research into psychotherapy should enhance the experiences of both the therapist and client. For this to be achieved it is recommended that quantitative and qualitative data, or objective and subjective experiences, should collude rather than collide.

Vocational guidance emerged in Queensland in the early 1910s as part of a governmental plan to transform the colonial educational ladder to provide an efficient distribution and coordinated range of vocational outcomes. The central feature of this new educational ladder was the New Scholarship which would provide significantly expanded opportunities for children who had the talent for an education higher than the compulsory level of primary school to participate in secondary, university, agricultural, technical and continuing levels of education. A governmental strategy was formulated to improve the efficiency of these vocational distributions, to facilitate ambition in the family for this New Scholarship and to avoid talent wastage. The guiding strategy was first proposed from within the Department of Public Instruction under the heading of “Sagax, Capax and Efficax’ prior to the First World War. While it was first proposed to be trialled by the Department of Public Instruction at the Central Technical College in Brisbane, the governmental officer charged with the responsibility to provide both the parents and the child with the necessary guidance was the primary school teacher.

Research in the area of adolescent sexuality suggests that young people use and trust school counsellors as a source of information about sexual issues. Interviews were conducted with 23 counsellors in 19 Australian high schools to explore the messages about sexual behaviour and sexual responsibility given to young people during counselling sessions. The main sexuality issues presenting in a counselling session were concerns about relationship breakdown, sexually transmitted infections after having unsafe sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, harassment and sexual abuse. Messages given to young people included ones of valuing oneself, making choices without coercion, being informed about consequences and risks, and being safe and responsible if sexually active. A sexual relationship was portrayed as a normal part of life and adolescents were encouraged to talk with their parents. Strategies that these counsellors adopt to help young people are discussed and recommendations are made.

Children and adolescents suffering from an eating disorder will typically experience the adverse impact of such a disorder upon their education. These sufferers are often forced to defer their education whilst seeking treatment. However, there are a number of signs educators and school psychologists can look for to identify a student who may be struggling with an eating disorder, so as early intervention can be made to assist these students in the best possible manner. Based on a summary of recent research and literature, this article explains how eating disorders may be manifested in a school setting, how educators and school psychologists can help a student suffering from an eating disorder, and how schools can intervene to prevent eating disorders in students. Possible directions for future research in this area will also be explored.

University counselling centre professionals in the United States have reported an increased complexity of presenting problems, including concerns related to depression. Whether arising from depression or another disorder, suicide does occur on American campuses and is the second leading cause of death in students of traditional college age. Drawing from mainstream and professional sources, this article provides a description of various institutional changes, ranging from policy changes to information dissemination, that are designed to prevent suicide on college campuses in the United States.

Supervision is a mechanism for providing support for school counsellors, and peer group supervision has been found to be beneficial. Indeed, supervision is most often conducted in face-to-face interactions. However, advances in technology have opened up new possibilities for supervision via use of the Internet. The present study evaluates a structured peer group supervision program conducted for school counsellors using email. The findings indicate that email can be an effective medium through which to conduct supervision and that the use of a structured peer group supervision process is helpful.

A Queensland statewide study of guidance officer stress was undertaken with the support of the Queensland Guidance and Counselling Association Inc. (QGCA). The results showed that guidance officers were under a high level of stress due to a multitude of situational and organisational stressors. The survey also showed that key factors helped to reduce the degree of guidance officer stress. These were peer support and debriefing, access to supervision, centrebased support, networks and professional associations. The challenge for guidance officers is to consolidate factors that reduce occupational stress and target factors that increase stress to minimise the consequences.

Many counsellor education programs require students to undergo intensive training in basic interpersonal skills, such as reflection and summarisation. Not only has research failed to demonstrate the value of such skills in improving client outcomes, but the nondirective counselling philosophy upon which many of the programs are based may be incompatible with the needs and expectations of many clients. This article reviews the research evidence underlying these training programs and then provides both counsellors and counsellor educators with alternative ideas about developing productive relationships with a diverse clientele.

Underutilisation of school counselling services was prevalent prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as a framework, this qualitative study seeks to elicit salient beliefs towards help-seeking from a school counsellor in secondary school contexts. Through focus-group discussions and individual interviews, 29 students from 10 secondary schools were interviewed. Constructive content analysis was utilised to identify specific salient behavioural beliefs, salient normative norms and salient control belief. The salient beliefs identified include perceiving counselling as a form of professional help, nonjudgment, stigmatisation, and past counselling experience. This study identified and highlighted a systematic approach to understanding specific socio-cognitive factors that support and hinder school counselling utilisation in an Asian school context. Implications arising from the study were discussed in the light of the findings.