From a practical perspective, the Internet and other communication technologies have affected nearly all areas of human life; and the helping professions are not an exception to this rule.

In December 2007, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) published an article (“Therapy Today”, Vol 18 No 10) discussing the use of webcams and teleconferencing technology to conduct supervision sessions between mental health professionals.

But that is only one example. Nowadays, we increasingly hear about initiatives which aim to use these technologies to facilitate mental health treatment and/or support. Let’s take a look at a practical example: the passage below was published by Agence France-Presse in early February:

“JAPANESE police intervened to save the lives of 72 people who posted their intentions to kill themselves on the internet last year. The figure is up from 44 people in 2006 and comes amid rising alarm over suicide pacts in which strangers meet over the internet and promise to support one another as they kill themselves.

Police last year acted on reports of 121 internet users who suggested through message boards, chatrooms or other online functions that they would kill themselves, the National Police Agency said.

Of them, police talked 72 out of killing themselves, including nine who were actually in the midst of a suicide attempt. Another 33 cases were considered hoaxes or not serious, while in 16 cases police could not locate the individuals.

It did not give figures for the number of people who killed themselves without police intervention. In one case, police received a report of a suicidal email. With help from the internet service provider, police went to the writer’s house and found the person about to hang him or herself, the agency said without identifying the individual.

In another example, police visited the house of somebody who posted an announcement for a group suicide and found a vehicle with charcoal burners and masking tape inside.”

Although this extract shows an “unusually influential” effect of technology in an area of mental health (suicide), it is rational to assume that with time other technologies will play an increasingly important and influential role in facilitating helping professions.

But with such developments, several ethical issues are also likely to arise, and new ethical boundaries concerning the use of technology will likely be developed. Within this context we can ask ourselves: is technology a benefit or an ethical concern to our profession?

Leave your thoughts by writing comments below!

This is our 300th post and to celebrate it, we’re giving away a free copy of our member-exclusive Journal The Professional Counsellor.

In this edition of the Journal, we focus on working with the elderly. Some of the featured articles include:

1. A Case for Solutions When Working with the Elderly (Kathleen Casagrande)
2. On Being Elderly: Challenges and Coping Strategies
3. Improving Communication with an Aging Parent (American Counseling Association)

Click here (or on the image above) to retrieve your free copy, and enjoy your reading.

Kind regards,

Editor.

Ps a big “thank you” for all readers who have commented on our Blog since its first post.

The very basis of socially acceptable behaviour is clear communication from parents. Often parents will simply call out in a stern voice: “Jane” and expect the child to understand this command. But Jane could be shoving cake in her mouth with both hands while watching TV.

So which behaviour is her parent referring too? Depending upon Jane’s age, she could be genuinely confused about why her mother is saying her name in an obviously negative manner. Children must learn (through experience and example) what is right and wrong, socially accepted or not. It is the responsibility of the parent to instruct the child in these finer points of etiquette.

Parenting does not have to involve complicated psychological strategies. Behaviour Modification is best kept simple, however, timing is crucial. Parents can become confused and find that they reward the negative behaviour and punish the positive behaviour.

Click here to continue reading this article…

The article above is the latest published at the AIPC Online Article Library. The library currently has 108 articles and case studies, published within 20 categories. All articles are free of cost and can be printed, viewed online or accessed via RSS feeds.

Nichols, P., Schwartz, R. (2006). Family Therapy - Concepts and Methods (7th Edition). USA: Pearson Education Inc. 497 pages. ISBN: 0-205-47809-3

In this volume Mike Nichols and Dick Schwartz tell the story of family therapy – and tell it very well. It’s hard to imagine a more readable and informative guide to the field.

So states noted family therapist Dr. Salvador Minuchin in the opening paragraph of his foreword to this book.

The authors state that this seventh edition has a number of changes to bring the theoretical information right up to date and also has an increased emphasis on practical issues with more case studies. They have studied a number of leading practitioners, visiting them and sitting in on actual sessions.

Part One starts with the foundations and evolution of family therapy and introduces some of its more notable practitioners, including Palo Alto, Murray Bowen, Carl Whittaker and Minuchin. The work of these and other family therapists is covered in greater detail in later chapters of the book.

The last two chapters in Part One deal with the early models and basic techniques of family therapy, looking at group process and communications analysis and the fundamental concepts such as systems theory, social constructionism and attachment theory.

Part Two concentrates on the classic schools of family therapy and AIPC Diploma graduates will be familiar with some of the theories discussed. The chapters on Bowenian family systems therapy, strategic, structured and experiential therapies and psychodynamic and cognitive behaviour family therapy will provide both student and practising counsellors with a wealth of further information on these topics together with easy to read case studies giving a practical demonstration of specific therapeutic strategies.

Part Three starts by looking at family therapy in the 21st century and its application to multicultural, single parent and gay and lesbian families, continuing with a chapter each on solution focused therapy, narrative therapy and integrative models.

Part Four evaluates family therapy through comparative analysis and research, looking at how this approach might be used for a range of issues including depression, substance abuse, schizophrenia and eating disorders.

Each chapter of the book ends with a useful concise summary, a list of recommended further readings and a comprehensive reference list. The volume concludes with an excellent glossary and name and subject index.

The authors write in an accessible and readable style and the layout makes it easy to dip into and to find particular topics.

For anyone preparing to work with families, the book would provide a sound introduction to the wide range of issues and the variety of techniques applicable to this form of therapy. Following the recommended reading list and seeking out the referenced works would greatly increase the knowledge and expertise gained.

Dr. Clive Jones is the Institute’s Education Manager and largely responsible for the ongoing quality of AIPC training programs. His qualifications include a PhD in Psychology from the University of Southern Queensland in 1999, undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in Psychology and Education, and also a Diploma of Professional Counselling through AIPC.

Hi Clive! Thank you for joining us. To start this interview, can you explain a bit more about your role as the Education Manager at the Institute?

To put it in a mission statement, I see my role as quality-controlling the educational product of the Institute. Ultimately, I am succeeding in my mission if every aspect of the educational experience of our students is one of high quality.

Generally, this is achieved through ensuring that the educational experience of students enrolled in either the Diploma, Vocational Graduate qualifications and/or Bachelor Degree are world-class.

Practically, this is achieved through the hard work of a great national education team that currently stands at around 77 staff members across Australia and includes seminar/workshop presenters, lecturers, private assessors and tutors, workbook and assignment markers, course and program writers, online and phone-in education advisors and a range of other education staff based around Australia directly involved in helping to provide high quality education to our students.

I am doing a lot of hands-on writing for our new degree at the moment. So while I manage the broader educational-based processes of the Institute I am also a little more hands-on with the new degree program at this point in time.

This means working very closely with our degree lecturers in planning residential schools and practice placements for our students, along with writing a large part of the study materials for the degree as we introduce new subjects for the first time each semester for the next 3 years (between 2008-2010).

You are certainly involved in a lot of tasks! With variety being a prominent quality of your work, what would you nominate as the most exciting or rewarding aspect of your job?

It is exciting to play a part in helping students realise their ambitions of becoming a counsellor. I know it can sound a little corny but it is really very exciting to be involved in helping to ensure that Australia’s largest provider of counsellor education is of the highest standard possible in the educational experience offered to students.

I am very passionate about the counselling profession as a practitioner, academic and educator. So it’s great to be involved with a team of professionals who share my passion in this. 

Counselling has grown considerably in the past, and the current demand for counsellors continues to increase across the country. In your opinion, how does this growth affect the broad delivery of mental health support?

I’ll answer this question from a broad industry perspective. Unfortunately, while the theories and skills of counselling are at the heart of any authentic and credible form of mental health care, there has been a political wrestle between different mental health associations over the ownership of counselling and psychotherapy as a professional entity.

What this political wrestle ignores is that whether someone is a social worker, psychologist, counsellor, occupational therapist, or any other allied professional dealing with mental health issues, all use the same skills and knowledge found within counselling and psychotherapy to work effectively with clients. While each professional mental health care body has a political bandwagon to push, in reality there is no one professional body that holds any special or unique solution to deal with mental health issues. 

Ultimately what this means is that whether a psychologist, social worker or counsellor, all of these professions are far more similar than different and all draw from the very same pool of counselling and psychotherapeutic knowledge, theory and strategy of approach when being trained to deal with mental health issues.

However, rather than connecting in, working together and acknowledging the common ground of training and skill mix that psychologists, social workers, counsellors and other mental health care service professionals have, there is an uncooperative jostling for recognition between each professional group to be seen as the most relevant and appropriate professional entity for optimum health care. 

This is very unfortunate because it means that there are biases that develop in the system from an air of competitiveness rather than a more balanced approach from a spirit of cooperation. Ultimately this means, rather than working together in the commonality of knowledge and skill mix to help in bettering the mental health and wellbeing of the nation, there is a competitiveness that results in some professional associations emulating a sense of elitism.  

Understanding the difficulties associated with this political mindfield, Counselling in Australia is stepping up to the plate well with the goal of confirming its place as a major body of mental health care professionals.

The Australian Counseling Association (ACA) and the Psychotherapy and Counseling Federation of Australia (PACFA) are two organisations that are in the engine room of developments in this area.

Speaking up for the future of counselling as a unique profession, they are working to forge a shared place with other mental health care professionals in being acknowledged as key stakeholders in the domain of mental health care provision. 

You have extensive experience working as a Life Coach, particularly with high performance elite sport athletes. Your portfolio includes a spiel in the World Triathlon Championships in France as an athlete, and over 10 years of experience in providing services to athletes, coaches and their families. How much benefit do you think coaching skills and strategies can offer to Counselling practice? 

Coaching skills are about encouraging the client to reach their optimum potential. It’s about helping them find ways to develop into the person they are meant to be and made to be.

Paraphrasing the words of Fritz Perls, “an eagle doesn’t ever want to be an elephant and an elephant never wants to be an eagle!” They are at their best when they choose to be who they are meant to be and live their life in the full context of who they are meant to be. It would be a sad state of affairs for the elephant if he tried to fly over mountain tops (haha). 

It’s this goal of discovering self and making choices in the context of self discovery and self development that the areas of coaching and counselling cross over very specifically. Both coaching and counselling are about helping the client discover who they really are, what they would like to get out of life and how they really need to go about making it happen in a way that is personally fulfilling and mutually enriching in the context of close relationships.

So many clients will finish up their counselling and coaching journeys in the same place, with a better understanding of who they are, what they want out of life and how they need to go about making it happen in a healthy and constructive way. So without any doubt there are many coaching skills that can be directly applied to the counselling process effectively.

Click here to learn more about Clive, or visit our Support Team category.

Click here to watch Clive’s video overview of the Institute’s Diploma of Professional Counselling.

1. DEBT REDUCTION - A contribution of at least 10% of your gross income systematically reduces your income every month. This one step will have you completely debt free in 3-7 years (including your house and your cars).
2. INVESTMENT PLAN - An investment of at least 10% of your gross income systematically increases your wealth every month. (Many people say they don’t even know this money is gone!)
3. CHARITABLE GIVING - A contribution of at least 10% of your gross income (tithing) is part of the responsibility and reciprocity associated with creating and being a good steward of wealth (and it’s wonderful for your soul!).
4. DEBT AVOIDANCE STRATEGIES - Live by such strategies as only paying cash and maintaining tough restrictions on the use of credit cards.
5. SPENDING THE REST - 70% of your income should be enough to give you a wonderful, joy-filled life while still being able to fulfil all your commitments and save for your future.

In Summary:  it truly IS just that simple - learn to live on 70% of what you make and you will be debt free in 3-7 years and on your way to becoming rich. What you do with the other 30% will make it so: 10% for your Investment Plan, 10% for your Debt Reduction, and 10% Charitable Giving.

One more suggestion – start NOW!

“A man who both spends and saves money is the happiest man, because he has both enjoyments.” Samuel Johnson

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