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.

It is not unusual for school counsellors to be involved in trauma-aware education practice; however, their role is not uniformly defined in the literature nor consistently applied in professional settings. Trauma-aware education is relatively new but rapidly growing in Australia and beyond. It involves supporting students in a neuroscience-informed manner to address the impacts of complex trauma on their capacities to feel safe, to relate, to emotionally regulate, and to learn. Twenty-six school counsellors completed questionnaires, and eight of those joined focus group discussions to explore the role of school counsellors in trauma-aware practice in Queensland, Australia. Drawing on the voices of practitioners, the present report discusses categories of practice that are prioritised by school counsellors and recommends supports to effectively undertake trauma-aware practice in school settings.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cybermentoring refers to virtual peer support in which young people themselves are trained as cybermentors and interact with those needing help and advice (cybermentees) online. This article describes the training in, and implementation of, a cross-national cybermentoring scheme, Beatbullying Europe, developed in the United Kingdom. It involved train-the-trainer workshops for partners and life mentors in six European countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic) in 2013–2014, followed by training sessions for pupil cybermentors aged 11–16 years. Although BeatBullying went into liquidation in November 2014, the project was largely completed. We (1) report an evaluation of the training of the life mentors and mentors, via questionnaire survey; and (2) discuss findings about the implementation of the scheme and its potential at a cross-national level, via partner interviews during and at the end of the project. The training was found to be highly rated in all respects, and in all six countries involved. The overall consensus from the data available is that there was a positive impact for the schools and professionals involved; some challenges encountered are discussed. The BeatBullying Europe project, despite being unfinished, was promising, and a similar approach deserves further support and evaluation in the future.

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.

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.

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.