Being and becoming Pākehā: Unfolding the places of colonisation behind my pepeha

In her recent book, “This Pākehā life: An unsettled memoir”, New Zealand Professor Alison Jones (2020) wrote about how she is continuing to become Pākehā in her own way. In a similar vein, this article is a personal reflection on my story of how I am becoming Pākehā. Here I depict Pākehā identity as having many “folds” that I can grow in over time. I focus on two folds that I have grown in recently: knowing my coloniser ancestry more keenly through engaging in critical family history, and continuing in my decolonisation journey through retelling family history in a way that makes colonisation visible. A focal point for this growth in Pākehā identity was the discovery of layers of colonisation in the places that feature in my pepeha (Connor, 2019). I retell my pepeha in a poem, which highlights these layers, and conclude with implications for other counsellors to consider when noticing recent growth in their own becoming as Pākehā

Supervision and COVID-19: Practices of manaakitanga in a period of uncertainty

COVID-19 has significantly affected the ways that human beings communicate and connect. Within the helping professions, experiences of anxiety and stress, and both potential and actual burnout for healthcare and social practitioners, have been reported. There has also been growing evidence of benefits from online methods of connection and supervision. Focusing on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for supervision and supervisors, this article explores the experiences of five counselling supervisors in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research project was part of a postgraduate paper in professional supervision where researcher-students, all experienced counsellors, worked together on a supervised, collaborative project. The findings highlight five specific areas for reflection: implications for the supervisory relationship; an impetus for self-reflection on what is important personally and in terms of practice; cultural implications, particularly around care and manaakitanga; practical implications with shifting to online supervision; and the mental wellbeing of supervisors and those who consult them. The study offers space to consider what can be achieved in the work of supervision in the face of unforeseen circumstances. Events such as the pandemic provide an opportunity for supervisors to reflect on our supervisory experiences and shifts in perspective and on our own abilities to adjust to personal struggles, something we often explore with others in our work

Recognition of mind and body interactions in New Zealand counselling education and practice

Using mixed-method surveys and case study interviews, thirty emerging and experienced counsellors were queried on the mind–body interactions of body-oriented psychotherapies, nutrition, and physiological conditions relative to counselling education and practice. Participating counsellors did not consider their counselling education covered these areas well, particularly in body- oriented psychotherapies and nutrition with only 30% and 20% of participants respectively affirmative. Counsellors reported mixed confidence in knowledge and referral competency around nutritional and physiological health interactions with mental wellbeing. Counsellors generally (97%) did not consider body-oriented psychotherapies alternative and 100% indicated they would consider future professional development in this area. The Māori health model Te Whare Tapa Whā is endorsed in Aotearoa New Zealand counselling education. This holistic wellbeing model recognises mind–body interactions. However, this research indicates inconsistent and often negligible mind–body interaction knowledge is taught in Aotearoa New Zealand counselling education

RE:SOLVE – A Problem Solving Pathway: An Open Trial With Young People at Risk of Self-Harm

This article presents the results of a mixed methods open trial of “RE:SOLVE – A Problem Solving Pathway” for young people at risk of self-harm. The aims of the study were to: test the acceptability and feasibility of RE:SOLVE for the clients who took part; gather efficacy data using quantitative measures of mood, problem solving capacity, hopelessness, suicidal thinking, and overall functioning; and understand the experiences of the participants through semi-structured interviews. Two thirds of participants completed the problem-solving therapy sessions and took part in the questionnaires and interviews. For those who completed all assessments, the results showed statistically and clinically significant reductions in levels of depression and suicidal orientation from pre- to post-intervention tests. All other measures showed consistent improvements, although they did not reach statistically significant levels. The intervention shows promise but needs to be tested in a randomised control trial

Cultivating resilience in adolescent girls who have experienced Trauma:: A systematic literature review

This systematic literature review explores the resilience factors for adolescent girls who have experienced trauma. It focuses on their perspectives, to assist counsellors to provide effective support. Sub-questions are: - What adaptive coping strategies could counsellors teach or encourage? - What other resources could counsellors encourage adolescent girls to use? Ten international peer-reviewed qualitative studies were identified. They were assessed using the modified Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool and the findings were analysed using thematic analysis. Five themes were identified as appropriate: - fostering active agency; - nurturing internal strengths and resources; - building interpersonal connection; engaging with community; and,- connecting with their Indigenous culture. Resulting recommendations for counsellors included fostering adolescent girls’ agency, facilitating conversations regarding future planning, and encouraging young Māori wāhine (women) to connect with their culture. The author identifies a need for further qualitative resilience research in Aotearoa New Zealand with adolescent girls who have experienced trauma

Bereavement, re-membering and speaking after the loss of a family member to suicide

Disjunctions may arise after the loss of a friend or family member, especially after death through suicide. The first author (Rachael) calls on the words from bereaved people struggling to speak about such a loss. Their words resonate with her own lived experience of struggling to speak after the early ending of her father’s life through suicide. Autoethnographies of three events (self-data) written in the first and third person opened up spaces for Rachael to trouble and break the silence that prevailed in the discursive context of her experience of loss. The authors draw on poststructuralist theory and practices of narrative therapy to reflect on and theorise the transformation that occurred as ways were found for Rachael to speak. The autoethnographic narratives show how, by participating in a family “re-membering” conversation, Rachael and her siblings were able to honour their father in a way that sustained their hopes to speak together about their loss for the first time and story the subsequent reconnection of family members. This article potentially opens up spaces for further conversations about the possibilities and challenges of speaking about suicide loss

An Exploration of Factors Influencing Peer Conflict Behaviours: Implications for Counselling Practice

This article reports on a small qualitative research study in Aotearoa New Zealand into the nature of peer relational conflict. The author’s curiosity for the study developed as she noted that the majority of her counselling clients presented with post-conflict challenges and distress from their peer relationships, and that these challenges appeared to significantly undermine clients’ sense of healthy relatedness and esteem. The author noted that compared to family or couple conflict, little research was available in relation to conflict amongst peers. Semi-flexible interviews were undertaken using an open-ended conversational approach to capture participants’ awareness of their peer conflict experiences and to best understand inherent meanings made of these conflict behaviours. Findings suggest that individual conflict behaviours are enacted in response to perceptions of self, safety, risk, and vulnerability. None of the participants identified behaving in ways during conflict situations that contravened their personal values, and each cited safety considerations as primary influencers. The implications of these findings for counsellors are that engaging in conversations with clients regarding conflict distress has the potential for useful change. This study highlights the need to provide an environment where such conversations are well paced and experienced as safe by the client

An Intermediate School Team’s Collaborative Working Relationships : Reflections from a School Counsellor, Senior Leader, Senco and Teacher

This article presents a reflective discussion of the complex space of school counsellor–teacher collaboration, in response to a gap in New Zealand-based literature and research on this topic. It draws on perspectives from literature and the authors’ experiences as an intermediate school counsellor, senior leader, special education needs coordinator, and teacher. This complexity is primarily seen to be a result of paradigmatic and ethical dissimilarities between teaching and counselling. The authors contend that this complexity requires serious consideration and can be navigated by negotiating middle grounds in response to student needs, developing role clarity, working in ways that enable each party to be creative whilst remaining grounded within their own role and associated ethical and paradigmatic responsibilities, and on-going reflective conversations to strengthen collaboration