Teaching professional ethics in counsellor education in Aotearoa New Zealand

One mark of a profession is that it articulates a shared vision of the responsibilities involved in professional relationships, generally expressed in a Code of Ethics. But what are the processes involved in inducting new members into a profession and offering them opportunities to translate and grow personal ethics into professional ethics? The study on which this article reports aimed to investigate the practices employed by counsellor educators in Aotearoa New Zealand in ethics education. The study asked two organising questions: what is taught, and how is it taught? In reporting on the study, this article seeks to offer a contribution to dialogue about how ethics might be learned and taught in initial counsellor education. The article raises questions for further discussion. To what extent should the how and what of ethics teaching be woven together? How do we educate for a practice where we cannot know ahead of time whatambiguities will emerge? How much theory of ethics is needed for ethical practice? When do we begin to teach ethics? How well are we teaching an ethics of partnership that is relevant for Aotearoa

Noble metals in mid-ocean ridge volcanism: A significant fractionation of gold with respect to platinum group metals

Hydrothermal precipitates, black smoker particulate, and massive sulphide dredge samples from the Explorer Ridge on the Juan de Fuca Plate and the TAG hydrothermal area on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge were analyzed for selected noble metals including Au, Ir and Pd by radiochemical neutron activation analysis. The preliminary results indicate that gold contents may reach the ppm range although values in the neighborhood of 100 to 200 ppb are more typical. The platinum group elements (PGE) represented by Ir and Pd are typically less than 0.02 ppb and less than 2 ppb respectively. These abundances represent a significant enrichment of gold relative to the PGE in comparison with average noble metal abundances in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). A partial explanation of this distinctive fractionation can be found in the concepts of sulfur-saturation of basic magma in mid-ocean ridge (MOR) settings, and the origin of MOR hydrothermal fluids. Experimental and petrological data suggest that MORBs are sulfur-saturated at the time of magma generation and that an immiscible sulfide component remains in the mantle residue. Hence, MORBs are noble metal-poor, particularly with respect to PGE. Consequently, black smoker fluids can be expected to reflect the low Ir and Pd contents of the rock column. The average Au content of MORB is 1.3 ppb, and so the rock column is not significantly enriched in Au. The generation of fluids which precipitate solids with 200 ppb Au is apparently dependent on highly efficient fluid chemistry to mobilize Au from the rock column, high Au solubility in seawater hydrothermal fluids and efficient precipitation mechanisms to coprecipitate Au on Fe, Zn and Cu sulfides. Significant differences in these parameters appear to be the ultimate cause of the strong Au-PGE fractionation in the MOR setting. It does not appear from the current data base that MOR hydrothermal fluids are significant contributors to the Ir enrichment seen in Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary sediments

Research for counselling practice

In many professional fields, including counselling and education, there have been significant efforts to bring practice and research closer together. However, for each situation and each new practice problem and responsive research question, there is bridging to be done. This paper takes the form of an autoethnographic essay: it tells a story of the first author’s engagement in a small research project that offered opportunities to negotiate her way toward collaboration and respect as a researcher in her own community. As a school counsellor, she held concerns for the positioning of a small group of Pasifika students in the school. This research aimed to consider how the school might do better in serving the educational interests of these students and their families. The article focuses on the shaping effects of the research for the first author’s professional and personal life. Its argument is that her experiences as researcher have profoundly shaped the counsellor it is possible for her to be

Whose future? Whose choosing?: Counselling in a context of (im)possible choice.

Critically reflexive practice is at the heart of counselling, and even more so when clients come face to face with (im)possible choices. As counsellor educators, the authors show counselling practice at the edge of uncertainty. This article features a counselling context in a secondary school. It describes a fictional situation where action is called for in the midst of undecidability, at an impasse in the life of a young woman client. The article explores the aporia that confront the young woman and the counsellor, in the context of education, career, families, cultures and communities. The authors show that these explorations produced transformational questions for their teaching practice as counsellor educators

Gender discourse, awareness, and alternative responses for men in everyday living

In this paper, the authors use examples from their experiences to explore the nuances and complexities of contemporary gender practices. They draw on discourse and positioning theories to identify the ways in which culturally dominant, and difficult to notice, gender constructions help shape everyday experiences. In addition, the authors share their view that there are benefits in developing skills in noticing contemporary practices made available by dominant gender constructions. Such noticing expands possibilities for ways of responding and relating that might produce outcomes for men and women that fit with their hopes for living

Professional regulation - The challenges

This panel discussion offered attendees an insight into experiences of statutory regulation from a psychotherapist, a social worker, a Maori viewpoint and a different experience of non-statutory regulation from the UK

Perspectives on counselling supervision in Aotearoa New Zealand

This article is based on an invited keynote address delivered at the first New Zealand Association of Counsellors’ National Supervision Conference Day in July 2017. It considers questions that have continued to be significant for professional supervision over time in counselling in Aotearoa New Zealand, noting considerations for contemporary practice. It reviews a range of research studies of supervision, highlighting recent contributions to discussions of culture and supervision and the use of e-technology in supervision. long white cloud our map in the sky (Robin Fry, 2008)

Student transitions into full-time virtual high school setting

Every year, tens of thousands of students transition from middle to high school or from one high school to another. Most of these student transitions are moving from one traditional school to another. This study sought to explore the experience of high school students as they transitioned to their new, very non-traditional, full-time virtual school. This study first profiles eight high school students that transitioned to their current full-time virtual high school during the 2016-2017 school year. Next, it summarizes their thoughts on what school-based practices helped them during their transition. Finally, it presents their recommendations for their school to make the transition easier for future students. This qualitative, phenomenological study utilized semi-structured interviews to gather data on their rich lived experience of transitioning into a full-time virtual school. The 8 full-time virtual high school students were selected because they entered a full-time virtual high school for the first time during the 2016-2017 school year and were willing to share their experiences. The interview questions were designed and validated to elicit sincere, authentic recollections of their experiences transitioning from their old school to their new one. One-on-one, personal interviews were conducted and recorded virtually using Adobe Connect and were coded and analyzed using Atlas.ti qualitative analysis software. This study resulted in four conclusions. First, students participated in orientation, but it was inadequate for the needs of student transitioning into a virtual setting due to the lack of social interaction. Second, communication between full-time virtual schools and its students is vital for transitioning virtual students. Thirdly, school personnel are an important factor in a student\u27s transition from a traditional high school setting to a full-time virtual one. Fourth, parent/guardians need to be engaged more while their student transitions to their new school. In summary, this study might help full-time virtual schools design transitional programs that meet the needs of this unique group of students

Recognition, regulation, registration: Seeking the right touch

More than a decade after the passage of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act in 2003 it is undecided whether counselling will become a state-regulated profession. This article focuses on three possible directions potentially available to NZAC and its members: state-regulation, the current status quo as a self-managing organization, or a self-regulation approach with a measure of state approval. It argues that counsellors need to be pragmatic in deciding which to support, since government policy considerations will influence the success of any direction we choose to take