Supervision and culture: Meetings at thresholds

Counsellors are required to engage in supervision in order to reflect on, reflexively review, and extend their practice. Supervision, then, might be understood as a partnership in which the focus of practitioners and supervisors is on ethical and effective practice with all clients. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, there has recently been interest in the implications for supervision of cultural difference, particularly in terms of the Treaty of Waitangi as a practice metaphor, and when non-Māori practitioners counsel Māori clients. This article offers an account of a qualitative investigation by a group of counsellors/supervisors into their experiences of supervision as cultural partnership. Based on interviews and then using writing-as-research, the article explores the playing out of supervision’s contribution to practitioners’ effective and ethical practice in the context of Aotearoa/New Zealand, showing a range of possible accounts and strategies and discussing their effects. Employing the metaphor of threshold, the article includes a series of reflections and considerations for supervision practice when attention is drawn to difference

Supervision and Culture Meetings at Thresholds

Abstract Counsellors are required to engage in supervision in order to reflect on, reflexively review, and extend their practice. Supervision, then, might be understood as a partnership in which the focus of practitioners and supervisors is on ethical and effective practice with all clients. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, there has recently been interest in the implications for supervision of cultural difference, particularly in terms of the Treaty of Waitangi as a practice metaphor, and when non-Mäori practitioners counsel Mäori clients. This article offers an account of a qualitative investigation by a group of counsellors/supervisors into their experiences of supervision as cultural partnership. Based on interviews and then using writing-as-research, the article explores the playing out of supervision's contribution to practitioners' effective and ethical practice in the context of Aotearoa/New Zealand, showing a range of possible accounts and strategies and discussing their effects. Employing the metaphor of threshold, the article includes a series of reflections and considerations for supervision practice when attention is drawn to difference

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Male secondary-school student engagement rates with school counsellors, as compared with female engagement rates

This article reports on a statistical investigation into the engagement rates of male secondary-school students with school counsellors in co-educational state secondary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The data analysis evidences a discrepancy between the engagement rates of male and female students, substantiating what has been known anecdotally: that male students are less likely than their female peers to meet with school counsellors. Data from 2615 counselling records across eight schools nationwide indicate that male students engage between 3% and 11% less than their female peers. Further research in 2022 is planned to investigate any barriers or constraints that could account for this discrepancy and expose possible facilitative factors that may increase male student engagement rates with school counsellors

Outnumbered: Male student engagement rates with school counsellors

Focus question for phase one How do male student engagement statistics compare with female students? Data, Schools, Findings Focus question for phase two What are the unique barriers, constraints and facilitative factors experienced or perceived by students who identify as male in coeducational secondary schools in Aotearoa, New Zealand? Your inpu

Male student engagement with school counsellors

This presentation reports on Phase One of a multi-stage investigation into the supports and constraints encountered by male secondary students seeking engagement with their school’s counsellor(s) in New Zealand co-educational settings. The aim is to contribute to our understanding of the experience this vulnerable population has in regards to seeking or accessing counselling in New Zealand co-educational secondary schools. The intended outcome is the improvement of access and rates of engagement by male students, and promote the value and importance of counselling provision on-site in New Zealand secondary schools. This presentation offers a detailed analysis of counselling engagement statistics from participating schools. The analysis compared each school’s counsellor data with that schools demographic of the student body (Ministry of Education Roll Return) to produce comparative engagement rates by gender, year level and ethnicity. Male student engagement rates were then compared with that of their female peers. The results definitively show male students are underrepresented. This information is of key interest to the participating schools, Ministry of Education and the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (professional counselling association in New Zealand) as it evidences the underrepresentation of male students. There is wide evidence of the extent of mental and emotional distress among young men in New Zealand so why are male student underrepresented in counselling at their school? Phase Two (proposed for 2022) intends to expose factors that contribute to this disparity (constraints and facilitative factors)

Counsellor clients as insider experts in a school community

This paper describes a practice developed at a large secondary school in Auckland whereby students’ experiences of overcoming problems are made available to others in the form of insider brochures. These students are thus able to share their insights and strategies in support of peers who may be experiencing similar problems. Drawing on narrative counselling conversations as well as narrative community work, a school counsellor facilitates the process. This paper describes how insider voices contribute to the brochures, and provides detail from one case example. In keeping with narrative approaches to problems, the goals are to de-privatise and de-individualise young people’s experiences of difficulties, and to reposition these students from ‘sufferers’ of problems to ‘experts’ on how to overcome them. In the process not only are students’ preferred identities developed, but also collective knowledge is created and students are empowered to support one another

School counselling as community work [Narrative community work in schools]

This presentation explores narrative work in secondary schools as a vehicle for creating collective knowledge, and empowering young people to support one another. Narrative approaches de-privatise and deindividualise people’s experiences of difficulties, and reposition clients from “sufferer”’ of problems to “experts” on how to overcome them (White, 2007; White & Epston, 1990). Aspects of practice illustrated include “undercover” teams, which enlist a group of students to support culture change in a school (Winslade & Williams, 2012). A unique practice sitting at the intersection of narrative counselling and narrative community work will also be described, wherein helpful ideas from the counselling room about problems students experience are written into collaboratively-generated informational brochures that are made available to the school community as a whole. Via the facilitation of a school counsellor, students are thus able to share their insights and strategies (anonymously) in support of peers who may be experiencing similar problems

Walking a tightrope: A balancing act by school counsellors

When clients report harm or abuse to a counsellor and the threshold of “imminent harm” is not met, the counsellor faces potentially competing ethical imperatives. While reporting or informing others can bring safety, it can also harm relationships, including the therapeutic alliance. Focussing on the context of school counselling, this article makes a case for the relative autonomy of counsellors if they wish to consult with other professionals to help clarify their ethical, moral, and legal obligations. We argue that counsellors need not inform clients that such consultation has occurred. In addition, this article explores language that preserves the therapeutic relationship and advocates for a collaborative response to harm reduction that wherever possible prioritises client choice and agency around matters of disclosure