Chapter Outlines

Chapter One stated how the wellbeing of Australian young people is impacted by the quality of their mental health. It described how many young people

experience difficulties in their adolescent years which in turn, impact on their educational outcomes, their career prospects and their well-being in adulthood. The alarming fact that approximately only 25% of those young people who experience mental health problems seek appropriate professional help, highlights the lack of help-seeking behaviours within this demographic. The chapter concluded with the conceptual framework for this research and identified the two major research questions.

In this chapter (Chapter Two), the thesis structure is presented. It provides an overview of individual chapters and how the publications contribute to the research program and how each paper addresses the research questions. A map of how each publication is positioned is diagrammatically presented in Figure 2.1. Chapter Three reviews the relevant literature pertaining to the research and in particular examines the theories of adolescent help-seeking. The chapter explores the reasons for young people’s resistance to seeking help and identifies the ‘negation effect’ in the help-seeking process. Literature is reviewed which demonstrates the importance of connectedness as a protective factor for good mental health. The value that adolescents place on being connected to their peers through technology is explored and explains why this demographic group has been dubbed by some as generation ‘C’. The ‘digital’ nature of this cohort provides the basis for investigating the possible use of technology as a way of nurturing help-seeking behaviours for

12 ONLINE COUNSELLING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS adolescents. The argument is made that technology and the online world is an

integrated reality for most young people in Australia and internationally. The chapter continues with an explanation of how young people access the internet to source all varieties of information, including websites which specialise in assisting young people and consequently promote the development of their mental health literacy. It highlights how practitioners and community agencies have responded to the needs of adults and young people by providing psychological assistance from online

counsellors. The findings of research in this nascent method of counselling are investigated and the inherent advantages and disadvantages are discussed and the nature of the online counselling alliance is explored. The popularity of online counselling provided by community based organisations indicates the potential usefulness of such services as a means of promoting help-seeking behaviours in adolescents.

The review of literature concludes with a discussion of those who would provide this service in secondary schools, that is, school counsellors. The apparent resistance of school counsellors in Australia to adopting an online presence is challenged. The possible reasons for this hesitancy to provide students with

technological avenues to support provide the starting point for the current research. Chapter Three highlights the potential benefits of using online technology for

assisting young people experiencing mental health difficulties and other stressful life events. This led the author to initially investigate and examine the factors that are hindering the introduction of online counselling in secondary schools by school counsellors.

The justification for the current research is further developed in Chapter Four. This chapter consists of a peer reviewed propositional paper published in the journal

ONLINE COUNSELLING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS 13

Counselling Psychology Review. The argument is made that online counselling has

been found useful and effective in adult populations and community-based agencies report its successful use with young people. It proposes that as young people are reticent to seek help from traditional sources, online counselling may be a means of increasing help-seeking behaviours while young people are attending school. However, it leaves unanswered the question why school counsellors do not offer online counselling in schools.

A trial of online counselling conducted by the author is reported in a published peer reviewed conference paper which is included as an appendix to this thesis and which was presented during candidature. It is not part of the current research and its inclusion is for referral purposes only. This pilot study is an example of how synchronous text-based online counselling could be used in a school

situation. The model of online counselling presented is a reference point in

subsequent discussions of what constitutes online counselling in a school situation. However, this case study does not investigate the factors that facilitate or inhibit the introduction of online counselling into secondary schools.

Chapter Five consists of a prepared manuscript (Paper 2) which outlines the initial qualitative investigation into the perceptions, understanding and attitudes of the stakeholders namely the school counsellors and the students. A series of focus groups was used to collate data and to gauge the preparedness of both counsellors and students to adopt the introduction of online counselling in the school setting. As there is a lack of research into the use of online counselling by school counsellors, this exploratory qualitative investigation provided a basis from which to develop measurement tools in the form of online surveys.

14 ONLINE COUNSELLING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS Chapter Six consists of a peer reviewed paper published in the Australian

Journal of Guidance and Counselling. This third paper focused on the role of school

counsellors who are major stakeholders in any process of changing the service delivery of school counselling services. This paper reported the findings of a survey that was developed from data collated from the focus groups of school counsellors. It identified the issues that school counsellors believe hinder the uptake of online counselling in schools and the factors that would encourage these practitioners to implement the initiative. The findings of this chapter essentially answer why school counsellors have not adopted online counselling, and provide an indication of what needs to be done to encourage the implementation of online counselling in a school setting. Crucial to the implementation of synchronous online counselling within the school setting, is the belief by practitioners that this form of counselling is effective and worth the effort. Current counsellor attitudes and beliefs need to be appreciated and addressed to understand why online counselling is not being offered in schools. This study answered the first research question:

Why do school counsellors not offer online counselling?

 What attitudes do school counsellors have towards online counselling?

 What are the barriers, both perceived and real, that stops school counsellors

from using online counselling?

 What would facilitate the implementation of online counselling by school

counsellors?

 Are there specific characteristics of those counsellors most likely to offer

online counselling?

Chapter Seven directs attention to the students who are the other major

ONLINE COUNSELLING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS 15 counselling. This chapter consists of a paper prepared for publication which discusses the findings of the student survey that was built upon the findings of the focus groups of secondary students. It highlights the characteristics of those students most likely to use an online counselling service in school, and what issues they are most likely to discuss in these online sessions. This study of secondary students addresses the second research question namely,

Would secondary school students use online counselling?

The student survey includes items designed to establish the characteristics of students who intend to use school based online counselling. In particular,

 What influence does gender, year level, prior counselling experience, and

levels of psychological distress have on students’ intention to use online counselling?

 What are the issues that students prefer to discuss in online counselling

interactions with the school counsellor?

These published and unpublished manuscripts which combine to constitute

this thesis result in a number of findings with implications for practice and further research. Chapter Eight draws these findings together in a discussion of how the results build on previous research and indicates possible directions for future investigation. Each publication is the core of individual chapters and together with the introductory chapter, this chapter, the review of the literature, and general discussion, combine to address the two research questions of this PhD research.