How Online Counselling Is Utilised, Evaluated, and Received

This chapter covers the broad range of online counselling work, using the COVID-19 era as a point of reference. It provides an overview of online applications of counselling and psychotherapy at pre-COVID-19 time and informs the reader of how online counselling provision has been accelerated during the pandemic. A theoretical overview of the key counselling and therapeutic processes as conceptualised in the cyberspace which considers six distinct modes of online communication are provided. An evaluation and the review of the latest efficacy and effectiveness research evidence of online counselling is also provided. The key benefits and challenges of digitalised therapeutic interventions from the clients' and therapists' perspectives covering pre and during COVID-19 are identified. Attention is drawn to existing studies on counselling engagement, adherence, outreach, non-stigmatising counselling practices, power imbalances in the counselling process, and therapy outcomes.

Emotional Intelligence, Social Networking Skills and Online Counselling Communication Effectiveness Among Students of OAU, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

With a view to providing empirical information on the factors that influence online counselling communication among Nigerian university students, this study investigated the influence of emotional intelligence and social networking skills on the effectiveness of online counselling communication among students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). Through a descriptive survey research design, the study sampled 100 students purposively from users of the University online counselling platform, on the basis of being able to have established complete counselling interaction with any of the counsellors online during the harmattan and rain semesters of 2017/2018 session (or over a period of 12 months.). The results showed that 78.0%, 19.0% and 3.0% of the students demonstrated high, moderate and low levels of online counselling communication effectiveness respectively and that emotional intelligence has significant influence on online communication effectiveness (β = 0.790, p < 0.05). The results further showed that social networking skills has no significant influence on online communication effectiveness (F = 3.457, p > 0.05) and no significant interaction effect of emotional intelligence and social networking skill was found on online counselling communication effectiveness (F = 0.546, p > 0.05). The study concluded that the only factor that influenced online counselling communication effectiveness among the students under study is emotional intelligence

Blended Counselling as a Solution for the Development of Mental Health and Understanding Herd immunity for Society

The Covid-19 (C-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health of individuals around the world. Society needs an end to the C-19 pandemic through the state of its herd immunity (HI). Significant roles counsellors in developing herd immunity and then mental health with a blended counselling strategy. This paper aims to design a counselling mix to create mental health and an understanding of herd immunity in the community. The results of the community data are fear, anxiety, anger, insomnia, and prolonged stress as a form of mental health of the community because it is socially and economically constrained. The length of time for the formation of herd immunity to prevent the C-19 pandemic is because people are worried and doubtful about vaccinations so that vaccines appear or do not trust. Significant roles counsellors in the formation of mental health through integrated counselling The implementation of face-to-face and online counselling allows the community to be more flexible and intensive according to conditions in the construction of mental health C-19 pandemic condition and post-C-19 preparations. Blended counselling as an intervention for the community in understanding herd immunity as a form supported the end of the C-19 pandemic. Integrated counselling requires the joint efforts of various relevant organizations for the science and practice of psychotherapy, psychiatry, and counsellor.

Programmes for Remote Counselling of International Students in the Higher Education Institutions of the United States of America

The relevance of the study lies in the necessity of developing the remote forms of counselling work with foreign students during the adaptation period. In this regard, the purpose of the present study is to analyse the programmes of remote counselling of international students at HEIs in the US to determine the potential for extrapolation of foreign experience into the higher education systems of other countries. We applied a number of methods, such as analysis, synthesis, abstraction, the method of moving from abstract to concrete, which enable a comprehensive review of the issue of remote counselling of international students. The article studies the aspects of online counselling of international students. Psychological support has been observed to be an element of the acculturation triad and therefore should be considered in the context of the education process. The article emphasises that since international students are exposed to the negative influence of the phenomenon of “culture shock”, and they should participate in relevant initiatives aimed at the development of skills for overcoming emotional and psychological issues. We have analysed the programmes, courses, and seminars of the University of Minnesota and the Florida International University, which allowed determining the algorithm for the development of the online counselling system, namely providing international students with informational reference materials (including reading materials and videos) for their personal guidance and general understanding of the challenges relevant for foreign students; holding personal meetings between a student and a counsellor via video conferences, which allows discussing the existing psychological issues and build interpersonal relationships. The practical benefits of this study reside in the fact that the development of remote programmes, courses and seminars (with the introduction of foreign experience to such activities) will have a positive impact on the psychological support system at the country level and will facilitate further development of remote education systems and ensure the increased use of modern ICTs in education and other areas

Mobile Counselling Online an Alternative Counselling Guidance System For Millennial Era Student

This study analyses the counselling service system during the COVID-19 pandemic on introducing potential and preparation of learning strategies for junior and senior high school in the Sidoarjo district. This research design is a mixed-method with quantitative and qualitative approaches using exploratory factor analysis and further research and development (R&D) to produce products in online counselling guidance services. The results of the exploratory factor analysis qualitatively reveal various problems experienced and needed by students during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, quantitatively, shows that eight forms of Counselling guidanceservices, the strengthening of skill skor 0.999 is the highest. Its effect on increasing students' self-efficacy and achievement motivation. The findings of this study indicate that students need online counselling services in recognizing their learning potential and problems. Hereafter, online counselling guidance must three factors: understanding the potential for effective learning, designing and developing learning strategies, and building students' internal and external motivation. The innovation of online counselling guidance must consider the factors of convenience, convenience, and user confidentiality services that are adaptive, flexible and unlimited in the millennial era.

Mental Health Support in the Time of Crisis: Are We Prepared? Experiences With the COVID-19 Counselling Programme in Hungary

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) posed unexpected global economic and societal challenges. These include a heavy impact on mental health due to fast changing lockdown and quarantine measures, uncertainty about health and safety and the prospect of new waves of infections. To provide crisis mental health support during the pandemic, Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary launched a specialist online counselling programme, consisting of one to three sessions. The programme was available to all university members between 4th March and 25th May 2020. Overall, 47 clients received support. In this paper we discuss challenges reported by clients, key features of providing a brief mental health intervention online, reflect on counsellor experiences and give recommendations on how mental health services could be developed in the time of crisis. Most clients had challenges with developing a daily routine under quarantine; and many had hardship related to finances, housing, and distance learning. Common mental health consequences included fear from the virus and stress, anxiety, and fatigue due to the interruption to everyday life. In some cases, more complex conditions were triggered by the pandemic. Examples include addictive behaviours and symptoms of depression or psychosis. However, referring cases beyond the competency of counselling proved to be a challenge due to the closure of specialist services. Counsellors observed three key features to the online delivery of a brief crisis mental health intervention: [1] an explicit problem-oriented approach to counselling; [2] challenges of building rapport online; and [3] frames of online counselling. Counsellor experiences often overlapped with those of clients and included challenges of working from home and adjusting to online counselling methods. The possibility of online counselling allowed that mental health care could take place at all during the pandemic. Client experiences reflect findings from previous literature. Like other mental health initiatives launched to tackle COVID-19, the intervention's effectiveness was not measured given the unexpected context and short time frame for programme development. We recommend the use of impact measurement tools to develop mental health services in crises. Meanwhile, the pandemic brought to attention the need to better understand online delivery models. Counsellors should have access to training opportunities on online counselling and managing work-life balance in a remote setting. The COVID-19 counselling programme in Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary is an example of providing online mental health counselling in the time of crisis. Clearly, more studies are needed discussing delivery models and effectiveness of mental health interventions during the pandemic. Experience and knowledge sharing across practitioners should be encouraged to improve how the field reacts to unexpected, high risk events and crises.

FACTORS THAT IMPACT PARENTAL SUCCESS IN SUPPORTING CHILDERN’S DISTANCE LEARNING

Distance learning unexpectedly arrived to Russian schools in March 2020, schools and teachers were not ready for this training type. The aim of present paper is to collect and evaluate parents’ view on family preparedness to distance education and on parents’ and children’ coping with school assignments during the lockdown. 304 parents were interviewed. The data provide evidence that the higher level of parental education is a factor in the efficient distance learning of their children. The higher level of parental education correlates with fewer children in the family, with the time spent by children on home assignments and the number of devices per family member. It was demonstrated that mothers lived through this period more easily than fathers. We found that the parents with a PhD degree provided the most effective support. It could be assumed, that studies at higher education institutions require time management. Having learned this skill, parents with higher education know how to self-organize and teach their children the same. Then, if our schools switch to remote teaching even partially, special guidelines with step-by-step explanations of the material shall be developed for parents. Furthermore, online counselling can be arranged for parents to present the course structure and the sequence of educational activities.