Timely access to child mental health services is a widespread concern. Many children with diagnosable disorders do not receive help. Untreated disorders can cause significant child and family impairment. Barriers to treatment can impede access. Few specialists, long wait lists and clinic-based services can be problematic. Families encounter treatment barriers related to travel (i.e., time off work or school; inconvenience; financial burden), stigma, and child resistance to therapy. Alternative models of care are needed. Distance telephone treatment (e.g., Strongest Families), can bridge the access gap. There is little understanding about the participants’ experience with distance treatment. The research objectives were: 1. to establish if therapeutic alliance exists between a) a parent-coach and b) a child-coach, when distance treatment is delivered by telephone with no face-to-face contact; 2. to explore the parents’ distance experiences and opinions; 3. to develop and validate the Treatment Barrier Index (TBI) scale derived from participants’ experiences; and 4. to use the TBI to examine treatment barrier differences (and therapeutic processes) between two delivery systems (Distance vs Face-to-face). Therapeutic alliance exists between adult-coach and child-coach with distance treatment. Participants found distance treatment to be more private and felt less stigmatized because of visual anonymity, compared to their opinions of face-to-face services. The TBI results indicated fewer perceived barriers with distance treatment. A significant difference was found between delivery systems in terms of perceived barriers, therapeutic alliance and self-disclosure as a group of variables. This suggests that there may be differences in therapeutic processes between systems. Therapeutic alliance scores were enhanced with distance treatment and found to positively correlate with self-disclosure and outcome scores; suggesting that these processes are important in the context of distance intervention. Cost-effective distance systems using non-professionals may be one way to increase access to child mental health services. Although some families may prefer the physical presence of face-to-face services, others prefer distance services. The results from these studies may help to inform system design improvements aimed at increasing service access. Improving models of care to meet participants’ needs could lead to increased service utilization, ultimately improving child health outcome.

The research was directed at developing guidelines for counsellors who work with retained middle childhood learners. The supposition of the study was that retained middle childhood learners require support in accepting the retention. For the purpose of this study a qualitative research approach with an exploratory and descriptive nature was used. The intervention research model of Rothman and Thomas (1994) was applied. A combination of Gestalt philosophical principles, existing literature and semi-structured interviews with educators, educational psychologists and middle childhood learners with experience of grade retention were used to develop guidelines. The researcher concluded that retained middle childhood learners require support in the process of accepting the grade retention. Counsellors who work with retained middle childhood learners lack knowledge on how to support the retained child. Guidelines for counsellors who work with retained middle childhood learners were developed to successfully address the lack of knowledge in the field. / Social Work / (M.Diac.(Play Therapy))

Vid frågor som rör barns utsatthet för sexuella övergrepp har internet fått en allt större roll där den omfattande teknikutvecklingen har lett till nya möjligheter för personer att ta kontakt med unga för sexuella ändamål. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka skolkuratorers erfarenheter av att möta och arbeta med unga som utsatts eller riskerar att utsättas för sexuella övergrepp på nätet. Studiens empiri baseras på kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju skolkuratorer som arbetar på högstadium. Empirin analyserades med hjälp av en teoretisk referensram bestående av yrkeskompetens samt tidigare forskning. Resultatet visar att skolkuratorerna arbetar till med förebyggande insatser såsom kunskapsspridning och utbildning till både elever och föräldrar. Det framkommer dock att insatserna ter sig resultatlösa då alltfler elever blir utsatta och skolkuratorerna har inte har kunnat se några förändringar. För att fånga upp elever som blivit utsatta för nätövergrepp utgör relationen ett viktigt verktyg. När det gäller att stödja elever som blivit utsatta utförs arbetet vid misstanke eller när skolkuratorerna har fått kännedom om att en elev har blivit utsatt. En utmärkande utmaning är skolkuratorernas kunskapsbrist kring fenomenet som leder till svårigheter i det förebyggande, upptäckande och intervenerande arbetet. / The internet has gained an increasing role when it comes to issues regarding child sexual abuse, where the extensive technology development has led to new opportunities for people to contact young people for sexual purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate school counselors' experiences of meeting and working with young people who are exposed or at risk of being subjected to sexual abuse online. The empirical study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with seven school counselors’ working at high school. The empiric material was analyzed using a theoretical framework consisting of professional competence and previous research. The result shows that school counsellors’ work on preventive measures such as information work for both students and parents. However, it appears that the efforts seem futile as more students are being exposed and the school counsellors’ have not been able to see any changes. In order to capture students who have been subjected to sexual abuse online, the relationship is an important tool. When it comes to supporting students who have been exposed, the work is carried out on suspicion or when the school counsellors’ have become aware that a student has been exposed. A distinct challenge is the lack of knowledge about the phenomenon that leads to difficulties in preventive, spotting and intervening work.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur skolkuratorer beskriver skolrelaterad stress hos barn samt hur de i sin yrkesroll arbetar med frågor som rör skolrelaterad stress hos barn. Metoden i studien var kvalitativ och semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med skolkuratorer arbetandes inom grundskolan. Studiens teoretiska tolkningsram var känsla av sammanhang (KASAM) och socialt stöd för att få en vidgad förståelse för barns skolrelaterade stress och skolkuratorns roll i det psykosociala arbetet med frågor som rör barns skolrelaterade stress. Studiens resultat visade att skolkuratorerna såg en hög förekomst av skolrelaterad stress hos barn och då främst relaterat till det sociala samspelet, prestationskrav och förväntningar i skolarbetet samt skolans organisatoriska struktur. Av studien framkom att skolkuratorerna ansåg att frågor gällande skolrelaterad stress är viktiga att arbeta med, på individ-, grupp- och organisationsnivå. / The purpose of the study was to investigate how school counsellors describe school-related stress in children and how they work in their profession with questions related to school-related stress in children. The method in the study was qualitative and semi-structured interviews were conducted with school counsellors working in elementary school. The theoretical frame of the study was a sense of context (KASAM) and social support in order to gain a broader understanding of children's school-related stress and the role of the school-counsellor in the psychosocial work on children's school-related stress. The results of the study showed that school counsellors saw a high incidence of school-related stress in children, mainly related to social interaction, achievements and expectations in school work and the organizational structure of the school. The study found that school counsellors felt that school-related stress issues are important to work with at individual group and organizational levels.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att utifrån skolkuratorers perspektiv öka förståelsen om skolkuratorers arbete för att hjälpa unga mellan 12-19 år som lider av någon form av psykisk ohälsa. För att analysera vårt material har vi använt oss av tre teorier: KASAM - känsla av sammanhang av Aaron Anthonovsky, Utvecklingsekologi av Urie Bronfenbrenner och Krav- Kontroll - Stöd av Robert Karaseks och Töres Theorells. Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod med hjälp av sex semi- strukturerade intervjuer med sex skolkuratorer. Resultatet som vi kom fram till i vår studie är att skolan medför stress och oro för unga. Hemförhållanden och sociala medier är även två faktorer som bidrar till psykisk ohälsa bland unga. Skolkuratorers huvudfokus är individuella stödsamtal till elever, dock visade vårt resultat att på grund av tidbrist kan de inte jobba lika förebyggande som de vill. Skolkuratorernas svårigheter med arbetet är att upptäcka psykisk ohälsa bland unga. / The purpose of the study is to, from the perspective of the school curators, increase understanding of the work of school workers to help young people between 12- 19 years suffering from some of mental illness. To analyze our material, we have used three theories: Aaron Anthonovsky about KASAM, Urie Bronfenbrenner theory about Developmental Ecology, and Robert Karaseks and Töres Theorells theory about Requirements- Control - Support. The study has been conducted with a qualitative method using six semi- structured interviews with six school counsellors. The serults we found in our study are that the school brings stress and concern to the young people/students. Home relationships and social media are also two factors that contribute to mental ill health among young people. Schools main focus is individual support talks for students, however, our results showed that due to lack of time they can not work as preventively as they like. The school counsellors diffculties with the work are to detect mental ill health among young people.

Våld i nära relationer är ett folkhälso- och samhällsproblem som kräver insatser från flera verksamheter. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur personal inom socialtjänst respektive hälso- och sjukvård upplever arbetet med kvinnor som blivit utsatta för våld i en nära relation. Syftet var att genom en kvalitativ metod bidra med kunskap ur perspektivet från de yrkesgrupper som har ett ansvar att upptäcka våld samt stödja våldsutsatta kvinnor. Den empiriska datan samlades in genom intervjuer med sju respondenter och analyserades därefter utifrån en innehållsanalys. Respondenterna bestod av två socialsekreterare, två barnmorskor samt tre kuratorer inom den psykiatriska öppenvården. Resultatet tolkades genom systemteori och begreppen makt, normalisering och handlingsutrymme. Det framkommer i resultatet att vissa professionella tillfrågar alla klienter om våld i nära relationer, medan andra endast tillfrågar vid misstanke om våld. Det finns delade meningar om huruvida frågan om våld ska ställas direkt eller om man ska närma sig ämnet varsamt. Att ställa frågan om en kvinna är utsatt för våld upplevs vara svårt, på grund av en osäkerhet gällande hur de ska hantera svaret. Det upplevs finnas brister i det långsiktiga och det förebyggande stödet. De professionella upplever att våld i nära relationer är ett tabubelagt ämne i samhället, men att utbildning och samverkan anses främja arbetet. / Intimate partner violence is a public health- and social problem, which requires support from several organisations. The aim of our study was to examine how employees in social services and healthcare experience the work of detecting and supporting women who have been subjected to violence in an intimate relationship. The ambition was to contribute with knowledge, from the perspective of the professions that have a responsibility to detect domestic violence and support battered women, through a qualitative study. The empirical data was collected by interviews with seven respondents and analysed through a content analysis. The respondents were two social workers, two midwives and three counsellors within psychiatric outpatient care. System theory and the perspectives of power, normalization and discretion were used to analyse the result. The result shows that some professionals ask all clients about intimate partner violence, while others only ask if they suspect that a woman is being abused. The professionals’ opinions differ as to whether the question should be asked upfront or being approached more carefully. Some professionals state that asking a woman if she has suffered abuse is difficult, because of an insecurity regarding how they should proceed when they find out about the violence. There are perceived shortcomings in long-term and preventive support. The professionals find that violence in close relationships is a taboo subject in society, but that education and cooperation between organisations are considered to facilitate their work.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Current debates in education and education support focus on the importance of schools needing to facilitate the holistic development of learners and also ensuring the achievement of educational objectives. This study focused on the need for counsellors to support teaching and learning in Schools of Skills and investigated challenges that emerged when school counsellors facilitate school development. The research question which framed this study was, what is the role school counsellors play in supporting teaching and learning and school development? A mixed methods approach that employed both qualitative and quantitative techniques was adopted in an attempt to construct a rich and meaningful picture of school counselling practice within School of Skills. Participants included principals, counsellors and educators at four schools of skills situated in the Western Cape. The data collection process included interviews and questionnaires. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with the four principals and the four school counsellors and questionnaires including both open-ended and closed questions were completed by educators. The findings illuminate the psycho-social barriers experienced by learners and how school counsellors can support learners. Roles of school counsellors are varied and involve the provision of support to various members of the school community in addition to teaching and administration. Challenges faced by school counsellors were highlighted as lack of human resources, lack of support and workload. The recommendations are presented as suggestions for consideration at various levels in the system, from micro (level of the individual) to macro (level of the state).

Mentoring as a process to develop and enhance the functioning of new members in organisations has become prominent in the last two decades. In various disciplines such as law, education and business, the implementation of mentoring processes and concepts have been embraced. With an estimated two-thirds of the population in sub-Saharan Africa living with HIV/AIDS, health care professionals seem to have also embraced the mentoring process and concepts. In this study the experiences of lay counsellors, referred to as Befrienders, in a mentoring programme were explored. In addition, the researcher sought to identify potential challenges that Befrienders experienced in the mentoring programme, how they understood the challenges and how these challenges were addressed. The researcher then explored the potential skills that may have been learned within the mentoring programme. The exploration also produced some ideas on how the mentoring programme could be improved. Furthermore, the study seems to have made a contribution to mentoring theory. In the study, a convenient sample of five formal interviews and two pilot interviews were conducted. The participants consisted of four students, and one staff member from the University of Pretoria. Participants were interviewed for 1½ hours using semi-structured, individual and face-to-face interviews. A thematic analysis was used to interpret the data and social constructionism was used as the theoretical framework to make sense of the findings. In the findings, five prominent themes were identified, namely: (i) Being mentored (Experiencing the programme), (ii) Interpersonal relationships (Experiencing others), (iii) A developing inner world (Experiencing the Self), (iv) Negotiating boundaries (Managing relationships), and (v) Other issues related to HIV/AIDS (Experiencing the context). It was found, among other things, that the Befrienders constructed their own understanding of the mentoring process, that they used the mentoring relationship with their supervisor to understand the clients, and that they developed new perspectives as they learned about themselves. Finally, as a result of being mentored and of the process of development, the Befrienders seemed to have developed a deeper desire to do more work in the HIV/AIDS context. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

Background: The school's mission is to promote the development and learning of all students and that special consideration should be given to those who have difficulty achieving the purpose of the studies. One way to find ways to support all learning is through conversations with special education teachers. According to the degree ordinance, the special education teacher with a specialization in language reading and writing development must be a qualified conversation partner regarding the same. My problem area is about the special education teacher's role as a qualified conversation partner and counsellor in matters of language, reading and writing development. The purpose of this work is to contribute knowledge about how some teachers, principals and special education teachers describe the special teacher's relational competence in the role of qualified conversation partner and advisor in matters of language, reading and writing development. Method in the study is semi-structured interviews of six respondents. Two special education teachers, two teachers and two principals. The interview results have been analyzed on the basis of Aspelin's (2018) analytics relational competence and on the basis of KoRP, the communicative relational perspective (Ahlberg, 1999). The results show that all respondents give examples of relational competence in the special education teachers. It also emerges that the special education teacher, in consultative conversations, is perceived as clear and structured. Half of the respondents feel that the conversations are important for the teaching of Swedish, and one of them states that he always makes changes in his teaching after the conversations. Conclusions: Both special teachers want to see more profound changes in the classroom after conversations. I see it as important that the special education teacher, with the support of the school management, is given the opportunity to develop their conversational role together with colleagues in continuing education. In different ways, the special education teacher's conversational role, for example through observations of classroom work and subsequent conversations, needs to be developed. The special education teacher’s importance as a conversation partner for language writing and reading development in school should be clarified and worked into the daily work at school. / Bakgrunden: Skolans uppdrag är att främja alla elevers utveckling och lärande och att särskild hänsyn ska tas till de som har svårt att nå målen. Ett sätt att utveckla former för att stödja alla elevers lärande är genom samtal med speciallärare. Enligt examensordningen ska specialläraren med inriktning mot språk- skriv-och läsutveckling vara en kvalificerad samtalspartner och rådgivare gällande detsamma. Mitt problemområde handlar om innebörden av speciallärarens roll som kvalificerad samtalspartner och rådgivare inom språk- skriv och läsutveckling. Syftet med detta arbete är att bidra med kunskap om hur några lärare, rektorer och speciallärare beskriver speciallärarens relationskompetens i rollen som kvalificerad samtalspartner och rådgivare i frågor om språk- skriv- och läsutveckling. Metod i studien är semistrukturerade intervjuer av sex respondenter. Två speciallärare, två lärare samt två rektorer. Intervjusvaren har analyserats utifrån Aspelins (2018) analysverktyg relationskompetens samt utifrån KoRP, det kommunikativa relationsinriktade perspektivet (Ahlberg, 1999). Resultaten visar att alla respondenter ger exempel på relationskompetens hos speciallärarna. Det framkommer även att specialläraren, i rådgivande samtal, upplevs som tydlig och strukturerad. Hälften av respondenterna upplever att samtalen har betydelse för undervisningen i svenska, och av dem är det en som uppger att han alltid gör förändringar i sin undervisning efter samtalen.Slutsatser: Båda speciallärarna önskar se mer djupgående förändringar i klassrummet efter samtal. Att specialläraren, med skolledningens stöd, får möjlighet att utveckla sin samtalsroll tillsammans med kollegor i fortbildningar ser jag som viktigt. På olika sätt behöver speciallärarens samtalsroll, t ex genom observationer av klassrumsarbete och därpå följande samtal utvecklas. Speciallärarens betydelse som samtalspartner för språk- skriv - och läsutveckling i skolan bör tydliggöras och arbetas in i det dagliga arbetet på skolan.

Att arbeta inom synhabiliteringen som kurator idag är en komplex situation. Det gäller att kunna hantera olika typer av problem och att samverka med andra enheter. Att ha svåra samtal med barn om deras synnedsättning, stötta vårdnadshavare och hantera andra myndigheter är vanliga arbetsuppgifter för kuratorn inom synhabiliteringen. Kuratorns roll är att fungera som barn och vårdnadshavares stöd när det gäller skolsituationen. Det är många bitar som ska ordnas för att skolbarn med synnedsättning ska ges en rättvis, tillgänglig och delaktig skolsituation. I denna kvalitativa studie intervjuas fem kuratorer, inom synhabiliteringen i olika delar av Sverige, om sina kunskaper, upplevelser, erfarenheter och insatser till grundskolebarn med synnedsättning och kuratorns samverkansroll kring dessa barns situation i grundskolan. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt är huvudsakligen Bronfenbrenners utvecklingsekologiska systemteori, med komplettering av Foucaults maktteori. Resultaten visar att det finns ett stort behov av samverkan med skolan och andra enheter för att skolsituationen ska bli rättvis för elever med synnedsättning. Varje skolsituation för elever med synnedsättning är unik med många komplexa faktorer utöver rent pedagogiska och sociala som spelar in när det gäller samverkanspusslet. Resultaten tyder också på viss förekomst av samverkansproblem mellan myndigheter, vårdnadshavare och skolan, som kuratorn inom synhabiliteringen får hantera. / Working as a counsellor at low vision habilitation centres is a complex situation. It is important to be able to deal with different problems and collaborate with different actors in other sectors of the society. Having conversations with children about their visual impairment, supporting guardians and dealing with other authorities is common tasks for a counsellor at low vision habilitation centres. The counsellor acts as support for the child and the guardian regarding the child´s school situation. There are many pieces to be arranged to ensure that school children with visual impairment are given a fair, accessible and participatory school situation. In this qualitative study five counsellors are interviewed about their knowledge and experiences working in the Swedish low vision habilitation centres and their interventions to primary school children with visual impairment. The study is based on Bronfenbrenner's ecology system theory of development with complementing Foucault's power theory. The results show that there is a great need for collaboration between the school and other sectors for it to be fair for students with visual impairment. The results also find that there are some collaborative problems between authorities, guardians and the school, which the counsellor have to deal with.