Internet Sites and Apps Available to Students Seeking Counselling, and What School Counsellors Should Know About Them

Furlonger, Brett; Budisa, Sonja

doi:10.1017/jgc.2015.22

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Peer support, where individuals use their lived experiences to help one another, has risen to attention in recent years as an important means to help individuals living with mental health conditions, partly in response to the large gap between demand and supply for mental health care services [17]. This gap can be acutely witnessed in universities, in part resulting from the rise in student numbers without a corresponding increase in mental health support, leading many students to turn towards other means of support such as mental health apps [85,28,84]. Subsequently, there has been a big push on involvement of peers in mental health service design and delivery.…”

Section: Peer Support Mental Health and Lonelinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Technology-Mediated Peer Support for Postgraduate Research Students at Risk of Loneliness and Isolation

Harrison

Rowland

Wood

et al. 2023

ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact.

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Student mental health and wellbeing have come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Postgraduate research (PGR) students are at risk of experiencing mental health concerns and this, with the often isolated and competitive nature of their work, can impact their sense of community and social connectedness. In response to these concerns, we designed Pears, a system to connect PGR students for regular “pearings” (in-person meetings) and provides activities to promote reflection and conversation. A four-week evaluation of Pears with 15 students highlighted its potential to sometimes, but not always, facilitate peer support. Some participants would instead meet formally and according to their needs, others instead used the system to make new social connections. Additionally, some participants who faced work-related difficulties during the study found using the system contributed to their stress levels. We conclude by noting how technologies that encourage peer support can help build social relationships, providing an avenue to share similar PhD experiences and guidance for those new to the experience, while importantly raising awareness and an understanding for the need to take time for self-care. However, these technologies must be utilised carefully, and are not a replacement for other sources of student support in universities.

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Section: Peer Support Mental Health and Lonelinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Technology-Mediated Peer Support for Postgraduate Research Students at Risk of Loneliness and Isolation

Harrison

Rowland

Wood

et al. 2023

ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact.

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show abstract

“…Young people are at risk of independently searching for and using poor quality apps containing inaccurate counselling guidance and advice (Furlonger & Budisa, 2016). It is incumbent upon schools to ensure high quality, digitally relevant support tools are recommended to students that cater to the increasingly technological needs of young people.…”

Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

Building Better Schools with Evidence-based Policy

Allen

Oades

2021

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Building Better Schools with Evidence-based Policy: Adaptable Policy for Teachers and School Leaders provides an extensive set of free-to-use policies for building better schools.The policies included in this book cover a broad range of popular topics for schools that are not readily accessible, and each policy is built on theory, driven by research, and created by experts. Each policy is based on substantial evidence, and this is ensured through the inclusion of contributors who are active and highly reputable in their respective fields. Most schools are obliged to write and maintain policy, and not all school leaders have the required skills, time, or expertise to do this effectively. Building Better Schools with Evidence-based Policy: Adaptable Policy for Teachers and School Leaders is a time-saving resource for schools. It aims to address the reported research-to-practice gap in education by delivering accessible evidence-based practice in a ready-to-use, adaptable format. All policies within this book are designed to be adapted and tailored to the unique diversity and needs of each school as reflected by the context and the people that make up the school community.This book is relevant to every person who works in a schoolworldwide. Users of this book can rest assured that each policy has been carefully formulated from the current understandings of best practice. This is a practical innovation and an example of how schools can use research evidence in their day-to-day practices.

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“…Advances in technology are creating unprecedented opportunities for school psychologists and counsellors to promote health-related behaviours among students — in particular, apps linked to mobile devices. The need for school counsellors and psychologists to be aware that students are seeking support via apps has been recognised, along with the need to judge the quality of apps (Furlonger & Budisa, 2015). Users, however, receive little guidance and support in selecting health apps, and the health apps themselves currently do not require approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (Hale, Capra, & Bauer, 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of the Processes By Which School Psychologists and Counsellors Can Use Taxonomies to Evaluate Health-Related Apps

Ostojić

Chung

Mattia

et al. 2018

J. Psychol. Couns. Sch.

Self Cite

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School students are increasingly using apps for health-related purposes, either on their own or when recommended by psychologists or counsellors, as apps offer a way to assist students to change their behaviour. However, there is a growing need for psychologists and counsellors to be able to evaluate the quality and usefulness of such apps to effect behaviour change. This study was therefore undertaken to identify methods by which school psychologists and counsellors could evaluate health-related apps for clinical use or research purposes. After examining 15 studies of apps that met the inclusion criteria, it was clear that researchers used a number of taxonomies to evaluate the apps. There were seven taxonomies identified, of which five were generalisable to all health conditions, with the behaviour change technique (BCT) taxonomy being the most comprehensive, containing 13 key behaviour strategies. Despite the utility of the taxonomies to identify the amount of behaviour change content within the apps, it was difficult to determine how the behaviour change strategies were measured, thus reducing the ability to predict app effectiveness. Approaches to improving methods by which apps can be developed and evaluated are proposed.

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Internet Sites and Apps Available to Students Seeking Counselling, and What School Counsellors Should Know About Them

Cited by 7 publications

References 31 publications

Designing Technology-Mediated Peer Support for Postgraduate Research Students at Risk of Loneliness and Isolation

Designing Technology-Mediated Peer Support for Postgraduate Research Students at Risk of Loneliness and Isolation

Building Better Schools with Evidence-based Policy

A Review of the Processes By Which School Psychologists and Counsellors Can Use Taxonomies to Evaluate Health-Related Apps

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