Relation-building in online counselling education
A qualitative study of councellors' experiences
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15845/ntvp.v9i2.4101Keywords:
career counselling, person-centered theory, focus-group interview, experiential learning theory, psychological safetyAbstract
This study investigates students' experienced opportunity to build relationships with peers and educators within an online counseling education setting. The research focuses on a career counseling course that shifted to an online format during the Covid-19 pandemic. A phenomenological-hermeneutic analysis was conducted based on two focus-group interviews, which included a total of six participants, along with 11 reflection logs. The findings suggest that relationship-building is feasible, particularly during practical counseling activities in small groups. Informal relationship-building is found to be challenging due to the absence of physical spaces for social interaction during breaks. However, students tend to use breaks to step away from their screens, allowing time for processing and learning. Moreover, the study underscores the pivotal role of educators in fostering a culture conducive to relationship-building. The results are discussed through the lens of Carl Rogers' person-centered theory.
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