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Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Education

Supervisor

Brown, Jason

2nd Supervisor

Lengyell, Marguerite

Co-Supervisor

Abstract

The study explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on counsellors working with individuals of low-income in Canada, including the nationwide impact on mental health services. It examines the pandemic's impact on counsellors' work from their perspective. The research question is, "How has the pandemic impacted your work with low-income clients?". Concept mapping methodology was used to explore counsellors' responses. Participants generated responses to a focal question, involved in generating, grouping, sorting and analyzing the data. The four concepts included Changes in Roles, Expectations, and Procedures, Access to Counseling, an Increase in Clients’ Needs, and the Impact of Systemic Barriers. The results of the study were compared to the existing literature and contrasted with previous research literature.

Summary for Lay Audience

This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and explores counsellors' responses to how their work was affected and impacted low-income clients. Counsellors who engaged in the individual interviews also decided the main issues and their meaning. The primary responses were 1) how their roles, expectations and procedures in counselling changed because of the pandemic when working with clients who had low-income, 2) how the pandemic limited access to counselling for clients, 3) how the mental health needs of clients increased, and 4) how systems responded had a ripple effect on the public, clients, and professionals. The results of the study were compared to the existing literature and contrasted with the previous research found on counselling literature.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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