Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Education

Supervisor

Lengyell, Marguerite

Abstract

This study aimed to answer the question “what are the perceived barriers or challenges counsellors experience when working with low income clients in their practice following COVID-19?”. Participants were recruited via mass email sent to professionals registered with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), who then completed a survey via Qualtrics (n = 322). 113 Canadian counsellors from across Canada were interviewed. Data obtained from interviews was analyzed using concept mapping software GroupWisdom. Participants (n = 29) grouped the statements into seven themes including: barriers due to low income and employment, systemic barriers for clients, barriers due to trauma, competing needs and priorities, biased approaches, limits to real world helpfulness of counselling, and negative impacts of systems on and for counsellors. Results of the study highlight the importance of identifying and addressing inequities faced by low income clients to make mental health services accessible and available to all regardless of income.

Summary for Lay Audience

This study aimed to answer the question “what are the perceived barriers or challenges counsellors experience when working with low income clients in their practice following COVID-19?”. Counsellors from across Canada were invited through email sent to members of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), which provides leadership to professionals in the fields of counselling and therapy. 322 counsellors completed a survey and reported whether they were interested in being interviewed. 113 counsellors were interviewed and the statements from these interviews were reviewed and edited, removing any unnecessary details. The counsellors then grouped and labelled these statements based on themes they saw within the statements. These groups were analyzed using the concept mapping software GroupWisdom, which created a visual of the statements most commonly grouped together, how often they were grouped together, and how consistent the statements within each group were. Counsellors grouped the statements into seven themes including: barriers due to low income and employment (i.e. unable to take time off work to come to counselling, etc.), systemic barriers for clients (i.e. limited number of sessions and difficult to access), barriers due to trauma (i.e. client’s experiences of trauma impacting counselling), competing needs and priorities (i.e. being in crisis mode and wondering how to pay rent ), biased approaches (i.e. judgements made by counsellors and lack of awareness), limits to real world helpfulness of counselling (i.e. unable to change client’s lives outside of counselling) and negative impacts of systems on and for counsellors (i.e. certain approaches not as helpful with clients and judgement about how they choose to counsel clients). This study highlights the importance of identifying and addressing the challenges and barriers experienced by low income clients so that mental health services are more accessible and available to all.

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