Internship at the Family Life Bureau including a research project : a survey of the inclusion of spirituality in school counsellors' practice

• Main Author: Westera, Doreen
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2000
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/1052/; https://research.library.mun.ca/1052/1/Westera_Doreen.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/1052/3/Westera_Doreen.pdf

This report focuses on a counselling internship completed at the Family Life Bureau, St. John's, Newfoundland, as part of the requirement for the Master of Education (Educational Psychology) degree. This internship was of thirteen weeks duration, and was completed between January 12, 2000 and June 30, 2000. -- Chapter One of this report identifies the rationale for choosing the internship alternative. In addition, the rationale for choosing the Family Life Bureau as the setting within which to complete this internship is discussed. A description of the setting of the Family Life Bureau is given, as well as the services available at the Bureau. The chapter ends with a description of internship goals and supervisory activities and responsibilities. -- Chapter Two of this report includes a comprehensive discussion of the activities undertaken by the intern while at the Family Life Bureau. Chapter Three describes the research component of the internship, discussing the background, purpose and significance of the research, as well as giving a literature review, research questions, methodology, results and their implications, and the limitations of the survey. This research component was not completed at the Family Life Bureau. Rather, a questionnaire was distributed to school counselors in the province who are working with junior or senior high school students to determine the nature, extent and attitudes toward spiritual care in counseling practice. The results of this study indicate that these counsellors are not including aspects of the spiritual dimension as an integral part of their counselling practice, and did not feel a high level of skill in this area. Most perceived their counselor training programs to be deficient in instruction in the spiritual dimension and identified time and lack of knowledge as the greatest obstacles to attending to the spiritual dimension. Based on relevant findings in the study, Chapter three offers recommendations for practice and research.