No abstract

Many young people in the UK and across the world, where austerity measures are biting deep, find themselves at a time of crisis and uncertainty in their lives. The assumptions previously held of clear and straightforward career paths are being challenged and 'career' has come to mean more than simply 'work' or 'employment'. This has implications for career practice, where career advisers are engaging with a range of complex issues in their guidance interactions with clients. This article draws on research undertaken with therapeutic counsellors into 'what works' when counselling young people. It offers career practitioners the opportunity to reflect on four key emerging themes and to consider how the discipline of therapeutic counselling might inform guidance practice.

s repository of research outputs http://create.canterbury.ac.uk Please cite this publication as follows:Reid, H. and Westergaard, J. (2017) 'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside': opportunity structures for four un/underemployed young people living in English coastal towns. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling. pp. 1-15.

Aim: Counsellors who work with young people in a range of contexts know that they are not engaging with ‘mini‐adults’. The issues young people bring to counselling are often complex, challenging and wide‐ranging, as adolescents are experiencing times of turbulence and change in their physical, emotional, social and psychological development. This paper focuses on a research project undertaken with five counsellors who work with young people, and asks the question: ‘What works?’ Method: The research project is an in‐depth qualitative study into the counsellor's experience of counselling young people, using a narrative approach. Findings: Four key shared themes emerged: the significance of ‘safety’ in the relationship; building the therapeutic alliance; flexibility and integration relating to theoretical orientation; and the use of creativity. Outcomes: This paper offers counsellors the opportunity to reflect on ‘what works’ and consider the professional knowledge, which underpins their own counselling practice with young people.

The case for supervision for career counsellors has been made strongly. However, there is still a distinct lack of formal support and supervision for career practitioners in the UK and elsewhere. This paper begins by defining support and supervision in the helping professions. It goes on to report the findings of a research project undertaken with a group of supervisors working in the context of 'youth support' and considers how the results might be applied to the career counselling profession. The hope is that the debate concerning the need for supervision for career practitioners is reignited.