EUROPEAN TRENDS IN THE USE OF ICT IN DELIVERING COUNSELLING SERVICES

Career counselling services have benefited considerably from the advent of new technologies, but it seems that for the better part of the last two decades introducing ICT to counselling was more of a happenstance process rather than a coordinated effort. The new technologies have offered quick and cost effective solutions to a large array of problems from data management to guidance in the transition from school to the labour market. Despite diverging practices, several trends have emerged at European level in the use of ICT in delivering counselling services. Based on a Europe wide survey conducted in the second half of 2011 we point out common practices and phenomena related to this area. Training courses for practitioners are high on the agenda of institutions employing their services, with the development of counselling tools (e.g. questionnaires, self-evaluation tools, data bases, etc.) equally important. We are witnessing a shifting paradigm, from facilitating access to self-help tools and raw information, to an active relation between client and counsellor, as well as the establishment of communities for clients with similar interests. While the community of practitioners has been quick to embrace the new environment, clients are slower in accessing web based counselling. This seems to be in correlation with the use of ICT within the general population o a certain country or region. There is a growing need for web based counselling services, but even the most developed counselling systems in Europe still report low numbers of clients compared to face to face counselling. Financing seems to be the mediating factor for the adoption of ICT tools within the different counselling systems. Countries that devote larger grants to research and development in this area have acquired purpose built tools, while lower investment has meant having to adapt the applications designed for general use in education or other areas. Facilitating the exchange of tools and practices would be a cost effective way to encourage the use of ICT while maintaining an adequate quality standard. Networks like Euroguidance and ELGPN have been successful in promoting cooperation on a Europe wide scale.