https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/19752 Sat, 19 Sep 2026 10:21:37 GMT 2026-09-19T10:21:37Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148985 Title: Metaphor in counselling research design : accessing imagery to unveil understanding Authors: Galea, Julian; Falzon, Ruth Abstract: This paper outlines the methodology and research design used to explore how counsellors conceptualise growth and how this may inform their work with clients. Five counsellors practicing on the island-nation of Malta were interviewed in a process driven through the use of stimuli intended to support participants to access deeper, more complex sources of meaning. Participants noted that the use of visuals and metaphors within the research design facilitated prompt, profound access to themes, concepts and reflections about their own beliefs and approach to counselling. The study highlights the role of creative and analogical thinking in fostering reflexivity and deeper therapeutic engagement when using imagery and metaphors. These helped evoke discourse that surprised the participants themselves. Findings suggest that incorporating metaphorical and visual elicitation techniques in research and practice can provide rich, complex data; enhance participants’ understanding of complex psychological constructs and support professional development within the field of counselling. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148985 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145007 Title: When participants become researchers Authors: Falzon, Ruth; Mifsud, Dione Abstract: Our experiences with youth with dyslexia led to a need to offset their frustrations and failures through a drama project organized with the local Malta Dyslexia Association. Through this project, youth with dyslexia were led to better understand their profile, potential, and creativity through self-expression. The end production, performed in front of family, friends, and members of the public, promoted the importance of self-confidence, self-expression, and self-esteem in youth with dyslexia as well as to those in children’s education and development. [excerpt] Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145007 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/140540 Title: School counsellor education in three countries : Australia, Malta and Turkey Authors: Kose, Aysen; Campbell, Marilyn A.; Falzon, Ruth Abstract: The study is a descriptive comparison of pre-service school counsellor education systems in Australia, Malta, and Turkey as it has been shown that pre-service training determines professional competencies and many personal traits, such as self-efficacy later on in real work settings. These three countries with very different histories and in geographically different parts of the world were selected as samples of convenience to examine their training of school counsellors. We describe four main issues of such training: the minimum formal educational qualifications required to enter training, the core activities which candidates need to complete, the entry requirements into the profession, and any specialisations required. To compare the education in each country, we used qualitative comparative methodology. The main findings were diverse nomenclatures, legislation, registration issues and different discipline boundaries between counselling and psychology. These findings can be useful for reflection for other countries when they are evaluating their own practices. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/140540 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/140516 Title: Growth in counselling : counsellor perspectives and implications for practice Authors: Galea, Julian; Falzon, Ruth Abstract: Growth in the counselling process is leveraged metaphorically through images and words. Its prominence and prevalence vary over time and across professional and cultural contexts. The individual and cultural understandings that counsellors develop of the concept of growth shape their identity as individuals and professionals. This qualitative study aimed to explore how counsellors in Malta understand the concept of growth, what factors shaped this understanding, and the role that this understanding plays in their work to support clients in achieving increased wellbeing. Five warranted counsellors in Malta with at least three years of experience were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews used visual and linguistic stimuli to support and enhance the typical interlocution process behind semi-structured interviews. Findings were analysed using thematic network analysis and reflexive thematic analysis. Participants effected a process of personal growth navigating intrapsychic and external factors engaging in a cycle of discovery, with active self-direction through adverse circumstances shaping their mobilisation of personal agency. Participants identified the important relationship between their experiences of growth through their counselling and their clients’ potential and possible outcomes. Participants’ individual experience of growth could support their work with clients by providing a reference point to make sense of their clients’ experiences. This could also pose potential dangers to their work by obscuring clients’ experiences and journeys with their own. Recommendations include more stress on growth in training courses, international collaboration between organisations and institutes to reach common understandings of growth, and more research across different cultures and countries. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/140516 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z