Exploring counsellors’ experiences of belonging and Gemeinschaftsgefühl during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This study explored counsellors’ sense of belonging and gemeinschaftsgefϋhl during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative approach, using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), was employed to explore the lived stories, understanding, and experiences of counsellors in Malta. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight local counsellors having at least three years of experience. Four superordinate themes emerged from the analysis: the shift to online counselling, work/life harmony, personal boundaries and a different kind of ‘normality’, and a sense of responsibility for the common good. In order to continue reaching out to their clients, family, and friends, now, within a virtual realm of socialising and interacting, participants had to seek further training and resources. Living within this adjusted ‘normality’, the struggle to maintain a work/life harmony, especially at the start of the pandemic, became an added challenge, contributing to burnout in various participants. Experiences of one’s sense of belonging within the profession varied from feeling a deep sense of connection with other counsellors to experiencing a lack of professional collectiveness. Recommendations include the provision of further training on counsellors’ own stress-coping skills during crises, receiving additional support through individual and group supervision during the pandemic, and having profession-wide contingency plans in place for implementation in any such future emergency situations.