Well, I am delighted. Someone actually emailed me to say they had read the last editorial!!! AND we have two practitioner papers for the issue with another two in the system. Great news on both counts.

I was trying to think of a different way to start this issue's editorial instead of welcome to this edition. However, considering that most readers skip this section and go straight to the articles which interest them, I didn't give it considerable thought, so welcome to this edition!

School counsellors play an important role in supporting student mental health but face several challenges that may increase their vulnerability to burnout. This study aimed to explore the factors associated with burnout among school counsellors in secondary schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted to measure demographics, school counsellor background, school context, school counselling practice, openness towards evidence-based practices, and use of online resources. The final sample consisted of the 125 participants who responded they had (n = 65) or had not (n = 60) experienced burnout. Most participants were female (86%), with an average of 9 years’ experience (SD = 7.0). Burnout was associated with lower workload manageability, lower satisfaction with school mental healthcare, greater impact of work stress upon wellbeing, and greater frequency of providing care outside of school hours. No other significant associations were found. This study reinforces that school counsellors are vulnerable to burnout and that measuring job overload may help to identify those at increased risk. School counsellors may also benefit from additional support for students who require care beyond school hours. Greater awareness about the risks of burnout, coupled with efforts to improve resource allocation within the school setting, may improve school counsellors’ sustainability and optimise the mental healthcare available to students.

This study investigated how teachers who support children with learning difficulties utilise psychologists’ reports in their teaching practice. Previous research has examined teachers’ preferences for how reports should be written, rather than how they might be used. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 12 teachers (seven primary, four high school and one preschool teacher) were undertaken and followed up with member checks and interrater reliability. Findings suggested that while the teachers valued the recommendations section of the report, they were also interested in other sections, particularly information about the student's background. Simultaneously, teachers used information from reports selectively in relation to their own professional knowledge and in collaboration with other stakeholders. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

This research examined the effects of structured group supervision (SGS) on counsellors’ self-efficacy, counselling competency, and job involvement in Singapore. Twenty-one counsellors participated in six, 3-hour SGS sessions over 12 weeks with one qualified counselling supervisor. The counsellors had at least six months’ experience working as counsellors in schools or educational-related settings, such as student care centres. A single-group, before-after design was adopted. Pre- and posttest questionnaires were administered — Counselling Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES), Counsellor's Competence Self-Evaluation Scale (CCSS), and Job Involvement Scale (JIS) — to examine counsellor self-efficacy, counselling competency, and job involvement respectively. Paired-sample t tests were used to examine the impact of SGS on the three measures, whereas the Pearson correlation was used to examine the relationships among them. It was found that there was (a) a significant increase in mean scores for pre- and posttest scores for counsellor self-efficacy and counselling competency, but not for job involvement after SGS; and (b) a significant positive correlation among the three variables. With a better understanding of the SGS and the impact on counsellors, supervision practices can be improved and school counsellors can become more competent and confident.

Two alternative versions of a model of the cognitive decision-making processes of gifted and talented adolescents associated with occupational or career indecision were tested in this study. A psychometrically rigorous survey instrument was used to collect data from 664 adolescents attending three academically selective high schools in Sydney, Australia. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling procedures. The superior model suggested that idiocentric orientations toward the future and social influences from the family are likely to direct gifted and talented adolescents away from a state of occupational amotivation, which is a likely predictor of occupational indecision. The findings may be used to more clearly understand and to better assist gifted and talented adolescents experiencing difficulty with their occupational decisions.

The present study aimed at testing and exploring the psychometric properties of the Counselor Burnout Inventory (CBI) in Greek school counsellors. Two hundred school counsellors from all over Greece participated in the study. The confirmatory study revealed four dimensions of the Greek version of CBI; namely, exhaustion, deterioration in personal life, incompetence, and negative work environment. Adequate psychometric properties of the version were revealed as well. The results also showed a negative relation between age and three dimensions of CBI, imposing the need for special training offered to young school counsellors in order for them to cope effectively and early enough with the burnout syndrome.

This report is part of a larger project investigating school satisfaction of early adolescents in Hong Kong. The research questions in this part of the study focused on the school experience of 21 high-ability Chinese students aged 9–14 in Hong Kong primary and secondary schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of the participants. From the qualitative data collected, six influences on their school satisfaction emerged ― two that could be classified as ‘personal influences’ (goal-directed thoughts and motivation; self-discipline and self-regulation) and four themes that reflected ‘environmental influences’ (positive teacher-student relationships, classmates emotional and instrumental support, parental involvement in students’ learning, talent development opportunities). The findings from the study can help to inform school personnel on modifiable aspects of school environments that can help high-ability students succeed and at the same time enjoy their school life.

Suicide-related behaviours are relatively common among school-aged young people, and schools are an appropriate setting for activities that aim to prevent and assist recovery after suicide. headspace School Support is a specialist service that assists Australian secondary schools to be prepared for and recover from suicide. Through the responses of secondary school personnel to two surveys, this study explored awareness of and need for such services (n = 214), and satisfaction with and impacts of the service (n = 359). Findings indicate that most schools are aware of headspace School Support and regard specialised suicide support as needed. Most respondents indicated that the service increased their perceived knowledge, skills, and capacity in managing suicide issues, and reported satisfaction was high. Continued availability of suicide support to secondary schools is warranted.

Despite the advantages of international study — to the student, the university, and the local community — studies have reported an increased risk of stress-related psychological problems in international students. We surveyed 384 Asian international students (189 female, 193 male, 2 undeclared; aged 17 to 47 years) attending Australian universities in order to examine whether depressive symptoms in these students are related to their trait maladaptive perfectionism and the extent to which they have experienced acculturative stress while in Australia. Path analyses suggest that maladaptive perfectionism influences depression indirectly by increasing acculturative stress (mediation model) and to a lesser extent by interacting positively with acculturative stress (moderation model). The results reveal ways in which maladaptive perfectionism can affect the wellbeing of Asian international students experiencing adjustment-related stress.

The present study examined protective factors associated with the wellbeing of 93 youth from a refugee background resettled in Brisbane, Australia. Wellbeing was defined as an absence of psychological distress and the presence of subjective wellbeing. Students at Milpera State High School, a special English language school, completed a battery of questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses examined the relationship between protective factors and wellbeing, while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. The results indicated that higher levels of school connectedness and acculturation were significantly associated with lower levels of psychological distress. Further, higher levels of school connectedness, acculturation and resilience, in addition to having a permanent visa, were significantly associated with higher levels of subjective wellbeing. Notably, 55% of the variance in subjective wellbeing was explained jointly by these factors. School connectedness, acculturation, resilience, and visa certainty were instrumental in enhancing aspects of wellbeing in the present sample of students from a refugee background. Implications for refugee-related policy and strategies in schools, mental health services, and at broader governmental levels are discussed.

The aim of the study was to predict loneliness with regard to parental acceptance-rejection and sibling relationship quality after controlling for gender, age, grade, school type, field of study, birth order, and number of siblings. The UCLA Loneliness Scale, Maternal and Paternal Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire, and Sibling Relationship Questionnaire were administered to 1,451 high school students, and multiple hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. Results showed that 1.7% of variance was explained by model 1, including demographic variables, but model 1 was not significant. After adding mother and father acceptance to model 2, the explained variance increased to 18.1%. In model 3, sibling variables were added and the explained variance was 19.6%, which were both significant results. Mother acceptance was the best predictor of loneliness, followed by father acceptance. Parental variables explained loneliness better than sibling and demographic variables. Understanding the family predictors of loneliness may be seen as the first step for a subsequent intervention.

School students are increasingly using apps for health-related purposes, either on their own or when recommended by psychologists or counsellors, as apps offer a way to assist students to change their behaviour. However, there is a growing need for psychologists and counsellors to be able to evaluate the quality and usefulness of such apps to effect behaviour change. This study was therefore undertaken to identify methods by which school psychologists and counsellors could evaluate health-related apps for clinical use or research purposes. After examining 15 studies of apps that met the inclusion criteria, it was clear that researchers used a number of taxonomies to evaluate the apps. There were seven taxonomies identified, of which five were generalisable to all health conditions, with the behaviour change technique (BCT) taxonomy being the most comprehensive, containing 13 key behaviour strategies. Despite the utility of the taxonomies to identify the amount of behaviour change content within the apps, it was difficult to determine how the behaviour change strategies were measured, thus reducing the ability to predict app effectiveness. Approaches to improving methods by which apps can be developed and evaluated are proposed.

To facilitate students’ transition into secondary school, a short, problem-oriented group program was designed that included interpretation retraining, problem solving, and social-skills training. Pre- and post-test data from two groups conducted over the course of 5 weeks were combined for a total of 35 6th-grade students waiting to undergo school transition. There was also a no-intervention control group (n = 19). Results indicate that completion of the program by the intervention group led to a significant decrease on negative interpretations, with greater reductions in feelings of loneliness and increases in children's positive attitudes toward school compared to the control group. In addition, 3 months before moving to secondary school, children in the intervention group reported significantly fewer concerns about school transition compared with the controls. We conclude that the inclusion of problem-based strategies may be beneficial when designing transition groups, which may also lead to a significant reduction in worries and concerns about the transition to secondary school.

I am pleased to introduce two practitioner papers for this issue of the Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools.

1. 1. School camp refusal and reluctance: The role of the school psychologist. Mary Woods and John Burns.

2. 2. Understanding trauma in the refugee context. Kimberley De Deckker.

This study examined the role of resilience in the lives of cyberbullying perpetrators and their victims. Turkish adolescents (n = 444; 245 girls, 55.2%, and 199 boys, 44.8%) 15–19 years of age (mean age of 16.58 years, SD = 0.789) were recruited from different high schools. The participants completed the Cyberbullying Scale (Arıcak, Kınay, & Tanrıkulu, 2012), the Cybervictimisation Scale (Arıcak, Tanrıkulu, & Kınay, 2012), and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (Arslan, 2015). The data were analysed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and simple regression. The Pearson correlations revealed that there were negative and significant correlations between cyberbullying perpetration and resilience (r = −.146, p < .01). There were negative and significant correlations between cybervictimisation and resilience (r = −0.203, p < 0.01). Simple regression also revealed that resilience was a significant individual predictor for both cyberbullying perpetration (β = −0.146, t = −3.094, p < .001) and cyber victimisation (β = −0.203, t = −4.357, p < .001).

Attendance at overnight school camp is an integral component of the Australian educational landscape. However, some students are reluctant to attend camp, while others refuse to attend at all. School psychologists play an important part in supporting these students and their families, and teachers. While much is published about general school refusal, there is surprisingly little attention given to the specific management of school camp refusal and reluctance. This article summarises the contribution of the related theoretical areas of childhood anxiety, school refusal, and homesickness. It then outlines, through a case study example, a management approach for school psychologists, from presentation of the problem to assessment, through to informed intervention, including a suite of strategies to support the student, parents and teachers, who have duty of care during camps.

In this issue of the journal I am pleased to present a paper for Applied Practices by Christine Bhat on the highly topical issue of proactively preventing cyberbullying and sexting. Importantly, these two areas of concern occur commonly in our schools, particularly in secondary contexts, making this paper timely and helpful for practitioners. For example, I found the legal implications and potential recourse material very interesting, and could see that psycho-educational approaches, such that young people were made aware of the wider ramifications of cyberbullying and sexting, would be invaluable. The notion, which was new to me, of digital citizenship, ensuring young people “engage positively, know their online world, and choose consciously” is impressive as these principles of positive engagement, knowledge and choice can apply across other areas pertinent to the students we work with. Bhat addresses and explores four key areas of proactive prevention: school climate, policy, training online disinhibition, and promoting positive use of technology. I would commend this paper to you all as a resource to guide your own dealings and discussions on these critical topics of cyberbullying and sexting.

Middle and high school students interact via powerful social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Social media platforms are sometimes misused, resulting in cyberbullying and sexting that could adversely affect many in the school community. School counsellors, school psychologists, and educators are uniquely positioned to proactively address cyberbullying and sexting in schools with targeted educational and preventative programming. Attention to four facets is recommended: school climate initiatives, policy development and implementation, training in empathy and decision making in the context of online disinhibition, and challenges to use technology positively. Resources for cyberbullying and sexting prevention in Australia and the United States are highlighted.

For a school counsellor or classroom teacher, working with newly arrived students from refugee backgrounds can be daunting, particularly with the awareness that these students have likely experienced significant and potentially horrific trauma. There is now a wealth of evidence showing that traumatic experiences can significantly impact our neurological development, resulting in difficulties in areas such as learning, behaviour, relationship building and emotion regulation, meaning newly arrived refugee students will often arrive at school with some significant challenges. While there is an extensive amount of literature on trauma, there is very little that focuses specifically on the refugee population, and even less on young people from refugee backgrounds. Predominantly, the research looks at chronic or developmental trauma such as child abuse and neglect, or acute trauma such as natural disasters. The following article looks at the refugee context specifically, breaking down the difference between acute, chronic and developmental trauma; and describing the neurological effects of trauma and suggesting some practical classroom-based strategies that can be employed to support and facilitate the recovery of students from refugee backgrounds.