Technology and counselling in Africa: reflections from MSc counselling students at a selected university in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Counselling is a field that is growing in Africa. The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of technology-mediated counselling in an African setting. The use of technology in counselling needs to be pursued and commercialised as technology use has potential to grow the field of counselling. The study made use of the qualitative research approach and the phenomenological research design. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Participants of the study were purposively selected as the researchers required experienced counsellors. Data were thematically analysed. Results of the study revealed that virtual counselling was already in place in Zimbabwe. Virtual counselling allowed counsellors to reach clients from remote areas through phone calls, short message service (SMS), WhatsApp and video calling. The results also revealed that a variety of challenges were encountered. Problems of connectivity, poor network, delayed feedback and infringement of privacy were highlighted by counsellors. The study concluded that improving the counselling standards in virtual counselling may eradicate some of the challenges. It is recommended that counsellors be trained to improve on virtual counselling competency and accountability.