1. tragedy anxiety fears trivial travesty hope Pandora In moving counselling into digital spaces, how are such spaces shaped, and shaping those involved?
Editor's Notes
At Youthline, the phones hardly ring anymore, youth still have problems, and still seek help, but it occurs silently. This thesis explores what happened in moving counselling into the text space of mobile phones, and how such spaces are both shaped and shaping those involved. I traced the many little things that made this happen. This introduces a political agenda, for things might always be otherwise. There is currently no evidence base for text counselling and this thesis is seen as establishing one. I feel this responsibility and tread cautiously.Tracing those involved included looking at how texting is popularised. How does it get to be the first thing young people reach for when they reach out? Advertising clearly targets young people.Bestmates are shown as happy and unconditionally accessible, masking the work required in producing such friendships, keeping the phone charged, prepays topped up, message space available, and not being in a black hole where cell ph reception drops off.In NZ a pricing war makes for cheap texts. But cheapness is only one factor; when its free to call YL, texting is still preferred. So I looked at reasons given by young people who text the service. Texting providsControl: as one young person said, when talking about her dad who had died, talking makes it too real, with texting I can take it slow.Another described how texting stopped her going round and round retraumatising herself . The visual trace reminded her of ground already covered.Texting also providing voice: Im told txtn is ok because icn keep goinevn if im crying. Young people described texting for safety, ‘its in ur pocket, its where ur’ . If you've run away at night or ur hiding under the house from your dad whose going to give u a beating, texting works.Anywhere anytime also allows for keeping strategies and evidence of being connected in the world. I was shown a pocket full of affirmations, texts not deleted even 6 months later, she said they felt good. Whats important for counsellors is to see texting as a conversation. Counselling gets altered; some skills translate into the medium, some don't. Caution is heightened in a medium where digital traces feel ephemeral but are more solid than conversation or phone call. The textual traces provide advantages as well as risks.Privacy remains an area of ongoing tension.Working with Fewer cues necessitates caution. Opening up what’s involved in text counselling provides opportunity to see how practices are shaped.How such practices position those involved as shaping the service rather than as passive recipients is seen as empowering. Consciously establishing an evidence base for practice, that could be shaped otherwise is a political act and one not taken lightl
