It is midday and S., a young woman, visits the Blue Refugee Centre (BRC) in Thessaloniki, having an appointment at the Employability Service. The 20-year-old from Haiti accompanies a child who seems to be taking his first steps – now and then falling, now and then moving with determination and speed, and curiously searching everything. In the Counsellor’s office, after the welcome and the first questions, Mom is split into two: she talks to the Counsellor and watches the child. Soon the Counsellor notices something special. The mother becomes aware of her child’s presence not so much with her eyes but with her hands. She also notices that while the young woman is watching her, she seems to not be focusing well. A short time later, S. confirms that she has a problem with her vision and pulls out a pair of broken glasses from her bag. She reports that she had been given them by a service in Kos Island two years ago, but the baby has broken them.

But the hard times don’t stop there. Two weeks ago, the Social Service of the BRC had referred S. to a shelter, as she and her baby were living on the street. The time frame of her stay was running out and she was also having problems with her papers.

In all these situations there was no room or time to deal with the glasses, nor was she interested in seeing better. She adapted to the condition and didn’t think it was a big deal. The Counsellor asked her if she would like to find a solution to her vision issue and the answer was positive, as she was positive about seeing an ophthalmologist at a public hospital one of the following days, when the Centre’s multidisciplinary team worked together and managed to make an emergency appointment for the woman.

The job search request was active, and communication and processing continued over the next few days. S. had now visited the ophthalmologist, and it appeared that she was suffering from a very severe myopia that had affected her nerve and required surgery. The counselling process continues, while social support to which S. is entitled has been sought and utilised.

S. is actively looking for work by applying for jobs and attending interviews where she makes sure to leave the child with a friend she trusts. The surgery has not yet been done and is not a priority for her at this time.

The role of vocational counselling

Vocational counselling as an intervention is called upon to consider all the different and often conflicting or unknown identities or needs of the person being counselled.

Balancing between personal and work life, mental and physical health, the relationship between motherhood and work experience, gendered social dynamics at work, are issues that arise during the process and concern the person being counselled, without often being able or having the time to acknowledge their existence, as S.. The role of the counsellor is often to be able to shed light on those aspects of life that are there and perhaps not addressed by the person themselves and to facilitate their awareness and broadening of options.

Also, counselling in vulnerable groups requires, as shown above, the collaboration of more than one specialist, in the so-called holistic approach. Just as the human body functions on the principle that each organ does its own work, yet they all work together for the same purpose, so too the group as a ‘living’ organism made up of members, each of whom is essential to the well-being of the whole.

Job counselling, as stated in the SolidarityNow Employability Service’s Methodology Guide, is the support of the individual in order to develop professionally and to face obstacles or difficulties related to the choice of profession and integration in the labour market. The other departments and teams of the Centre have different responsibilities and scopes but share a common purpose: the autonomy and integration of the beneficiaries.

While this story is not meant to be the only indicative intervention, the conclusions of the Counsellor drawn from it are:

• The importance of active listening in counselling has helped to bring to the surface an issue and barrier affecting the request for work.
• Holistic intervention in a counselled request – with their consent – seems to facilitate and bring results.
• Intervention that respects choice and focuses on the needs of the beneficiary and his/her priorities is more flexible and is also rated as more helpful.