The Extent to Which Counsellors' Perception Influences Utilization of Modern Technology in Counselling: A Case of Kenya Universities Professional Counsellors Association (KUPCA) in Kenya

Abstract

Technological knowledge is vital in every profession and counselling is not excluded. Unfortunately, many mental health service professionals especially counsellors have not yet fully embraced utilization modern technology and are resistant on utilization of modern technology in counselling. Efficient utilization of modern technology in counselling enables counsellors perform various counselling tasks which enables them to be professionally competitive. The purpose of the study was to investigate the extent to which counsellors' perception on utilization of modern technology in counselling: A Case of Kenya Universities Professional Counsellors Association (KUPCA) in Kenya. The research was aimed at finding out the extent to which counsellors perception influence utilization of modern technology. The study applied descriptive research design and used total population sampling a type of purposive sampling technique. The sample size was the entire population since the number was not too large to handle. The data was collected by use of online questionnaire and interview schedule. The reliability of the tools was verified through piloting which was done through selected University Counsellors in Nakuru County. Validity of the instrument was ensured through content validation through expert judgment. The data collected were processed and analyzed using inferential statistics which were correlation and regression models and descriptive statistics that entailed frequency counts, percentages, means and standard deviations with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0.  The findings revealed that Counsellor's perception had a significant effect on utilization of modern technology which accounted up to 27.2%. This finding may be used to advocate on counsellor professional utilization of modern technology in enhancing counselling competency and efficiency, improving counselling delivery in Kenyan Institutions of learning, and designing a curriculum that is inclusive of technological components.