Counseling psychology is a psychological specialty that encompasses research and applied work in several broad domains: counseling process and outcome; supervision and training; career development and counseling; diversity and multiculturalism; and prevention and health. Some unifying themes among counseling psychologists include a focus on assets and strengths, person-environment interactions, educational and career development, brief interactions, and a focus on intact personalities. In the United States of America, the premier scholarly journals of the profession are the Journal of Counseling Psychology and The Counseling Psychologist.
In Europe, the scholarly journals of the profession include the European Journal of Counselling Psychology (under the auspices of the European Association of Counselling Psychology) and the Counselling Psychology Review (under the auspices of the British Psychological Society ). Counselling Psychology Quarterly is an international interdisciplinary publication of Routledge (part of the Taylor & Francis Group) .
Differences in particular may distinguish the field of counseling from the field of counseling psychology: In the United States, counseling psychology programs are accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), while counseling programs are accredited through the Counsel for Accredidation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). In all 50 states, counselors can be licensed at the masters degree level, once meeting the state and national criteria. To become licensed as a counseling psychologist, one must meet the criteria for licensure as a psychologist. Both doctoral level counseling psychologists and doctoral level counselor can perform both applied work, as well as research and teaching.History
Counseling psychology, like many modern psychology specialities, started as a result of World War II. During the war, the U.S. military had a strong need for vocational placement and training. In the 1940s and 1950s the Veterans Administration created a specialty called counseling psychology, and Division 17 (now known as the Society for Counseling Psychology) of the American Psychological Association was formed. This fostered interest in counselor training, and the creation of the first few counseling psychology Ph.D programs. The first counseling psychology Ph.D programs were at the University of Minnesota; Ohio State University; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Missouri; Teachers College, Columbia University; and University of Texas at Austin.
Employment settings
Counseling psychologists are employed in a variety of settings depending on the services they provide and the client populations they serve. Some are employed in colleges and universities as teachers, supervisors, researchers, and service providers. Others are employed in independent practice providing counseling, psychotherapy, assessment, and consultation services to individuals, couples/families, groups, and organizations. Additional settings in which counseling psychologists practice include community mental health centers, Veterans Administration Medical Centers and other facilities, family services, health maintenance organizations, rehabilitation agencies, business and industrial organizations and consulting within firms.
Counseling Process and Outcome
Counseling psychologists are interested in answering a variety of research questions regarding counseling process and outcome. Counseling process might be thought of as how or why does counseling happen and progress. Counseling outcome addresses whether or not counseling is effective, under what conditions is counseling effective, and what outcomes are considered effective- such as symptom reduction, behavior change, or quality of life improvement. Topics commonly explored in the study of counseling process and outcome include therapist variables, client variables, the counseling or therapeutic relationship, cultural variables, process and outcome measurement, mechanisms of change, and process and outcome research methods.
Therapist variables
Therapist variables include characteristics of a counselor or psychotherapist, as well as therapist technique, behavior, theoretical orientation and training. In terms of therapist behavior, technique and theoretical orientation, research on adherence to therapy models has found that adherence to a particular model of therapy can be helpful, detrimental, or neutral in terms of impact on outcome (Imel & Wampold, 2008). Research on the impact of training and experience is still somewhat contradictory and even counter-intuitive. For example, a recent study found that age-related training and experience, but not amount or quality of contact with older people, is related to older clients . However, a recent meta-analysis of research on training and experience suggests that experience level is only slightly related to accuracy in clinical judgment Higher therapist experience has been found to be related to less anxiety, but also less focus. This suggests that there is still work to be done in terms of training clinicians and measuring successful training.
Client variables
Client characteristics such as help-seeking attitudes and attachment style have been found to be related to client use of counseling, as well as expectations and outcome. Stigma against mental illness can keep people from acknowledging problems and seeking help. Public stigma has been found to be related to self-stigma, attitudes towards counseling, and willingness to seek help . In terms of attachment style, clients with avoidant styles have been found to perceive greater risks and fewer benefits to counseling, are less likely to seek professional help, compared with securely attached clients. Those with anxious attachment styles perceive greater benefits as well as risks to counseling. Educating clients about expectations of counseling can improve client satisfaction, treatment duration and outcomes, and is an efficient and cost-effective intervention.
Counseling relationship
Main article: therapeutic relationshipThe relationship between a counselor and client is the feelings and attitudes that a client and therapist have towards one another, and the manner in which those feelings and attitudes are expressed It may be thought of in three parts: transference/countertransference, working alliance, and the real- or personal- relationship .
Another theory about the function of the counseling relationship is known as the secure-base hypothesis, which is related to attachment theory. This hypothesis proposes that the counselor acts as a secure-base from which clients can explore and then check in with. Secure attachment to one’s counselor and secure attachment in general have been found to be related to client exploration. Insecure attachment styles have been found to be related to less session depth, compared to sessions of securely attached clients
Cultural variables
Counseling psychologists are interested in how culture relates to help-seeking and counseling process and outcome. Helms’ racial identity model can be useful for understanding how the relationship and counseling process might be affected by the client’s and counselor’s racial identity. Recent research suggests that clients who are Black are at risk for experiencing racial micro-aggressions from counselors who are White.
Efficacy for working with clients who are lesbians, gay men, or bisexual might be related to therapist demographics, gender, sexual identity development, sexual orientation, and professional experience. Clients who have multiple oppressed identities might be especially at-risk for experiencing unhelpful situations with counselors, so counselors might need help with gaining expertise for working with clients who are transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people of color, and other oppressed populations. .
Gender role socialization can also present issues for clients and counselors. Implications for practice include being aware of stereotypes and biases about male and female identity, roles and behavior such as emotional expression The American Psychological Association guidelines for multicultural competence outline expectations for taking culture into account in practice and research.
Outcome measurement
Counseling outcome measures might look at a general overview of symptoms, symptoms of specific disorders, or positive outcomes, such as subjective well-being or quality of life. The Outcome Questionnaire-45 is a 45 item self-report measure of psychological distress An example of disorder specific measure would be the Beck Depression Inventory. The Quality of Life Inventory is a 17 item self-report life satisfaction measure.
Process and outcome research methods
Counseling process and outcome research employs a variety of research methodologies to answer questions about if, how, and why counseling works. Quantitative methods include randomly controlled clinical trials, correlational studies over the course of counseling, or laboratory studies about specific counseling process and outcome variables. Qualitative research methods can involve conducting, transcribing and coding interviews; transcribing and/or coding therapy sessions; or fine-grain analysis of single counseling sessions or counseling cases.
Training and Supervision
Professional training process
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