Counseling Psychology

Counseling psychology is a specialty within psychology that focuses on counseling, research, and assessment in which close attention is paid to individual’s assets and psychological strengths. Counseling psychologists have three primary roles: remedial (e.g., working to help correct problems), preventative (e.g., interventions focused on forestalling problems), and developmental (e.g., skills training and psychoeducational approaches). The primary interventions of the specialty tend to be brief and cover a variety of settings (e.g., counseling, training, consultation, outreach). Gelso, et al. 2014, Counseling Psychology (cited under Reference Works), summarizes the enduring central values of counseling psychology, noting it has (1) an emphasis on a person’s strengths and optimal functioning; (2) a focus on the whole person, with particular emphasis on life-span development and vocational growth; (3) a commitment to advocacy and social justice, maintaining an ongoing awareness of the importance of environmental context and culture; (4) a concentration on brief, educational, and preventive counseling interventions; and (5) a dedication to the scientist-practitioner model. While counseling psychology’s abiding interest in vocational guidance began in 1908 with the establishment of a vocations bureau by Frank Parsons, most view the field of counseling psychology as beginning with the role of psychologists (in assessment of military personnel) in the 1940s during World War II. The Division of Counseling and Guidance (Division 17) of the American Psychological Association was formally established in 1946. Division 17 changed its name in 1951 to the Division of Counseling Psychology, and again in 2003 to the Society of Counseling Psychology. The major journals in counseling psychology were founded in 1954 (the Journal of Counseling Psychology, cited under Journals) and 1969 (The Counseling Psychologist, cited under Journals).The field’s history can also be marked by its major conferences. The first conference for counseling psychology was held in 1951 at Northwestern University. It was at this conference that the scientist-practitioner model of training was formally endorsed. The field has held a major conference approximately every dozen years since then (1964, Greyston Conference; 1973, Vail Conference; 1987, Georgia Conference; 2001, Houston Conference). At each conference, the field strengthened its identity and debated issues of importance to the field, such as social justice initiatives and multicultural competencies. In 1999, Division 17 was one of the founding divisions (along with divisions 35, 44, and 45) of the National Multicultural Conference and Summit (NMCS). In 2008 the Society of Counseling Psychology held its first international conference in Chicago, acknowledging the global nature of counseling psychology. In fact, there has been a growing emphasis in the field on ensuring transnational and global perspectives in science and practice (see Gerstein, et al. 2009, cited under Reference Works).