An Argument for the Use of Para-Professional Counselors in Premarital and Marital Counseling

Abstract

Current social changes reinforce the need for trained marriage and family counselors. After a brief examination of these changes, the authors suggest para-professional training as one alternative for providing needed marriage and family counseling services. Already established programs, advantages, disadvantages, and the criterion for the establishment of a nation-wide paraprofessional program are discussed. Areas in which the para-professional could make a vital contribution, segments of the nation's population which need para-professional counseling, and target groups which might benefit most from para-professional training are identified. Marriage and family counseling is a specialization focusing on the interpersonal interaction of the marital dyad and the larger family. The establishment of national and regional professional organizations and journals has strengthened this specializaed area of counseling. The standards adopted by the American Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (A.A.M.F.C.) and the new licensing laws drafted by several states, moreover, have added credence to the professionalization of marriage and family counselors.