Abstract
Psychology, counseling psychology, and professional counseling are at a crossroad. The growing movement to establish professional counseling as a distinct profession, based on an increasingly narrow definition of professional identity, is particularly relevant to counseling psychologists and professional counselors and has implications for the broader field of psychology. A brief systematic historical analysis of these professional specialties in the U.S. provides the context to examine current challenges, including proposed restriction of master’s level training, licensure or other authorization to practice, and employment to graduates of programs accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). These restrictions reduce services to the public and threaten the viability of counseling psychology and professional counseling in the U.S. These challenges also have significant implications for counseling psychologists in Europe and internationally given similar efforts. Going beyond a call to action, the article concludes with recommendations for counseling psychologists and allied professionals to address shared challenges, maximize shared opportunities, and foster enhanced intra- and inter-professional collaboration and cooperation.
Highlights
A brief systematic review of the history of all three professions in the U.S with links to Europe and beyond, provides a context to examine shared roots, goals, training, and practice
The movement to restrict master’s training, licensure or other government authorization to practice, and employment to those sanctioned by one counselor education accrediting body, the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), threatens the viability of counseling psychology (Jackson & Scheel, 2013) and professional counseling (Brady-Amoon, 2012; Hansen, 2012) in the U.S and internationally
We can and must do so at the individual, group, e.g., professional association, and systems level to counter the growing movement that seeks to narrow the definition of counseling, to exclude counseling psychologists and restrict training, licensure, and employment to graduates of master’s and doctoral programs accredited by CACREP and its international equivalents, thereby depriving otherwise qualified candidates of options for training and employment
Summary
A brief systematic review of the history of all three professions in the U.S with links to Europe and beyond, provides a context to examine shared roots, goals, training, and practice. This examination provides a springboard to consider current controversies and challenges, including actions by some counselors and counseling organizations to further separate themselves from psychology, including counseling psychology. The movement to restrict master’s training, licensure or other government authorization to practice, and employment to those sanctioned by one counselor education accrediting body, the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), threatens the viability of counseling psychology (Jackson & Scheel, 2013) and professional counseling (Brady-Amoon, 2012; Hansen, 2012) in the U.S and internationally. Most U.S professional psychology training programs, defined as clinical, counseling, and school psychology, and counselor education programs require instruction in the history of the specific discipline, few consider all three
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