Introduction to the Counseling Profession

Chapter 2

Historical Perspectives and Current Issues and Trends

Chapter Topics

Historical and Formative Factors“James’ interest in the ideas of “adaptive functioning,” “free will,” and the “conscious functioning of individuals” is clearly pertinent to the development of the counseling profession.”

Science of Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt William James G. Stanley Hall “Father of American Psychology”

Historical and Formative Factors“Jessie Davis, one of the pioneers in counseling, declared in his autobiography that he had graduated from school “fairly well prepared to live in the Middle Ages.”

Vocational Guidance Movement

Lysander Richards and Vocophy Frank Parsons “Father of Guidance” Jesse Davis National Vocational Guidance Association E. G. Williamson “First Theory of Career Counseling?”

Historical and Formative Factors“The economic, educational, and social reform forces that led to the organization of NVGA also led to other movements, which were later incorporated into the kaleidoscope we call counseling today.”

Mental Hygiene Movement

Dorothea Dix Clifford Beers National Committee on Mental Hygiene Carl Rogers

Historical and Formative Factors“With the release of the Stanford-Binet Test, the term intelligence quotient or IQ was first used.”

Testing Movement

James Cattell Stanford-Binet Influence of WWI Sputnik Standardized Tests

Historical and Formative Factors“Some say that the National Defense and Education Act had a greater impact on counselor education than any other single force.”

Professional Identity

American Council of Guidance and Personnel Associations

National Defense Education Act (NDEA)

Influence of WWII

Federal Legislation “The Great Depression prompted the development of government-sponsored programs that included a counseling component with an emphasis on classification.”

Professional Development“The mission of the American Counseling Association is “to enhance the quality of life in society by promoting the development of professional counselors, advancing the counseling profession, and using the profession and practice of counseling to promote respect for human dignity and diversity.”

History of the American Counseling Association

1952 – 1983: The American Personnel and Guidance Association (APGA). 1983 -1992: The American Association for Counseling

and Development (AACD). 1992 – current: The American Counseling Association

Professional Development“The basic format of autonomous divisions working within an umbrella organization has continued to the present time.”

Professionalism: A Developmental Perspective

Changed terminology from “guidance” and “personnel” to “counseling” or “counselor.”

ACA divisions were created and revised to reflect changes in society and to meet the professional needs of ACA members.

Development of regions (North Atlantic, Southern, Midwest, and Western)

Code of Ethics

Credentialing

The most commonly noted criteria used to evaluate whether an occupation has evolved to the status of a profession include:

(1)A specialized body of knowledge and theory-driven research(2)The establishment of a professional society or association(3)Control of training programs(4)A code of ethics to guide professional behavior(5)Standards for admitting and policing practitioners

“The term “credentialing” was created to represent a broad array of activities pertaining to the establishment of professional training standards and regulations for practice.”

Credentialing

Accreditation

Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE)

Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)

“Accreditation is one means of providing accountability. The licensed professions in this country began the process of regulation and quality control by developing standards for training programs.”

Credentialing

Certification

It is used in reference to:

1. The process of becoming qualified to practice in public schools.

2. State laws passed in the same ways as licensure laws.

3. Recognition bestowed on individuals by their professional peers (such as certified public accountants).

“Certification is one of the most confusing of the credentialing terms .”

Credentialing

Types of Certification

Certification in Schools

National Board Certification

Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification National Academy of Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselors National Board for Certified Counselors

“Certification of school counselors first began in Boston and New York in the 1920s, but not until the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) was passed in 1958 did this type of certification take hold nation-wide.”

Credentialing

Licensure

States enact licensure laws as a means to protect the public from incompetent practitioners, such laws also provide benefits for the profession being regulated.

Title Acts

Practice Acts

“Licensure is a credential granted or sanctioned by governmental bodies such as state legislatures that regulates either the title, practice, or both of an occupational group.”

Current Trends

Professional Identity

The American Counseling Association

Diverse Clientele

Wellness Orientation and Diagnosis

“In 2012, ACA celebrated its 60th anniversary, making the profession of counseling still relatively young as compared to other mental health professions. ”

Current Trends

Licensure

In 2010, 86.5% of the 52 jurisdictions with counselor credentialing laws were practice acts.

The majority of state licensing laws include language specifying that counselors who are licensed (at the highest level in those states with tiered licensure) can assess, diagnosis, and treat persons with mental disorders.

“In the 36 years since the passage of the Virginia certification law, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have enacted some form of counselor credentialing legislation.”

Current Trends

Licensure

Licensure Portability

National Credentials Registry

20/20 Future of Counseling Oversight Committee

“There is clearly a great deal of variance in licensure laws, often making it difficult for counselors licensed in one state to easily move to another state and become licensed.”

Current Trends

Reimbursement

Administrative rules used by several federal, state, and local agencies specify that only state-licensed practitioners can be employed by these agencies.

Reimbursement for services rendered has played a strong part in the licensure movement for all mental health practitioners.

“Contrary to popular belief, credentialing affects the reimbursement of those professionals in settings other than private practice.”

Current Trends

Reimbursement

National Register for Health Service Providers in Psychology Health Professions Education Partnerships Act (HPEPA) Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program TRICARE Veterans Benefits, Healthcare, and Information Technology Act of 2006 Medicaid

“Criteria for inclusion in the National Register clearly does not allow anyone who was trained outside of a psychology department to take the examinations for licensure or certification as psychologists in most states.”

Current Trends

Multicultural Counseling and Social Justice

The profession must determine the applicability of traditionally taught theories to diverse clientele, as well as explore the effectiveness of how services are delivered.

“Many sections of the ACA Code speak specifically to the need for counselors to address diversity and multiculturalism, and to demonstrate not just cultural competence, but competence in the ability to advocate with and on behalf of clients to address societal barriers.”