 and the American Counseling Association. Counseling psychologists or counselors who work in K-12 school settings also need to follow the ethic standard established by the American School Counselor Association. In Australia there are several associations offering standards and ethics. Each professional or trade association has its preferred qualification and practitioner standards, and also suggesting other requirements.
Counseling psychologists participate in a range of activities including teaching, research, psychotherapeutic and counseling practice, career development, assessment, supervision, and consultation. They employ a variety of methods closely tied to theory and research to help individuals, groups and organizations function optimally as well as to mediate dysfunction. Interventions may be either brief or long-term; they are often problem-specific and goal-directed. These activities are guided by a philosophy that values individual differences and diversity and a focus on prevention, development, and adjustment across the life-span which includes vocational concerns.
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, 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 firms.
Counseling psychologists are trained in graduate programs, generally in APA-accredited doctoral programs. There are about 70 APA accredited counseling psychology doctoral programs. Almost all grant a Ph.D, although a few grant a Psy.D. Most doctoral programs take 5-6 years to complete.
Graduate work in counseling psychology includes coursework in general psychology and statistics, counseling practice, and research. Students must complete an original dissertation at the end of their graduate training. Students must also complete a one year full-time internship at an APA accredited site before earning their doctorate. In order to be licensed to practice, counseling psychologists must meet various requirements set by each state (a declining number of which require postdoctoral supervision), and pass a national licensing exam.
- Counselling Psychology Quarterly,
- Journal of Counseling Psychology
- The Counselling Psychologist
- European Journal of Counselling Psychology (EJCP)
References & BibliographyEdit
- Pugh,Deborah & Coyle,Adrian (2000). The construction of counselling psychology in Britain: a discourse analysis of counselling psychology texts. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, Volume 13, Issue 1 , pages 85 - 98. DOI: 10.1080/09515070050011088