Certification of Specialties: Not If, But How

Abstract

The guest editorial and featured articles have established the fact of counseling specialties and also that counselors have no clear or consistent scheme to recognize professional specialization. If counselors expect external recognition of and respect for their credentials, the credentials first must be recognized and understood by counselors. The experiences of other professions suggest strategies, but counselors must determine their own way of recognizing specialties without denying counselors' common identity. The profession and practice of counseling will be strengthened if all counselors have a minimum foundation of counseling knowledge and competencies and build accepted specializations on that foundation. The counseling profession must distinguish among work settings, professional interests, and specializations as a prerequisite to a coherent scheme of recognizing specialties.he

The credentialing of counselling in Australia

“…One must keep in mind that “If counsellors expect external recognition of and respect for their credentials, the credentials first must be recognized and understood by counsellors” (Pate, 1995, p. 181). A systematic and comprehensive credentialing plan can build greater consensus than competitive models (Tarvydas & Leahy, 1993), the current position in Australia.…”

Documenting Success and Achievement: Presentation and Working Portfolios for Counselors

“…Most jurisdictions now require either licensure or certification for professional counselors. Some specialties also require either a national or a state certification (Pate, 1995). For example, in some states an individual must be certified before providing supervision, sex therapy, domestic violence counseling, or drug abuse counseling.…”

Counseling Specialties: A Case of Basic Preparation Rather Than Advanced Specialization

“…Hundreds of new laws are enacted in each state each year, and judges continually give new interpretations of laws. Even so, the legal profession is highly resistant to allowing lawyers to claim specializations (Pate, 1995). In comparison with many of the professions that have specialties, the change in the knowledge base in counseling occurs at a much slower pace.…”

“…One additional and important difference in determining the existence of a specialization in counseling in comparison with most other professions is that other professions have a much more rigorous procedure for determining advanced study and creating a specialization (see Pate, 1995, for additional information). Myers (1995) cited the means used by ACA to determine a counseling specialty.…”