Education and training in counseling psychology.

Abstract

Issues related to training of counseling psychologists are examined. Employment settings are related to socioeconomic trends, and their combined impact on training is discussed. Some training models are described, and, EdD, PhD, andPsyDprograms are reviewed in terms of history, setting, and training emphases. Certification and licensing issues are considered, along with such related issues as retraining of psychologists. The ever-changing identity of counseling psychology, which produces changes in training that result in further changes in identity, and so forth, is presented as an obstacle to reaching consensus as to what constitutes appropriate training for counseling psychologists. Employment Settings of Counseling Psychologists as Related to Socioeconomic TrendsOne of counseling psychology's strengths is its broad and diversified training that addresses a wide range of professional dimensions and allows counseling psychologists to function in an array of employment settings. Twenty years ago most counseling psychologists were employed either in high schools, colleges, or universities. The profession was predominantly education based, and few professionals considered seeking employment in other settings, such as business and industry, hospitals, community mental health agencies, or government services.Recent surveys on where counseling psychologists are seeking employment show that they are moving in increasing numbers into the noneducational settings (Banikiotes, 1977;Banikiotes, 1980). Some reasons for this change are that psychologists found that although life in academia surely had its advantages, they were not always monetary. Salaries in many of these nonacademic locations were higher, often considerably so. Another factor was the saturation of the university marketplace. Positions were increasingly harder to find, and often because of university budget delays, notifications of job availability came so late that applicants were unwilling to undergo the anxiety of waiting.Social and political sensitivity to underserved populations in our country has induced psychologists to bring their professional services to these populations. Disabled persons, the aged, ethnic minority populations, and the jobless and poverty-ridden young people in urban areas have stimulated the growth of community mental health centers and various health care agencies across the country. Many mental health psychology clinics have been developed in hospitals. Counseling psychologists have found these agencies to be appreciative of their skills and to be satisfying and productive places in which to work.Although the shift in the work trends mentioned above exists, the percentage of counseling psychologists going into education-related jobs has not changed radically since 1975 (Banikiotes, 1980). Psychologists with strong interests in research and teaching still continue to make academic departments or a combination of academic department and counseling center positions within universities their first choice.The age range of the popula...

Institutional affiliations of contributors to scholarly and professional activities in counseling psychology: 1980–1983.

“…In the short history of counseling psychology, education in the profession has moved from the training of school counselors and counselor educators to the present different trend (King & Seymour, 1982). For the most part, current counseling and clinical psychology graduate students are trained to be practitioners.…”

Counseling psychology from 1971 to 1986: Perspective on and appraisal of current training emphases.

“…Are training emphases in counseling programs responsive or moving too cautiously in relation to meeting contemporary social, economic, and political trends? King and Seymour (1982) observed that the curriculum in counseling seemed to change in response to new ideas about the identity of counseling and in response to pressures brought about by students. Licensure status and social-emotional counseling, for example, seem strong interests for counseling trainees, which perhaps reflects a tendency for counseling psychologists to shift more into applied work (Fitzgerald & Osipow, 1986).…”

Required skills and training needs of recent counseling psychology graduates.

“…Comparisons between selected subgroups of the sample revealed few significant differences. Although overall discrepancies between job needs and training needs were moderate, several recommendations were derived from the data.Counseling psychologists have recently been giving notable attention to issues of identity, entitlement, and future directions (Domke, 1982;Fretz, 1977;Kagan, 1982;King & Seymour, 1982). Central to the discussions of identity and future directions is the area of training.…”