History Of Counseling

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The History of Counseling It is always interesting to discover the origin and evolution of any practice. The history of counseling is specifically alluring to someone with a passion for understanding the human condition. The resources provided: Chapter two of the class text book, The World of the Counselor; The Counseling Profession’s Past, Present, and Future power point; and the YouTube video, Historical Overview of Professional Counseling, provided a thorough overview of where we have been, and where we are going. Each resource effectively linked the influence of early philosophies on human condition to the counseling profession as we know it today. Dating all the way back to Moses, 1200 BC, people turned to others for counsel to understand…show more content…
Booming advances were made throughout the century. In 1910, the first guidance association, the National Vocational Guidance Association, was formed. World War I came the development of the first intelligence tests. EG Williamson introduced the notion that a person’s aptitude and personality can be used to fit individuals to vocations where they would perform well. In 1940 Karl Rogers introduced Person Centered Therapy. Due to the need of treatment for Vets, with, what we now call Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, during World War II, the VA funded training for mental health professionals, including counselors. In 1950 major developments in the field of counseling occurred.…show more content…
In 1963, a push for deinstutionalization began with the Community Mental Health Centers Act signed into law. This paved the way for the spread of counseling in the 1970s. The American Mental Health Counselors Association was formed and the first state licensure for counselors began in Virginia. In the 1980 the counseling field became more standardized. The formation of CACREP, NBCC, and NACCMHC provided guidelines and standards for counseling practices, education requirements, and competency criteria. The 80s brought about a heightened focus on human growth, cultural influences, and gender development to the counseling field. The 1990s expanded the multicultural focus to include issues related to a broad range of factors such as physical abilities, and sexual orientation, among others. By the end of the century, the ACA was comprised of 18 different divisions and the counseling profession was “on par” with psychology, psychiatry, and social work.

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