History of Counseling

The Vocational Guidance Movement

Lysander S. Richards and Vocophy: The first to envision the role of a

counselor or vocopher in helping people choose professions.

Frank Parsons: The father of the guidance movement, and credited with
being the first true counselor. He used a scientific process to help people
choose careers.

Jessie B. Davis: Brought vocational counseling into the schools.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Vocational Guidance Movement (continued)

Anna Y. Reed and Eli Weaver: In the early 1900s they established
counseling services based upon the concept of Social Darwinism.

National Vocational Guidance Association: Established in 1913, it

advocated counseling in regard to career choice.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Mental Health Counseling Movement

Dorothea Dix: In the early 1800s, she advocated for the establishment of
institutions that would treat people with emotional disorders in a human
manner.

Clifford Beers: Founded the Mental Hygiene Movement in the early 1900s
after his own experiences within a mental hospital.

William Healy, M. D. : In 1908, he established the first community

psychiatric clinic.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling

The Mental Health Counseling Movement (continued)

Wilhelm Wundt: In the late 1870s, in Germany, he founded the first

experimental psychology laboratory and studied the human mind.

William James: He carried on Wundts work regarding the human

mind in the United States.

Granville Stanley Hall: He proposed a scientific approach to the

study of social problems. He also founded the first psychology lab
in the United States.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Mental Health Counseling Movement (continued)

David Spence Hill: He organized the first guidance and counseling

services in New Orleans and used Simon Binets appraisal instruments
to provide vocational counseling for kids in school.

James Cattell: He was the first person to focus on ways to measure

intelligence in the 1890s.

Binet-Simon Test: In 1905, this test was used in France to determine

intelligence.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Mental Health Counseling Movement (continued)

L. M. Terman: Revised the Binet-Simon test to be used in the United

States. It was called the Stanford-Binet as Terman was from Stanford
University. At this time the term IQ (Intelligence Quotient) began to be
used.

Army Alpha and Beta Tests: These were used during WWI to help decide
placement for soldiers. This ushered in the proliferation of standardized
testing.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Development of Professional Identity

E. G. Williamson: Developed what some consider to be the first theory

of vocational counseling and utilized a directive counselor-centered
approach which came to be known as the Minnesota point of view.

Dictionary of Occupational Titles: This was published in 1938 and

provided counselors with a basic resource to match people with
occupations.

The American Counsel of Guidance and Personnel Association

(ACGPA): Formed in 1934. It name changed in 1939 to the Council of
Guidance and Personnel Associations (CGPA).

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Development of Professional Identity (continued)

National Defense Education Act of 1958: This was the governments

response to Sputnik. The act provided for resources to determine which
youths of America had mathematical and scientific talent that could be
nurtured for use in the American space program.

WWII: Counselors were needed during WWII for testing and placement of
soldiers. As soldiers returned with battle neuroses more counselors were
needed to treat them.

Veterans Administration: Began hiring counselors in earnest to help

returning soldiers cope with personal and vocational issues. They
provided training and opened numerous positions.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Development of Professional Identity (continued)

The National Institute of Mental Health: It provided training stipends for

doctoral students.

Carl Rogers: Developed a nondirective counseling approach called

client-centered (now person-centered). He also identified core conditions
for counseling that is utilized by many theories and approaches today.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Influence of Federal Legislation

Great Depression: It inspired government-sponsored programs that

included counseling.

1938 George-Dean Act: Appropriated 14 million dollars for vocational

education.

Throughout the history of the counseling profession, the Federal

Government has been influential. The following slides are a highlight
of some legislation. Space constraints prohibit detailing all of it.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Influence of Federal Legislation (continued)

1917: The Smith-Hughes Act created funding for a nationwide

vocational education program.

1944: The Veterans Administration established a nationwide network

of guidance services to aid veterans including rehabilitation,
counseling, training and advisement.

1963: The Community Mental Health Centers Act created more than
2,000 mental health centers and provided an opportunity for
counselors to be employed outside of educational settings.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Influence of Federal Legislation (continued)

1972: Title IX of the Education Amendments to the 1964 Civil Rights Act
mandated that no one is discriminated against, including through sex-biased
appraisal.

1981: The Older American Act was enacted to improve the lives of those
over age 60.

1994: The School To Work Opportunities Act set up partnerships between

faculty, businesses and employers to aid students transition into the world
of work.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling
The Influence of Federal Legislation (continued)

1998: The Workforce Investment Act revamped all the job training
programs and reauthorized the Rehabilitation Act.

1999: The Elementary-School Counseling Act allocated 20 million

dollars for schools to hire qualified school counselors.

1999: Work Incentives Improvement Act removed the financial

disincentives that have kept the disabled out of the workforce.

There are many more important acts and pieces of legislation and any
of the books used to make this presentation cover this area well.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

 History of Counseling

1952-1983: It was known as the American Personnel and Guidance

Association.

1983-1992: It was called the American Association for Counseling and

Development.

1992 to present: It is called the American Counseling Association.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2004

APPROACHES TO
COUNSELLING
 The Third Force

The Humanistic approach has emerged in the late

1960s, primarily as a reaction to the two major
views of humanity popular at that time
The Freudian perspective and its emphasis on
unconscious sexual and aggressive instincts
The behavioral perspective, and its emphasis on
the mechanical nature of responses to stimuli in
the environment. The humanistic perspective, thus,
as been called the third force.
 Deterministic Perspective of Human
Nature
The role of the unconscious is a hypothetical
concept that cannot be empirically validated
The manipulation of human beings on the
basis of classical and operant conditioning
was an ideas based on studies of rats that
learned to run in a maze to find food.
The food was the reward that affected the
learning
 Roots of the Humanistic Approach
1. Existential Philosophy
Existential philosophy addresses many of the
questions that later became the cornerstone of
the Humanistic approach, such as, the meaning
of our existence, the role of free will, and the
uniqueness of each individual.
The existentialists, such as Rollo May, focused
on existential anxiety- the feeling of dread
associated with the realization that there is no
meaning to ones life.
Existential Anxiety- What is there to life?
 2. The clinical experiences of Carl
Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
The founders of the Humanistic Approach, Carl
Rogers and Abraham Maslow, were both therapists
At that time, the Freudian model of therapy was
popular, viewing the therapist as an expert who
tells the client what is the problem
Rogers maintained that it was only the client that
is responsible for the therapeutic direction
The therapist can create conditions for self-
exploration.
 Cognitive-Restructuring
Frankls ideas
have been translated into the
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
 Key Elements of the Humanistic
Approach
The Humanistic Perspective has not
presented a comprehensive framework,
but rather a collection of major
principles that can be seen as directive
to life.
 Key Elements of the Humanistic
Perspective
Emphasis on personal responsibility (You
dont have to do your homework, you
have chosen to do so). You are not a victim
of circumstances!
 Key Elements (cont-d)

Emphasis
on functioning in the here and
now Do not be a captive of your past!
 Key Elements (cont-d)

Acknowledging the phenomenology of the

individual- - the fact that it is only the client
(in therapy) that can make decision for
him/herself.
 Key Elements (cont-d)

Emphasis on personal growthRogers

called this becoming a fully functioning,
while Maslow referred to this idea as self-
actualization.
 Self-Actualization- What is it?

There is more to life than the absence of

problems
The Humanistic perspective maintain that we
all have a drive toward self-actualization
To become that best we can become, in the
context of our life (you do not have to
receive the Nobel Prize).
 Carl Rogers and Person-Centered
Therapy
The role of the therapist is to create an
atmosphere of unconditional positive regard to
enable the clients self-exploration and becoming
fully functioning.
Paraphrasing and reflection of feelings were
methods to facilitate self-exploration
Rogers described the fully- functioning person
as an ideal for healthy personality.
Rogers saw anxiety as resulting from our inability
to incorporate information that is inconsistent
with our self-image
 Rogers (cont-d)

Note his emphasis on social-environmental

causes of emotional maladjustment (in
contrast to the biological approach), when
he sees parental conditional acceptance.
The Rogerian therapist would say to a
client: I do not like what you did, but I still
respect you as a human being.
 Abraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow was interested in exploring

the sources of happy, healthy personality.
His approach was optimistic, regarding
human beings as free-willed individuals, and
not as captive by unconscious drives
His contribution is in the hierarchy of needs,
and in the study of the psychologically-
healthy individuals.
 Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow distinguished between D (deficiency)

needs and B (being) needs.
Physiological needs
Safety needs
Love and Belongingness needs
Esteem needs (you value yourself, and others
also value you)
Self-Actualization needs
Hierarchy of Needs
Misconceptions about Maslow Hierarchy

You do not have to fulfill all the needs in one

level to climb to the next level
Some people who starve for their loved one,
or for their life work
The needs in each level are never fully
satisfied
There are cultural differences in the ways the
needs are regarded and are fulfilled
 The psychologically-Healthy
People
Maslows study of the psychologically-
healthy people was Not empirically-based
He examined his friends, whom he judged to
be psychologically healthy, as well as
historical figures
His analysis was holistic and subjective
Yet, it was relevant that he called attention to
the healthy aspects of human nature
 Attributes of the Psychologically-
Healthy people
Sense of humor
Creativity- not in artistic talent, but in being
able to perform mundane tasks in a non-
routine manner.
Open to new experiences
Having peak experiences- which involve
the transcendence of time and place.
 The Psychology of Optimal Experience
and Positive Psychology
The legacy of the Humanistic Approach is in
the emergence of the new branch of
psychology, Positive Psychology
This branch focuses of human virtues,
strengths, resilience, and coping with
adversity
An important topic is the pursuit of
happiness- What is happiness?
 The Psychology of Optimal
Experience
In searching for the meaning of happiness,
Csikszentmihlyi introduced the concept of flow,
quite similar to Maslows Peak Experience
It involves being totally absorbed in an activity
that requires your full attention and utilizes your
skills to the utmost
You have a feeling you are in a state of flow
There are 8 components of the flow (see
textbook).
 Applications

Rogers applied his ideas into a system of therapy

that emphasizes the creation of the right
conditions to allow the client to accept
him/herself, and to achieve personal growth.
Extending to the client unconditional positive
regard facilitates this goal.
Maslows hierarchy of needs has been applied
into understanding job satisfaction and
vocational choices.
 Current Status

Though the Humanistic Approach was quite

popular when it first came out, and though
it introduced therapeutic strategies that are
still applied today, its popularity had waned.
The positive tone of the approach, that is
seen as the forerunner of Positive
Psychology, is certainly a plus.
Limitations of the Humanistic Approach

Many of the concepts do not lend

themselves for operational definitions and
for scientific study.
A great deal of the studies conducted by
Maslow and Rogers to support their ideas
were based on their own subjective
impressions and intuition.
The concept of free will has been
challenged.
 (cont-d)

Some researchers questioned the effectiveness of

the Rogerian therapy (how do you measure success
in therapy?). It may be more appropriate for people
in life transitions than for deep-seated
psychological disorders
The appropriateness of relying on the client to
make accurate appraisals of themselves has been
questioned.
The nave assumptions about the goodness of
individuals.