This document provides an overview of counseling psychology. It discusses the identity of counseling psychology, including its focus on typical life stresses and more severe issues. It also discusses the specialized knowledge, problems addressed, skills and procedures utilized, and populations served by counseling psychologists. The document contrasts counseling psychology with clinical psychology, noting counseling psychology's emphasis on growth, prevention, and brief interventions. It also outlines the roles, functions, and training of counseling psychologists.

1. Foundations
of
Counseling Psychology
Dan Andrei Elbambuena Navarro Navarette Bagao, RPm

2. Foundations of Counseling Psychology
• Counseling Psychology Identity
• Training and Programs in Counseling Psychology
• Employment Settings
• Educational Settings
• Human Service Settings
• Distinctiveness and Overlap

3. What
is
Counseling
Psychology?

5. Counseling psychology is a general practice and
health service provider specialty in professional
psychology. It focuses on how people function
both personally and in their relationships at all
ages. Counseling psychology addresses the
emotional, social, work, school and physical
health concerns people may have at different
stages in their lives, focusing on typical life
stresses and more severe issues with which people
may struggle as individuals and as a part of
families, groups and organizations.

6. Counseling psychologists help people
with physical, emotional and mental
health issues improve their sense of
well‐being, alleviate feelings of
distress and resolve crises. They also
provide assessment, diagnosis, and
treatment of more severe
psychological symptoms.

7. Specialized
Knowledge

8. Across all stages of development (i.e., childhood,
adolescence, adulthood and older age), counseling
psychologists focus on:
• Healthy aspects and strengths of clients (whether
being seen as individuals, couples, families, groups
or organizations.
• Environmental/situational influences (how cultural,
gender and lifestyle issues shape people’s
experiences and concerns).
• Issues of diversity and social justice (e.g.,
advocacy).
• The role of career and work in peoples’ lives.

9. Problems
Addressed

10. The problems addressed by counseling psychology are
addressed from developmental (lifespan),
environmental and cultural perspectives. They include,
but are not limited to:
• School and career/work adjustment concerns.
• Making decisions about career and work, and
dealing with school‐work‐retirement transitions.
• Relationship difficulties‐including marital and
family difficulties.
• Learning and skill deficits.

11. • Stress management and coping with negative
life events.
• Organizational problems.
• Dealing with and adjusting to physical
disabilities, disease or injury.
• Personal/social adjustment.
• The development of one’s identity.
• Persistent difficulties with relating to other
people in general.
• Mental disorders.

12. Skills
&
Procedures
Utilized

13. The procedures and techniques used within counseling
psychology include, but are not limited to:
• Individual, family and group counseling and
psychotherapy.
• Crisis intervention, disaster and trauma
management.
• Assessment techniques for the diagnosis of
psychological disorders.
• Programs/workshops that educate and inform the
public about mental health, school, family,
relationship and workplace issues so that problems
can be prevented before they start or reduced before
they get worse.

14. • Consulting with organizations.
• Program evaluation and treatment
outcome (e.g., client progress).
• Training.
• Clinical supervision.
• Test construction and validation.
• Research methodologies for scientific
investigations.

15. Population
Served

16. Clients served by counseling psychologists
include individuals, groups (including couples
and families) and organizations. Counseling
psychologists work with individual clients of all
ages, such as children who have behavioral
problems; late adolescents with educational
and career concerns or substance abuse
problems; adults facing marital or family
difficulties, career changes, or overcoming
disabilities; and older adults facing
retirement.

20. Counseling
Psychology
Identity

21. AREAS OF EXPERTISE IN
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

22. AREAS OF EXPERTISE IN
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

23. AREAS OF EXPERTISE IN
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

24. AREAS OF EXPERTISE IN
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

25. AREAS OF EXPERTISE IN
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

26. AREAS OF EXPERTISE IN
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

27. AREAS OF EXPERTISE IN
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

28. AREAS OF EXPERTISE IN
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

29. Fourteen Values of
Counseling
Psychologist

30. George Howard (1992, pp. 423-424) identifies
fourteen values of the counseling psychologist. The
list is as follows:
1. Respect for the individual is desirable.
2. Diversity (by gender, race, religion, culture,
sexual orientation, etc.) is good.
3. Good interpersonal relationships are important.
4. A satisfactory and productive career is desirable.

31. 5. Growth and development (rather than
pathology and remediation) are often
preferred conceptual lenses for viewing
human problems.
6. A scientist-practitioner orientation can lead
to both good science and good practice.
7. Counseling psychologists can intervene in
lots of settings/methods and ways.

32. 8. Counseling psychologists emphasize
increasing a client's ability to solve problems,
make decisions, and cope more effectively with
life's major stressors and daily demands.
9. Counseling psychologists foster an awareness
of oppression! societal barriers to self
actualization and free choices.
10. Personality and psychopathology are
strongly influenced by environmental factors.

33. 11. Counseling psychologists advocate an altruistic
rather than an entrepreneurial approach to their work
(i.e., the public good is more important than personal
gain).
12. Open-mindedness, methodological diversity, and
theoretical ecumenism are important intellectual skills.
13. Prevention is preferable to dealing with existing
problems.
14. A holistic approach to mind-body-environment
issues is encouraged .

34. Basic
Tenants

35. Embodied within this list of values one can identify
some basic tenants of the counseling psychology
identity.
First, the counseling psychologist is interested in
working with people who struggle with a wide range
of problems that are often termed developmental or
transitional. Thus, the focus is on individuals with a
"normal range of life problems" (Gelso & Fretz,
1992, p. 6). This lends itself to a focus on people's
assets or strengths even when working with
individuals who are severely disturbed.

36. Second, the counseling psychologist gives
particular attention to the person-
environment interaction with an
understanding of the challenges of
individuals from marginalized groups
versus an intrapsychic focus that puts the
attention on something inherently wrong
inside of the person.

37. Third, the counseling psychologist reacts
against the notion of psychopathology and of
labeling individuals (Talley, 1995). Counseling
psychologists are trained to look beyond
diagnostic labels (Sinacore-Guinn, 1995) and
are taught to contextualize individuals'
difficulties, assessing the socio-cultural aspects
of those difficulties versus labeling the
individual as being disturbed.

38. Forth, counseling psychologists emphasize brief
interventions. Gelso and Fretz (1992) suggest this is
approximately 12 to 15 sessions. Although counseling
psychologists provide individual counseling and
psychotherapy this is not the only type of intervention for
which they have the skills. For example, they may
participate in activities such as guidance, supervision,
consultation, research, administration, and training.

39. Finally, counseling psychologists are
primarily concerned with assisting
individuals to have more rewarding careers,
interpersonal relationships, and a sense of
personal growth. Counseling psychologists
have particular expertise when it come to
career development and workplace
concerns.

40. Roles and Functions
of the Counseling
Psychologist

41. In 1968 Jordaan, Myers, Lay
ton, and Morgan defined the
roles of the counseling
psychologist in three major
areas:

42. (a) remedial: this entails working with
individuals or groups in order to assist them
in remedying problems of one kind or
another. The kind of interventions used here
may be personal or social counseling at an
individual, group, couples, or family level.
Other interventions may be crisis
intervention or various therapeutic services;

43. (b) preventive: counseling
psychologists "anticipate,
circumvent, and forestall difficulties
that may arise in the future"
(Jordaan et al., 1968, p. 1); and

44. (c) educative and developmental: counseling
psychologists "help individuals plan, obtain, and
derive maximum benefits from the kinds of
experiences which will enable them to discover
and develop their potentials" (Jordaan et
al.,1968, p. 1), and, as suggested by Gelso and
Fretz (1992), teaching skills or enhancing
attitudes that better equip individuals to deal
with everyday life problems.

45. Training and Program
in
Counseling
Psychology

51. Counseling Psychology
Employment:
Educational Settings, Human
Service Settings,

52. Counseling Psychologists are employed in a
variety of settings depending on the services
they provide and the client populations they
serve. Although some are employed in colleges
and universities as teachers, supervisors,
researchers, most have jobs as clinical
practitioners (often in independent practice)
providing counseling, psychotherapy,
assessment, and consultation services to
individuals, families, groups, and organizations.

53. Such services may be offered at mental
health centers, Veterans Administration
Medical Centers and other health care
facilities, family services, health
maintenance organizations,
rehabilitation agencies, business and
industrial organizations and consulting
firms, as well as through independent
practice offices.

56. Distinctiveness
and
Overlap

57. Counseling
Psychology
vs
Clinical Psychology

58. Clinical derives from the Greek, “kline,” which
means bed, (and is also found in the root of the word
“recline”). Clinical practice has traditionally referred
to care provided at the bedside of an ill patient.
Counsel is from the Latin, “consulere,” which means
to consult, advise, or deliberate. These differences,
broadly speaking, reflect the earliest focus of each
field. Clinical psychologists have traditionally studied
disturbances in mental health, while counseling
psychologists’ earliest role was to provide vocational
guidance and advice.

59. Clinical psychology and psychiatry are deeply
embedded in the medical model with a focus on
symptoms, diagnosis, and illness, while
counselling psychology is interested in
education, remediation, and development (Gelso
& Fretz, 1992; Watkins, 1983). The crucial
distinction rests upon counselling psychology's
focus upon "normal" development and
individual strengths , even in the hospital
setting.

60. References
• Price, M. (2009).Counseling vs. clinical programs:
Similarities abound. GradPSYCH Magazine,
American Psychological Association (APA).
• Hammer, J. H. (2018). Counseling psychology vs.
clinical psychology. DrJosephHammer.com.
• https://www.div17.org/about-cp/counseling-vs-
clinical-psychology/
• https://www.psychology.org/careers/counseling-
psychologist/#resources

61. • https://www.div17.org/about-cp/counseling-
psychology-training/
• http://socialworkbriefings.blogspot.com/2015
/06/what-is-and-what-is-not-strength-
based.html