Counseling Psychology

Charles J. Gelso, PhD, completed his doctorate in counseling psychology at Ohio State University in 1970 and has been at the University of Maryland since then. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Psychology and codirector of the Maryland Psychotherapy Clinic and Research Laboratory, a clinic aimed at training in psychodynamic therapy, conducting therapy research, and providing open-ended low-cost treatment. Dr. Gelso has published widely in the area of the therapeutic relationship in psychotherapy, with particular emphasis on what he has termed a tripartite model of the client-therapist relationship. The focal points of this model, and of Dr. Gelso’s research and theoretical work, are the working alliance between client and therapist, what he terms the real or personal relationship, and the transference-countertransference configuration. These elements are posited to exist in all therapy relationships. He has also written significantly about research training in practice-related fields in psychology and the integration of science and practice. He has written several books in addition to Counseling Psychology, including Countertransference and the Therapist’s Inner Experience: Perils and Possibilities (with Jeffrey A. Hayes), The Real Relationship in Psychotherapy: The Hidden Foundation of Change, and, most recently, The Therapeutic Relationship in Psychotherapy Practice: An Integrative Perspective. He has received many awards, including the Leona Tyler Award, the top award in the field of counseling psychology, and has been editor of the Journal of Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy. Dr. Gelso has been engaged in the practice of psychotherapy and therapy supervision throughout his career.

Elizabeth Nutt Williams, PhD, is a professor of psychology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the national public honors college, where she has served as chair of the Psychology Department, coordinator of the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, dean of the core curriculum and first year experience, and president of the Faculty Senate. She received her bachelor’s in psychology from Stanford University and her doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Maryland. Her scholarly interests focus primarily on psychotherapy process, feminist/multicultural approaches to counseling, and mixed methods research (quantitative and qualitative). She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA; Divisions 2, 17, 29, and 35) and has received awards for both her teaching (Homer L. Dodge Award for Teaching Excellence in 2003) and her scholarship (from the Society for Psychotherapy Research and from the Division of Psychotherapy of APA in 2006). Dr. Williams was the Woman of the Year for the Section for the Advancement of Women of the Society for Counseling Psychology in 2013. She has published two books, Counseling Psychology (with Charles Gelso) and The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Multicultural Counseling Psychology (with Carol Enns), and numerous empirical articles. She served on the Council of Representatives of the APA from 2017 to 2019 and has served as president of Division of Psychotherapy of APA (2011), as well as on several editorial boards (including Psychotherapy, Psychotherapy Research, Psychology of Women Quarterly, and The Counseling Psychologist).

Preface

I. Foundations of Counseling Psychology

Chapter 1. An Introduction to Counseling Psychology
Defining Features of Counseling Psychology
Counseling Psychology and Other Specialties and Fields
Summary

Chapter 2. History of Counseling Psychology
The History and Development of the Profession of Counseling Psychology
Summary

Chapter 3. Ethical Values of Counseling Psychologists
Evolving Discourse on Ethics
The APA Ethics Code
Illustrations of Unethical Behaviors
Ethical Dilemmas
Implementing Ethical Decisions
Summary

II. The Science of Counseling Psychology

Chapter 4. Research Strategies and Paradigms of Counseling Psychologists
The “Scientist” Part of the Scientist–Practitioner Model
Exploratory Methodologies and Qualitative Research in Counseling Psychology
A Framework for Understanding Quantitative Research in Counseling Psychology
Mixed-Methods Research in Counseling Psychology
The Bubble Hypothesis and the Search for Clinical Relevance
Summary

Chapter 5. Vocational Psychology: History and Recent Trends
The Changing World of Work
Emerging Vocational Theories
Vocational Research in Counseling Psychology
Summary

Chapter 6. Diversity and Social Justice
Definitions
Race and Ethnicity
Sex and Gender
Sexual Orientation
Social Justice in Counseling Psychology
Summary

Chapter 7. Working With Strengths: Counseling Psychology's Calling
Positive Psychology and Counseling Psychology
Levels of Theory and Research on Positive Experiences, Strengths, and Optimal Functioning
Strength-Based Interventions
Strength-Oriented Psychotherapies
Counseling Psychology and Health
Summary

Chapter 8. Analyzing the Outcomes and Processes of Counseling and Psychotherapy
Outcome Research
Process Research and the Techniques of Counseling
Summary

III. The Practice of Counseling Psychology

Chapter 9. The Therapeutic Relationship
The Importance of the Therapeutic Relationship
The Therapeutic Relationship Defined
Components of Therapeutic Relationships
Facilitative Conditions and the Therapy Relationship
Relationship Components, Facilitative Conditions, and the Therapeutic Process
Summary

Chapter 10. The Science and Practice of Assessment
The Pros and Cons of Testing and Assessment
Assessment: More Than Psychological Tests
Standards for All Assessment Techniques
Psychological Tests
Using Assessment: Meeting the Challenges of Industrialized Health Care
Clinical Judgment in Psychological Assessment
Communicating Assessment Results
Summary

Chapter 11. The Psychodynamic Approach
The First Freudian and the Beginnings of Psychoanalysis
Psychodynamic Interventions: Some Key Distinctions
The Four Psychologies of Psychoanalysis
Common Elements Among Psychoanalytic Approaches
Brief Psychodynamic Therapy: An Approach for Counseling Psychologists
The Psychodynamic Approach in Perspective
Summary

Chapter 12. The Cognitive-Behavioral Approach
Historical Sketch of the Behavioral and Cognitive Approaches
Basic Approaches and Assumptions of Behavioral and Cognitive Treatments
Methods and Procedures of Behavioral and Cognitive Approaches
Two Primarily Cognitive Approaches to Counseling
The Behavioral and Cognitive Approaches in Perspective
Summary

Chapter 13. The Humanistic–Experiential Approach
Humanistic Assumptions About Human Beings, Counseling, and Science
The Person-Centered Therapy of Carl Rogers
Fritz Perls and Gestalt Therapy
Emotion-Focused Therapy: A Major Integration
Summary

Chapter 14. The Feminist Multicultural Approach
Historical Overview of Feminist and Multicultural Approaches
Feminist Therapy
Multicultural Counseling
Integration of Theories and Cultural Competence
Development of Practice Guidelines Focusing on Social Identities
Summary

Chapter 15. Career Counseling: Theories and Interventions
Definitions of Vocational and Career Terminology
Foundations in Vocational Theory
Career Counseling Interventions
Indecisiveness: The Ultimate Career Counseling Challenge
Career Counseling and Psychotherapy: Together or Apart?
Summary

Chapter 16. Therapeutic Groupwork: Beyond the Individual
Advantages and Limitations of Group Interventions
Therapeutic Groupwork: Definitions and Basic Features
Group Leadership: Approaches, Tasks, and Qualities
Stages of Therapeutic Groups
Therapeutic Factors in Group Work
Ethical Issues in Therapeutic Group Work
Group Counseling and Therapy in Perspective
Summary

Chapter 17. Couple and Family Therapy
The Beginnings of Family Interventions
Key Assumptions and Concepts of Family and Couples Therapy: Systems Theory
Classic Theoretical Approaches to Couple and Family Therapy
Couple and Family Therapy in a Postmodern World
Couple and Family Counseling in Perspective
Summary

IV. Careers in Counseling Psychology

Chapter 18. Training and Professional Issues in Counseling Psychology
Becoming a Counseling Psychologist: What Do I Need to Know?
You’ve Decided to Be a Counseling Psychologist! Tips on Maximizing Your Experiences in Graduate School
I Have My Doctorate, Now What? Postdoctoral Training, Licensure, and Beginning Your Career
Closing Thoughts on the Field of Counseling Psychology
Summary

References
Index
About the Authors