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Gestalt Therapists

FACTORS INFLUENCING CHOICE OF CLINICAL SPECIALTY IN A

The field of clinical/counseling psychology is composed of several diverse therapeutic models; e.g. cognitive-behavioral therapies, systemic therapies, psychoanalytic therapies, humanistic therapies, etc. The question that can be asked here is: What variables influence the selection of one clinical or counseling specialty over another?

There has been some research that has attempted to examine why counselors and/or therapists select certain clinical specialties and other others. In this regard, studies have shown that specialty selection is to some extent influenced by the type of certification/credentials required (Myers, 1992); greater interest in the specialty than in the general field (Sweeney, 1992); family considerations (Miller, 1991); personality traits (Ream, 1995) and level of self-esteem and gender (Eden, 1985).

Despite the multiple factors inputting into the decision to select one type of clinical or counseling specialty over another, Peterson and Nisenholz (1994), report that there is one set of factors that is especially contributive to the selection process. This is said to be a set of factors involving the history of the therapist regarding his initial interest in the specialty.

In other words, specialty selection is often related to such background variables as when and how the therapist heard about the specialty and/or his or her life situation at the time of first hearing about the specialty (e.g., was he or she a student, a professional in the field of psychology or a professional in a non-psychological field?). Peterson and Nisenholz (1994) further report that the contribution of the historical factors leading to a therapist's or counselor's initial interest in the specialty is under-researched.

This study, therefore, contributes to this sparse area of the existing knowledge base by examining the historical/background influences on spe...

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Gestalt Therapists. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 12:46, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1705891.html