FUNCTION OF PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING Introductio

This research paper presents professional counseling and its function. Areas of function past, present, and future are discussed.

Counseling is viewed as an essential function in a complex society; it is a function rather than a role. Counseling is viewed as that which makes society run smoothly. The counselor is the representative and advocate of those who make up the social system. The counselor must be aware of the many complex systems; he helps the individual adjust to these systems. The counseling profession struggles with identity and role. Different situations demand different roles; for example a counsellor may look like a social worker or a teacher. Regardless of role shifts, the counselor maintains a sincere desire to help people use their individual resources within their social and cultural environment to make a better life. A counselor may have different credentials, including those with Ph.D.'s or M.A.'s; others have experience rather than credentials. The counseling skill and success depends more on personal characteristics and experience than length of graduate training (Tyler, 1972, p. 6-7, 11).

Hahn (1955) describes counseling psychology as a functionally unique pattern of practices. He states that counseling psychologists resemble industrial psychologists more than psychotherapists, have a greater interest in processes and things than persons and personalities (suc

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ea of school psychology (Bardon, 1968, p. 8; & Tyler, 1972, p. 7). The 70s brought problems with confusion and isolation. People were confused with multiple possibilities for ways to live; they were overwhelmed. Social controls were diminishing. People of all ages were feeling isolated and lonely. Marriages were breaking up. The 70s brought an emphasis on groups; counseling psychologists viewed themselves as experts on group interaction. They organized self-help programs for needs such as drug addiction or encounter groups (Tyler, 1972, p. 7-10). The 1970s brought a declaration of a war on drugs, without an army of treatment staff. The country went from few (less than 100) community-based treatment programs in 1965 to over 4000 people being treated in 1973. The drug user population consisted of heroin users (over 80 percent) and professionals volunteers were not abundant. The mental professional admitted to shortcomings in working with this client population and their reliance on the addict paraprofessional who could speak the language of the client. These paraprofessionals became recognized for their treatment role which had previously been regarded as custodial (Brown, 1993, pp. 1243-1245). Counselor effecti
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Approximate Word count = 2439
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)