THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING AND AN OVERVIEW OF VOCATIONAL STANDARDS IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

The American counseling field has reached most credentials, which are expected from a profession. The current standards in the United States provide safe counseling environment for clients, and protect counselors’ rights. Understanding the developments and key points of historical procedures could help international researchers to contribute the developments in their country. Furthermore, several countries have traced the American counseling professional pathway to establish their counseling fields. In the U.S., counseling professionals mostly began their efforts in the American Counseling Association (ACA), and developed independent accreditation, certification, and licensure processes within new organizations. Thus, developments counseling in the United States parallel ACA’s history. The aim of this study is to help international counselors, counselor educators, and counseling researchers to establish or maintain higher counseling standards in their countries by benefiting of developments in the United States. For this purpose, this study introduces historical steps and the current structure and standards of (a) ACA, (b) accreditation in counselor education, (c) licensure and certification of counseling professionals, and (d) ethical codes in the United States.