Age, income, and professional characteristics of members of the APA's Division of Counseling and Guidance.

Counseling psychologists: Who are they?

“…For Fellows, the median is 54-55 and for Members it is 46-47. The difference of about eight years in median age between Fellows and Members agrees with previous findings (Berg, Pepinsky, et al, 1952;APA, 1959). A disturbing fact, however, is that Berg, Pepinsky, and others reported 41.7 as the median age for all members as of 1951 and the Committee gave 43.9 as the median as of 1957.…”

“…Furthermore, judging from the number of these diplomates, those Members who earned their baccalaureates since 1935 and who, hence, were not eligible as "grandfathers" seem not particularly motivated to earn this professional diploma. Such impression is reinforced by the finding of Berg, Pepinsky, Arsenian, andHeston (1952) that, in 1951, 33 per cent of 454 respondents identified themselves as ABEPP diplomates. Then the total membership of Division 17 was 644.…”

Demographic, Educational, Employment, and Professional Characteristics of Counseling Psychologists

“…Yamamoto (1963) reported that in a study of members and fellows of Division 17 in the 1961 Directory of the American Psychological Association, 25% of the 1,016 Division 17 members and fellows were board certified by ABEPP, 15.9% were board certified in counseling psychology, 7.1% in clinical psychology, and 1.9% in industrial psychology. In comparing these findings to the earlier findings of Berg et al (1952), Yamamoto observed a decline in the relative percentage of Division 17 members with the ABEPP diploma, which were attributed in part to younger members no longer being eligible for the grandfather procedure that allowed waiving formal examinations for the diplomate. In comparison to Yamamoto's figures, board certification in counseling psychology among Division 17 members and fellows in terms of relative percentage has declined from 15.9% to 6%.…”

“…While over the years there have been several studies conducted concerning counseling psychologists and their demographic, employment, and professional work characteristics, most of the studies to date have investigated counseling psychologists who were members of Division 17 (Berg, Pepinsky, Arsenian, & Heston, 1952;Dreese, 1949;Fitzgerald & Osipow, 1986;Gelso & Fretz, 2001;Samler, 1964;Watkins, Lopez, Campbell, & Himmell, 1986), and most investigations have not included or studied counseling psychologists who were not Division 17 members. Clearly, knowledge and understanding of the demographic, employment, and professional activity characteristics of the complete group of counseling psychologists-Division 17 members and nonmembers-is important to a thorough understanding of the profession and specialty of counseling psychology.…”

“…Division 17 would subsequently be renamed Counseling Psychology with the clear emergence of counseling psychology as a profession in the 1950s. Later, in the early 1950s, Berg et al (1952) also reported on the age, income, and professional characteristics of members of the Division of Counseling and Guidance of the APA. Samler (1964) investigated the employment setting and work characteristics of counseling psychologists based on a sample of members of Division 17, Counseling Psychology.…”