Carkhuff's Human Technology: A Verification and Extension of Kelly's (1997) Suggestion to Integrate the Humanistic and Technical Components of Counseling

Abstract

In the May/June 1997 issue of the Journal of Counseling & Development, Eugene Kelly contended that the counseling profession should integrate its theories to combine the strengths of both the humanistic and the technical orientations in the field. Kelly's recommendation is supported by previous efforts that have already advanced the field. Human Technology (HT) as devised by Robert Carkhuff integrated nondirective, psychodynamic, and behavioristic counseling modes. Extensions of HT also demonstrate the continuing growth potential in the integrative strategy. In this article, the authors discuss those endeavors to emphasize the potential contributions to be attained by integrating humanistic and technical orientations.

Counselor Training: Empirical Findings and Current Approaches

“…The SCTM, like its predecessor HRT/HRD (Carkhuff, 1971(Carkhuff, , 1987, trains students in three stages of counseling: exploring, understanding, and acting (Aspy, Aspy, Russel, & Wedel, 2000;Smaby et al, 1999;Urbani et al, 2002). The exploring stage involves the identification of client difficulties, whereas the understanding and acting stages include the development of client goals and the planning of methods for reaching goals, respectively (Little et al, 2005;Smaby et al, 1999;Urbani et al, 2002).…”

Including Diagnostic Training in Counseling Curricula: Implications for Professional Identity Development

“…This focus on the counseling relationship and the development of the individual draws directly from humanistic ideals. Furthermore, the continued emphasis on relational techniques training in counseling curricula (e.g., Aspy, Aspy, Russel, & Wedel, 2000) is also a byproduct of the humanistic idealization of the counseling relationship. Therefore, even as the counseling profession moves past humanism and on to new treatment modalities, humanistic values continue to pervade the profession, both in terms of core identity and the continued emphasis on relational techniques (Hansen, 2000a).…”

Beyond Both Traditional Scientist/Humanists and Humanist/Scientists

“…This oscillation between modes is similar to Carkhuff's (1993) helping model in that both include approaches to human relationships that recognize the integration of the affective and the cognitive. Kelly (1997) advocated the integration of humanistic and technical components of counseling, and D. Aspy, Aspy, Russell, and Wedel (2000) described Carkhuff's (1993) attempts to meet such a challenge.…”