Counselling Psychology in the UK: a critical-humanistic perspective

Abstract

In this broad analysis of the history, current state and future prospects of Counselling Psychology as a distinct branch of the Psychology discipline, we first describe how Counselling Psychology emerged historically, and we then review the ways in which Counselling Psychology offers something quite distinct from the mainstream discipline, and which could even begin to resemble a kind of genuinely 'critical psychology'. We offer a nine-point 'prospectus' setting out the value of Counselling Psychology, focusing in particular on its specifically humanistic contributions within Psychology; we also consider its limitations. We urge that non-defensive and engaged attention be given to serious critiques of the psychological therapies, and we advocate ongoing, genuinely critical engagement with such challenges, such that an authentically critical-radical Counselling Psychology might become a genuine possibility. Introduction: personalWe began to conceive of this article when asked to show where Counselling Psychology sits in relation to the field of critical psychology . While it therefore carries some sense of being a defence of Counselling Psychology, a more important task for us in this article is to show the ways in which Counselling Psychology has great potential for taking forward the historic task of Humanistic Psychology in its important goal of humanizing the Psychology discipline. We both have a long-standing relation to Humanistic Psychology, albeit with different emphases, though we are far from being mainstream or 'on-message' psychologists; and our own critical thinking is not necessarily aligned with 'mainstream' critical psychology. Our contribution might therefore be considered a form of critical-humanistic counselling psychology. We also think it highly relevant

Survey of schools’ work with child and adolescent mental health across England: a system in need of support

“…Recent guidance has focused on how best to ensure a positive role for counsellors in schools (Department of Health, ). It is important to note in this regard that in England the majority of counsellors provide humanistic counselling (House & Feltham, ) and it is hoped that in time the range of therapies available will be extended to include other evidence‐based approaches.…”