Helping Beginning Counselors Develop a Personal Theory of Counseling

Abstract

Developing a personal theory of counseling is essential for beginning counselors. Current approaches de‐emphasize life experiences before graduate training and fail to incorporate counselor developmental stages. This article presents a framework for strengthening development of a personal theory of counseling by integrating life experiences and counselor developmental stages with theory building approaches.

How beginning counselors learn: The interaction of personal and professional experiences in counselors with an experiential orientation

“…A similar conclusion can be drawn from autobiographic literature (e.g. Goldfried, 2005) and from workbooks and texts intended for counseling and psychotherapy trainees (Bager-Charleson, 2012;McLeod, 2010) and trainers (Spruill & Benshoff, 2000).…”

Selecting a Theory of Counseling: What Influences a Counseling Student to Choose?

“…Part of the professional identity of a counselor includes having a comprehensive understanding of a theory in question [16,32,45]. There are upwards of nearly 500 theories of counseling in existence [21,45] that help organize practice experiences and facilitate structure for personal and professional development [40]. The various theories have unique approaches to the practice of counseling but are common in that they are geared towards developing a positive change for the clients in a helping relationship [45].…”

“…Ginter [17] touted the importance of counseling theories when he stated, "Therapy cannot exist without theory" (p. 3). Having a theoretical orientation helps bridge the gap between theory and practice [40]. Having a theoretical orientation also allows beginning counseling students to become confident and competent during their training process allowing them to develop practical interventions and counseling goals [9,16,22].…”

“…For a counseling student, selecting a theory of counseling has many benefits. It is an intentional process by which counselors are able to "bridge the gap" between research and practice ( [40], p. 84). A counseling student's sense of professional competence increases when they select a theory early in their training [18].…”

“…Other factors observed as an influence in acquisition of theoretical orientation are cognitive style [2], religious beliefs [3,4] and personal belief systems [14]. As counselor/therapists develop over time, even their interaction with varying personal and professional life events, can cause an evolving of theoretical orientation over the span of their career [15,40].…”