The value of theories for counseling practitioners

Abstract

The emergence of counseling as a recognized helping profession has led to the introduction of higher standards for counselor education. Emphasis has been placed on a balance between theoretical erudition and practical training. Some counseling practitioners, however, minimize the value of theoretical knowledge and doubt its importance for professional effectiveness. This article challenges such views and points out that counselors cannot remain true professionals unless they undergird their work by adequate theoretical insights. Theories help counselors understand the dynamics of human behavior and choose therapeutic approaches appropriate to specific clients and situations. Psychological theories come alive in the counselor's mind if they are seen as extensions of life experiences of various theorists. To document this reality, the article presents several examples of well-known psychological theorists. Counseling practitioners are then encouraged to form, on the basis of existing theories, an operational framework consistent with their own experiences and values.

Play therapy with adolescents in schools: Counselors’ firsthand experiences.

“…These approaches include child-centered (Cochran, Fauth, Cochran, Spurgeon, & Pierce, 2010), Adlerian (Rosselet & Stauffer, 2013), Gestalt (Oaklander, 1978), Jungian (Green, 2014), cognitive–behavioral (Berg, 2005), and sandplay therapy (Prins-Goodman, 2012). According to Drapela (1990), theory is a roadmap that provides counselors with a solid operational frame. Counselors who do not embed their practices in well thought out theoretical bases could direct clients with institutionalized agendas (Zuchelli, 1993), thus risking being ineffective in helping clients (Drapela, 1990).…”

“…According to Drapela (1990), theory is a roadmap that provides counselors with a solid operational frame. Counselors who do not embed their practices in well thought out theoretical bases could direct clients with institutionalized agendas (Zuchelli, 1993), thus risking being ineffective in helping clients (Drapela, 1990). Hence, it is worth exploring whether counselors have embedded their practices in sound theoretical underpinnings.…”

Career Self-Management and Development of Multicultural Knowledge and Practice: Experience of Professional Counsellors

“…Generally, many counsellors stated that "the personal was professional" and interventions created for clients took into consideration their experiences with actual work with clients in combination with considering their own personal lives as a necessary component of understanding their work with clients. This highlights the importance of building one's unique theory derived from our own identity and experiences (Drapela, 1990;Kramer, 2000). Counsellor's personal lived experiences foreshadowed their orientation to counselling practice with diverse clients that shifted, broadened, and deepened over time (Wong-Wylie, 2006).…”

Therapeutic Resonance Across the Miles

“…Regardless, I was grateful for the opportunity to think deeply about the foundational theories underlying my own counselling practice, as well as the momentum needed to catapult me into that next phase of my academic trajectory. Drapela (1990) tells us that "theory is a professional road map, as important as the use of navigational charts to a pilot who wants to stay on course" (p. 19), and that counsellors need to form, on the basis of existing theories, an operational framework that is consistent with their own worldview, personal experiences, and values. He challenges the idea that theoretical knowledge is less important than practical knowledge within counsellor education, and strongly suggests that: 1) within all psychological systems there exists a link between personality theory, counselling theory, and philosophical worldviews; 2) the public expects therapists to acquire extensive theoretical knowledge; and 3) all psychological schools of thought are extensions of the life experiences of the founding theorist.…”

“…This led me to question the theories that I had attached myself to that reflected my own worldview and personal experience. Drapela (1990) also warns against adhering to a single theory and encourages counsellors to consider that "an uncritical, rigid adherence to any theory would stifle our personality, which is the most valuable therapeutic tool that we possess" (p. 24). In this sense, counsellors restory theories so that their understanding of counselling theory fits within the philosophical worldview that has been shaped by their own early experiences.…”