Psychologists in Counseling Centers

Abstract

A total of 220 university counseling center directors responded to a survey about their staff composition, staff psychologists' motivations for choosing counseling center work, commitment to this work setting, and motivations for leaving. Results were compared with those obtained in a similar survey conducted 15 years earlier. The present study suggests that staffs have more senior members than previously, that staff psychologists are spread more evenly across the age spectrum, and that staffs are proportionately more female. Essentially the same factors attract and hold psychologists as identified earlier However, private practice has now supplanted other options as the primary outlet for those leaving counseling centers.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Baron, A. , Sekel, A. C. , & Stott, F. W. (1983). Early career issues for counseling center psychologists: The first six years. The Counseling Psychologist, 12, 121-125.

Bishop, J. (1995). Emerging administrative strategies for college and university counseling centers. Journal of Counseling and Development, 74, 33-38.

Fitzgerald, L. F. , & Osipow, S. H. (1986). An occupational analysis of counseling psychology: How special is the specialty? American Psychologist, 41, 535-544.

Fitzgerald, L. F. , & Osipow, S. H. (1988). We have seen the future but is it us? The vocational aspirations of graduate students in counseling psychology. Professional Psychology, 19, 575-583.

Heppner, P. P. , & Neal, G. W. (1983). Holding up the mirror: Research on the roles and functions of counseling centers in higher education. The Counseling Psychologist, 11, 81-98.

Krauskopf, C. , Thoreson, R. , & McAleer, C. (1973). Counseling psychology: The who, what, and where of our profession. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 20, 370-374.

May, T. M. , Corazzini, J. G. , & Robbins, S. B. (1990). Psychologists who leave counseling centers: Job satisfaction and career options. Journal of College Student Development, 31, 270-274.

Parham, W. D. (1992). Personal and professional issues for counseling center psychologists: 7-10 years post doctorate. The Counseling Psychologist, 20, 32-38.

Phelps, R. E. (1992). University and college counseling centers: One option for new professionals in counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 20, 24-31.

10.

Robbins, S. B. , May, T. M. , & Corazzini, J. G. (1985). Perceptions of client needs and counseling center staff roles and functions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 32, 641-644.

11.

Schneider, L. J. , Watkins, C. E., Jr. , & Gelso, C. J. (1988). Counseling psychology from 1971 to 1986: A perspective on and appraisal of current training emphases. Professional Psychology, 19, 584-588.

12.

Simono, R. B. , & Wachowiak, D. G. (1980). Psychologists in college counseling centers: A survey of directors. Professional Psychology, 11, 643-647.

13.

Simono, R. B. , & Wachowiak, D. G. (1983). Career patterns in counseling centers: Counseling psychologists review their past, present, and future. Professional Psychology, 14, 143-148.

14.

Stone, G. L. , & Archer, J., Jr. (1990) College and university counseling centers in the 1990s: Challenges and limits. The Counseling Psychologist, 18, 539-607.

15.

Todd, J. , & Bohart, A. C. (1994). Foundations of clinical and counseling psychology (2nd. ed.). New York: HarperCollins.

16.

Wachowiak, D. G. , Bauer, G. , & Simono, R. B. (1979). Passages: Career ladders for counseling psychologists in college counseling centers. Professional Psychology, 10, 723-731.

17.

Watkins, C. E., Jr. (1988). Contemporary issues in counseling psychology: A selected review. Professional Psychology, 19, 441-448.

18.

Zook, A. , & Walton, J. M. (1989). Theoretical orientations and work settings of clinical and counseling psychologists: A current perspective. Professional Psychology, 20, 23-31.