1.5 Counseling Theories

Counseling theories will assist inexperienced Human Service Professionals by serving as a “road map.” Novice counselors (professionals) can rely on a theory to provide direction and help ensure they will be effective with clients. Counseling theories also helps more experienced counselors by facilitating their integration of self and external knowledge.

Professional Human Service Professionals (counselors) will utilize a variety of theories in your work, currently there are hundreds of clinical counseling approaches to choose from. The most recent edition of The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Counseling and Psychotherapy lists over 300 different approaches to counseling practice. How do you determine what theory is best for you? Please know that NO ONE counseling approach (theory) is better than the rest.

Please click on the link below and watch and listen to Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes as she discusses Counseling Theories

Watch the video Counseling Theories

Fortunately, almost all of the many individual theoretical models of counseling fall into one or more of six major theoretical categories: humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, psychoanalytic, constructionist and systemic.

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Guiding While Instilling Hope Copyright © by Jo Ann Jankoski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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