PSYC 388- Introduction to Counselling exam review from Unit 1, 2, 3, 4 Athabasca University
(Rev. C7)
UNIT 1: COUNSELLING IN CANADA: HISTORY AND TRENDS
Learning Objectives:
1. Define counselling in your own words, using the CCPA definition as a basis for your definition.
a. Counselling is a process that promotes knowing and understanding one’s self and emotions. It leads to emotional
acceptance, growth, and development of personal resources through proficient and ethical relationship building.
2. Describe the similarities and differences between guidance, counselling, and psychotherapy.
a. Differences:
Guidance Counselling Psychotherapy
Process of helping people make Skilled and principled use of Focuses on serious problems
important choices that affect their relationship to facilitate associated with intrapsychic, internal,
lives. For ex. Choosing a preferred self-knowledge, emotional acceptance personal issues and conflicts.
career and growth, and the optimal
development of personal resources Deals with persistent and pervasive
patterns of maladaptive behaviour
that likely require longer term
attention
Counsellor's expertise defines right or If not offering guidance services, do not assume they have the correct answer,
wrong hellp clients determine that for themselves
Decision making based Theory based - cognitive, affective, Analytically based therapy
behavioural, and systemic
Focus on helping choose what people Focus on both choice and changes Focus on insight more than change;
value most reconstructive change
Unequal relationship: help less Collaborative relationship Unequal relationship: Therapist is
experienced people find direction in expert
life
Early work occurred in schools and Broad practice in diverse settings: Early work was more in inpatient
career centres community agencies, private practices, settings, residential treatment
universities
Short term intervention Mostly short term intervention but Long term intervention (6m to 2y)
can be extended
b. Similarities:
i. Counsellors and Therapists have similar working processes (Fig 1.2)
ii. Some counselling theories are also referred to as therapies, can be used in either counselling or therapy settings
iii. Counsellors see clients that have more developmental or situational concerns (same as guidance counsellors) and
also those whose treatment may encompass disorders (similar to psychotherapists)
iv. Counselling and psychotherapy are both holistic approaches - help improve well-being and problem solving for
both the present and future
1. Guidance is time and context limited
3. outline the reasons for the inconsistent and imprecise use of the terms guidance, counselling, and psychotherapy; and
state the factors and changes affecting the usage of these terms.
a. Because there is a general lack of agreement on the definitions, mot experienced therapists or counsellors look at
the process rather than the label to shape their opinions
b. Similarly the label of the professional is less important- they could be a counsellor or professional but are they a
good one?
c. Factors:
, i. Counsellor’s identification with specific theoretical approaches
ii. Licensing demands/requirements
iii. Employer demands, guidelines, and expectations
, iv. History of the client
4. explain why it is important to understand the differences between guidance, counselling, and psychotherapy, and state
the implications for the inconsistent/incorrect usage of these terms.
a. Because it helps clear confusion with the terms
b. Difference stems more from the process that has occurred between clinician and client as opposed to mere label
c. Implications
i. For a student, inconsistency is confusing
ii. Students may assume lack of clarity reflects their lack of knowledge rather than imprecise use of terms
iii. May not recognise to look past the terms to what is actually happening
iv. Leads to poorer quality of research in the field
v. Confusion by those trying to learn to be counselors
vi. Confusion by consumers or potential consumers because they will be unsure of what they should expect
5. identify and describe the similarities and differences between guidance, counselling, and psychotherapy (as terms and as
professions).
a. Similarities: Guidance, counselling, and psychotherapy are all communication-based processes in which
professionals seek to help other people solve problems / issues in their lives and/or to develop healthier ways of
approaching choices. In some forms of each of these activities, a goal may be to increase a client’s understanding
of his/her situation and/or self.
i. Counselling, guidance, and psychotherapy share a common set of assumptions about how helpers should
help clients. Helpers in all of these categories believe that clients should be treated with dignity and
respect, in a manner intended to help them deal both with the specific situation or issue(s) at hand as well
as other current and future issues.
ii. All three assume that the client is ultimately the decision-maker. Each recognizes that the client may or
may not choose the path(s) that the helper believes is in the client’s best interests; ultimately the client
assumes responsibility for his/her own life. Exceptions may apply when a client is deemed incompetent
under the law to take on this responsibility. Competency judgments will relate most often to matters of
age or the inability to reason properly due to medical or social conditions.
iii. All three exist to help people deal with situations/issues for which advice or help from an outside party is
likely to be of benefit.
iv. All three use a series of counselling skills (microskills) that have been demonstrated to increase the
likelihood of successful outcomes.
v. All three involve a relationship between two or more people using conventions associated with good
counselling practice.
b. Differences:
i. Guidance Counselling vs. Counselling/Psychotherapy
○ Guidance approaches situations from the perspective that the guidance counsellor has more information or
better ways to reach decisions than the person receiving the service. Guidance provides the client with
expert advice and solutions, which the client may or may not follow.
○ Those who provide guidance counselling services use counselling skill-sets, but their intentions tend to be
more focused on helping clients make a decision(s) about specific, important issue(s) (course selections,
jobs, school choices) in their lives.
○ Counselling and psychotherapy are processes that seek to help people improve their well-being and increase
their ability to solve problems and make decisions for themselves both in and beyond the current situation.
Therefore, counselling and psychotherapy are considered more holistic than guidance. In contrast, guidance
focuses on assisting a person to make decisions that are usually time- and context-limited. Of course, such
decisions can, and usually will, have longer-term effects for a person's life.
Counselling vs. Psychotherapy
, ○ Both counselling and psychotherapy focus less on the content of a specific decision than does guidance.
Instead, both counselling and psychotherapy focus on helping a person reach the decision that fits best for
them with regard to their own values and desires.
○ Shorter-term work focused on dealing with a specific situation (marital breakup, loss of job, etc.) is more
likely to be called counselling than therapy (but this is not always true).
○ Persistent and pervasive patterns of maladaptive behaviour are likely to require longer-term service
provision, which is more likely to be called therapy. Such situations also assume the need for greater
expertise by the provider.
○ Services provided by social workers, pastoral care counsellors, nurses, vocational guidance personnel, and
school psychologists are more likely to be labelled counselling than psychotherapy/therapy. Sometimes the
employer mandates this nomenclature, and sometimes the service provider prefers this designation.
○ Psychiatrists and (some) psychologists are more likely to call their services therapy than are other care
providers. This might be due to history, licensure, specific training, etc.
○ Service providers who use diagnostic systems, such as the DSM, are more likely to call their services
treatment (yet another term). Sometimes this term is mandated by the institution they work for and
sometimes the practitioner views the service as treatment. Those who view themselves as providing
treatment are more likely to call what they do therapy (possibly because this fits with the medical model).
6. List the major events that influenced the development of counselling from before 1900 to 2000.
a. Before 1900
i. US: Counselling developed out of a humanitarian concern to improve lives of those adversely affected by the
Industrial revolution
ii. Social Welfare Reform Movement (Social Justice), spread of public education, changes in population makeup due to
immigration
iii. Canada: Moral Therapy Movement from France migrated to Canada around 1850 ⇒ humane approach best way to
treat psychological problems
b. 1900 to 1909
i. Mental Health movement and Vocational guidance movement found their way from the US to Canada
ii. Frank Parsons and Clifford Beers emerged as american leaders in counselling history
iii. FP found Boston’s Vocational Bureau in 1908 → institutionalization of vocational guidance
c. 1910s to 1940s
i. CB and Clarence Hincks founded Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene in 1918 which is now CMHA
ii. Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 provided funding for public schools to support vocational education
1. Canadian counsellors received education here
iii. WW1 - military began to employ testing and placement practices for great numbers of military personnel
iv. 1920s - vocational guidance offered in canadian junior and senior high schools
v. Edward Strong’s Strong Vocational Interest Inventory 1927 - psychological instrument but came with the
development of the first standards for the preparation and evaluation of occupational materials
vi. 1930s - great depression - emphasized helping strategies and counselling methods related to employment
vii. First theory of Counselling by E G Williamson and colleagues - modified Parson’s theory and used it to work with
students and unemployed a.k.a Minnesota point of view/Trait Factor Counselling
viii. WWII - test construction for selecting and classifying military personnel
ix. 1939 - beginning of Canadian Psychological Association meeting E.A. Bott (UofT), George Humphrey (Queens), Roy
Liddy (University of Western Ontario)
1. The Bulletin → Canadian Journal of Psychology
x. 1932 Education as Guidance - John Brewer proposed that every teacher be a counsellor and that guidance be
incorporated into the school curriculum as a subject
xi. Post secondary counselling emerged after WWII and provincial guidance associations began to form
1. Maritime Guidance association a.k.a Atlantic Chapter of the Canadian Counselling Association
2. L’Association des orienteurs de la province de Quebec
xii. Carl Rogers wrote Counselling and Psychotherapy in 1942 and challenged the Counsellor centered approach of
Williamson as well as Freudian psychoanalysis
1. New emphasis on the importance of relationship in counselling, research, refinement of counselling
technique, selection and training of future counsellors and the goals and objectives of counselling
2. Guidance disappeared as a major consideration and was replaced with a concentration on counselling
d. 1950s to 1980s
i. Rogers person-centered approach spread far and wide
(Rev. C7)
UNIT 1: COUNSELLING IN CANADA: HISTORY AND TRENDS
Learning Objectives:
1. Define counselling in your own words, using the CCPA definition as a basis for your definition.
a. Counselling is a process that promotes knowing and understanding one’s self and emotions. It leads to emotional
acceptance, growth, and development of personal resources through proficient and ethical relationship building.
2. Describe the similarities and differences between guidance, counselling, and psychotherapy.
a. Differences:
Guidance Counselling Psychotherapy
Process of helping people make Skilled and principled use of Focuses on serious problems
important choices that affect their relationship to facilitate associated with intrapsychic, internal,
lives. For ex. Choosing a preferred self-knowledge, emotional acceptance personal issues and conflicts.
career and growth, and the optimal
development of personal resources Deals with persistent and pervasive
patterns of maladaptive behaviour
that likely require longer term
attention
Counsellor's expertise defines right or If not offering guidance services, do not assume they have the correct answer,
wrong hellp clients determine that for themselves
Decision making based Theory based - cognitive, affective, Analytically based therapy
behavioural, and systemic
Focus on helping choose what people Focus on both choice and changes Focus on insight more than change;
value most reconstructive change
Unequal relationship: help less Collaborative relationship Unequal relationship: Therapist is
experienced people find direction in expert
life
Early work occurred in schools and Broad practice in diverse settings: Early work was more in inpatient
career centres community agencies, private practices, settings, residential treatment
universities
Short term intervention Mostly short term intervention but Long term intervention (6m to 2y)
can be extended
b. Similarities:
i. Counsellors and Therapists have similar working processes (Fig 1.2)
ii. Some counselling theories are also referred to as therapies, can be used in either counselling or therapy settings
iii. Counsellors see clients that have more developmental or situational concerns (same as guidance counsellors) and
also those whose treatment may encompass disorders (similar to psychotherapists)
iv. Counselling and psychotherapy are both holistic approaches - help improve well-being and problem solving for
both the present and future
1. Guidance is time and context limited
3. outline the reasons for the inconsistent and imprecise use of the terms guidance, counselling, and psychotherapy; and
state the factors and changes affecting the usage of these terms.
a. Because there is a general lack of agreement on the definitions, mot experienced therapists or counsellors look at
the process rather than the label to shape their opinions
b. Similarly the label of the professional is less important- they could be a counsellor or professional but are they a
good one?
c. Factors:
, i. Counsellor’s identification with specific theoretical approaches
ii. Licensing demands/requirements
iii. Employer demands, guidelines, and expectations
, iv. History of the client
4. explain why it is important to understand the differences between guidance, counselling, and psychotherapy, and state
the implications for the inconsistent/incorrect usage of these terms.
a. Because it helps clear confusion with the terms
b. Difference stems more from the process that has occurred between clinician and client as opposed to mere label
c. Implications
i. For a student, inconsistency is confusing
ii. Students may assume lack of clarity reflects their lack of knowledge rather than imprecise use of terms
iii. May not recognise to look past the terms to what is actually happening
iv. Leads to poorer quality of research in the field
v. Confusion by those trying to learn to be counselors
vi. Confusion by consumers or potential consumers because they will be unsure of what they should expect
5. identify and describe the similarities and differences between guidance, counselling, and psychotherapy (as terms and as
professions).
a. Similarities: Guidance, counselling, and psychotherapy are all communication-based processes in which
professionals seek to help other people solve problems / issues in their lives and/or to develop healthier ways of
approaching choices. In some forms of each of these activities, a goal may be to increase a client’s understanding
of his/her situation and/or self.
i. Counselling, guidance, and psychotherapy share a common set of assumptions about how helpers should
help clients. Helpers in all of these categories believe that clients should be treated with dignity and
respect, in a manner intended to help them deal both with the specific situation or issue(s) at hand as well
as other current and future issues.
ii. All three assume that the client is ultimately the decision-maker. Each recognizes that the client may or
may not choose the path(s) that the helper believes is in the client’s best interests; ultimately the client
assumes responsibility for his/her own life. Exceptions may apply when a client is deemed incompetent
under the law to take on this responsibility. Competency judgments will relate most often to matters of
age or the inability to reason properly due to medical or social conditions.
iii. All three exist to help people deal with situations/issues for which advice or help from an outside party is
likely to be of benefit.
iv. All three use a series of counselling skills (microskills) that have been demonstrated to increase the
likelihood of successful outcomes.
v. All three involve a relationship between two or more people using conventions associated with good
counselling practice.
b. Differences:
i. Guidance Counselling vs. Counselling/Psychotherapy
○ Guidance approaches situations from the perspective that the guidance counsellor has more information or
better ways to reach decisions than the person receiving the service. Guidance provides the client with
expert advice and solutions, which the client may or may not follow.
○ Those who provide guidance counselling services use counselling skill-sets, but their intentions tend to be
more focused on helping clients make a decision(s) about specific, important issue(s) (course selections,
jobs, school choices) in their lives.
○ Counselling and psychotherapy are processes that seek to help people improve their well-being and increase
their ability to solve problems and make decisions for themselves both in and beyond the current situation.
Therefore, counselling and psychotherapy are considered more holistic than guidance. In contrast, guidance
focuses on assisting a person to make decisions that are usually time- and context-limited. Of course, such
decisions can, and usually will, have longer-term effects for a person's life.
Counselling vs. Psychotherapy
, ○ Both counselling and psychotherapy focus less on the content of a specific decision than does guidance.
Instead, both counselling and psychotherapy focus on helping a person reach the decision that fits best for
them with regard to their own values and desires.
○ Shorter-term work focused on dealing with a specific situation (marital breakup, loss of job, etc.) is more
likely to be called counselling than therapy (but this is not always true).
○ Persistent and pervasive patterns of maladaptive behaviour are likely to require longer-term service
provision, which is more likely to be called therapy. Such situations also assume the need for greater
expertise by the provider.
○ Services provided by social workers, pastoral care counsellors, nurses, vocational guidance personnel, and
school psychologists are more likely to be labelled counselling than psychotherapy/therapy. Sometimes the
employer mandates this nomenclature, and sometimes the service provider prefers this designation.
○ Psychiatrists and (some) psychologists are more likely to call their services therapy than are other care
providers. This might be due to history, licensure, specific training, etc.
○ Service providers who use diagnostic systems, such as the DSM, are more likely to call their services
treatment (yet another term). Sometimes this term is mandated by the institution they work for and
sometimes the practitioner views the service as treatment. Those who view themselves as providing
treatment are more likely to call what they do therapy (possibly because this fits with the medical model).
6. List the major events that influenced the development of counselling from before 1900 to 2000.
a. Before 1900
i. US: Counselling developed out of a humanitarian concern to improve lives of those adversely affected by the
Industrial revolution
ii. Social Welfare Reform Movement (Social Justice), spread of public education, changes in population makeup due to
immigration
iii. Canada: Moral Therapy Movement from France migrated to Canada around 1850 ⇒ humane approach best way to
treat psychological problems
b. 1900 to 1909
i. Mental Health movement and Vocational guidance movement found their way from the US to Canada
ii. Frank Parsons and Clifford Beers emerged as american leaders in counselling history
iii. FP found Boston’s Vocational Bureau in 1908 → institutionalization of vocational guidance
c. 1910s to 1940s
i. CB and Clarence Hincks founded Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene in 1918 which is now CMHA
ii. Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 provided funding for public schools to support vocational education
1. Canadian counsellors received education here
iii. WW1 - military began to employ testing and placement practices for great numbers of military personnel
iv. 1920s - vocational guidance offered in canadian junior and senior high schools
v. Edward Strong’s Strong Vocational Interest Inventory 1927 - psychological instrument but came with the
development of the first standards for the preparation and evaluation of occupational materials
vi. 1930s - great depression - emphasized helping strategies and counselling methods related to employment
vii. First theory of Counselling by E G Williamson and colleagues - modified Parson’s theory and used it to work with
students and unemployed a.k.a Minnesota point of view/Trait Factor Counselling
viii. WWII - test construction for selecting and classifying military personnel
ix. 1939 - beginning of Canadian Psychological Association meeting E.A. Bott (UofT), George Humphrey (Queens), Roy
Liddy (University of Western Ontario)
1. The Bulletin → Canadian Journal of Psychology
x. 1932 Education as Guidance - John Brewer proposed that every teacher be a counsellor and that guidance be
incorporated into the school curriculum as a subject
xi. Post secondary counselling emerged after WWII and provincial guidance associations began to form
1. Maritime Guidance association a.k.a Atlantic Chapter of the Canadian Counselling Association
2. L’Association des orienteurs de la province de Quebec
xii. Carl Rogers wrote Counselling and Psychotherapy in 1942 and challenged the Counsellor centered approach of
Williamson as well as Freudian psychoanalysis
1. New emphasis on the importance of relationship in counselling, research, refinement of counselling
technique, selection and training of future counsellors and the goals and objectives of counselling
2. Guidance disappeared as a major consideration and was replaced with a concentration on counselling
d. 1950s to 1980s
i. Rogers person-centered approach spread far and wide
