Epilogue

The epilogue considers advancements of knowledge in psychology in areas such as helping skills, the process and outcome of treatment, the proper use of evidence-based professional practice, vocational psychology, multiculturalism, supervision, and consultation, as well as primary challenges for the profession, and emerging areas of research, including the movement towards positive psychology and positive psychotherapy, and cultural differences.

Competence in Assessment and Case Conceptualization

Chapter 5 discusses how competency in assessment and case formulation are fundamental components of board certification for every psychological specialty, and how assessment, psychological testing, and case conceptualization are fundamental aspects of the professional practice of counseling psychology and complement treatment and intervention. Competency in each of these areas is judged in the examination for board certification in counseling psychology. In each case, culturally concordant and ethically appropriate practice is expected. It also covers a brief history of assessment and cultural context, culturally appropriate assessment, clinical vs. actuarial assessment, and diagnostic classifications.

Introduction to Counseling Psychology and to the Current Volume

Chapter 1 provides a formal definition of counseling psychology, citing various though similar definitions that are found on the Web sites of professional organizations, including the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17 of the American Psychological Association) and the American Board of Counseling Psychology (the certifying board for counseling psychologists in the United States and Canada). It also offers five unifying themes whose interplay and complementary nature distinguish counseling psychology from other psychological specialties, the uniqueness of counseling psychology, a brief history of the specialty, the culture of competence, and the founding of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP).

Competence in Career and Vocational Psychology

Chapter 7 gives an overview of specific career and vocational intervention competencies, and the scientific base underlying capabilities in assessment, intervention, and consultation/prevention for work, career, and employment issues. It also covers how the pursuit of a comprehensive theory of career development that would strengthen the foundations of career intervention and counseling across cultural and subcultural groups will continue, as will research that seeks to design and implement more effective career interventions.

Competence in Ethical Practice in Counseling Psychology

Chapter 3 discusses the ethical principles and issues involved in the professional practice of counseling psychology. It is important to note that the specialty adheres to the principles and ethical code of conduct of the American Psychological Association, which apply to all aspects of professional practice in professional psychology, and that, thus, there are no specialty-specific principles or a code of ethical conduct specific to counseling psychology. It also presents the most salient and frequently emerging standards of practice as well as the management of risk in counseling psychology practice, along with sample foundational and functional competencies in the knowledge and application of ethics in psychology with some examples of how these principles are used in the profession.

Foundational Core Knowledge Areas of Counseling Psychology

Chapter 2 covers the fundamental knowledge and foundational competencies in counseling psychology, and includes content from the core academic areas in psychology, from the research core foundations, and from the theoretical and empirical bases of psychotherapy. It also cites sample foundational competencies that have been outlined in the literature, including personal and relationship competencies.

Competence in Individual and Cultural Diversity

Chapter 4 discusses competence in individual and cultural diversity (ICD), summarizes the research that has accumulated on this topic in about the last 20 years, and also reviews the competency statements that have been developed in the field with respect to ICD.

Competence in Intervention

Chapter 6 discusses clinical competence in intervention and how to do so in a way that can be considered as typical of or consistent with the practice of counseling psychology. It also covers the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM ), the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP), the competency benchmarks (CB) model, the American Board of Counseling Psychology (ABCoP) model, the current movements toward evidence-based psychological practice (EBPP) and empirically supported treatments (ESTs), and the Division 29 Task Force.

Competence in Research

Chapter 10 reviews the literature on professional competencies in research and discusses this competence in relation to counseling psychology. It presents brief examples of the research competencies that have been proposed for professional competence, and discusses research in a way that is consistent with the scope of professional practice and inquiry in counseling psychology. It covers areas in counseling psychology where research activity has been particularly strong, and reviews methodologies that have been used by counseling psychologists in research over the past several decades.

Competence in Consultation

Chapter 9 focuses on organizational consulting psychology (OCP) as a competency-based practice within the specialty of counseling psychology. It addresses the three primary areas of consultation practice relevant to counseling psychology: mental health, education, and business organizational consultation.