Counselor Education is a field focused on the preparation of students to professionally apply the theory and principles of guidance and counseling for the personal, social, educational, and vocational development of others. Its emergence and development has been tied with the evolution of counselling as a unique professional field.
Professional counseling
The primary focus of counselor education is the training and preparation of professional counselors; this includes recruiting and training the future generations of academic professionals who will teach the curriculum of counseling theory and practice. Scholarship within counselor education centers on the training and education of master's or doctoral-level counseling graduate students, novel applications of counseling theory including competencies across cultural groups, and best practice guidelines in both academic and clinical or applied settings. Counselor educators as a professional group are trained in multiple methodological approaches to research including both qualitative and quantitative methods. Educational contents often include issues and trends related to multiculturalism, neuroscience, and other clinical considerations such as trauma and abuse assessment.
Licensure and accreditation
In order to acquire licensure, counselors are generally required to complete an accredited graduate program along with a minimum number of documented hours in supervised clinical fieldwork. Counselor Education degree programs can become accredited by The Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Rehabilitation Counselor Education degree programs can become accredited by The National Council on Rehabilitation Education. The American Counseling Association also provide voluntary accreditation. This organization has contributed in the counselor education field through initiatives that aim to standardize accreditation standards. For example, in consultation with the American Personnel and Guidance Association, the CACREP standard was established in 1981. It provided a framework for evaluating counselor education programs and their effectiveness from entry-level to doctoral-level programs.
