This article explores the evolution of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs' (CACREP's) accreditation of program area specialties and how CACREP's decision to accredit specialties as separate programs has affected the counseling profession's ability to view itself as a single profession.…

A random sample of American Counseling Association members was asked to respond to a 77-item survey of counselor behaviors and identify whether each behavior was ethical or unethical. Results are categorized by behaviors in which 90% of counselors agreed, 75% to 90% agreed, and 25% to 50% disagreed. Also, changes in ethics education were reviewed…

Professional school counselors have an opportunity to directly address the educational, emotional, and social problems facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. The purpose of this study was to examine the multicultural and sexual orientation counselor competencies of school counseling students through a…

Provides background information about sports counseling for student-athletes. Presents a proposal for a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs specialty training area for sports counseling. (Author)

Presents an overview of the historical development of the specialized practice, preparation standards, and credentialing of career counseling. Also focuses on commonalities of career counseling, general counseling, and other specialized forms of counseling. (JPS)

Gerontological counseling has a 20-year history that began with a dearth of information and has progressed to the development of preparation standards and a national certification. The question of whether generalization or a specialization will best serve the needs of older persons continues to be central to the development of this specialization.…

Describes the relationships among ethics documents of the American Counseling Association and its divisions, national voluntary certification boards, state licensure boards, and counseling specialties. Discusses problems inherent in multiple codes and suggests actions toward the establishment of a single, unified code. (JPS)

Provides an overview of standards development, accreditation, and credentialing with particular attention to specialties. Considers a number of unresolved issues, and presents the pros and cons of specialties in the professionalization of counseling. (JPS)

Although the regulation of the counseling profession has been sought and accomplished in most states, it is questionable whether the public is best protected by state regulation. Offers an alternative to governmental regulation of specialties. (JPS)

Summarizes the national standards for addictions counseling of four different professional groups or boards. The new addictions specialty certification standards that are being developed jointly by the National Board for Certified Counselors and the International Associations of Addictions and Offender Counselors are compared with the standards of…

Discusses the need for recognition and respect of counseling credentials, and suggests that the profession of counseling will be strengthened if all counselors have a minimum foundation of counseling knowledge and build accepted specializations on that foundation. The counseling profession must distinguish among work settings, professional…

Provides an overview of marriage and family counseling, including the growth of interest in this specialty within the American Counseling Association (ACA). Discusses the evolution of marriage and family counseling within ACA, standards for training, credentialing, and unique ethical considerations when counseling couples and families. (Author)

Discusses the means of creating specialties by noncounseling professions, and examines the current status and proliferation of means for determining specializations in the counseling profession. Presents an argument, supported by research, to counter suggestions that specializations are necessary for counselor employment and competent practice…

Provides a review of school counseling as a specialty area of the counseling profession, including attention to historical development, training standards and accreditation, certification, and future trends and issues. (Author)

Examines the significant events in the history of mental health care that have contributed to the development of a specialty within the counseling profession referred to as mental health counseling. Discusses the development of credentials for the specialty and the issues currently facing mental health counseling, and offers a perspective on…