History of Counseling

It is said that in order to know where you are going, it is important to know where you have been. This adage applies to many facets of life but also to the profession of counseling. In order to gain insight into the future of the profession, this author seeks to uncover the past that has shaped the current landscape. In doing so, the hope is to preserve what may be preserved, correct those mistakes of the past and forge new paths that will lead to wholeness and health.

History and Timeline

In deciphering the history of Psychology, one can subscribe to two seperate schools of thought. The first is that of the secular worldview that gives credence only to those things of this world. The focus here is on the scientific discoveries of various men throughout the ages. The second comes from a Biblical worldview that recognizes the true nature of soul care as an outward manifestation of God's grace and mercy to His broken people. This author will construct a timeline that attempts to integrate the two views and represent the split as well as the divine way that they have been brought back together with a bright future for integration.

Counseling has been a part of history from the origin of man. The Old and New Testament have countless references to prophets, apostles and preachers who offered help and consolation to those in need of care. The apostle Paul clearly spoke of our ability to aid others when he said, “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct (counsel) one another" (Romans 15:14, NIV) We were created to work in harmony with one another, offering aid to those who are afflicted in any way we can. This form of “counseling” relies...

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... integrate each discipline into one cohesive recognition of truth. According to this source, all counselors exist somewhere within these bounds.

When we think about creating a model of therapy that will serve God, our ethical responsibilities, our moral imperatives and our clients, integration and careful analysis of each model that has preceded are of tantamount importance. We must glean those concepts and techniques from each theory that allow us to function within the Allies camp, the most advantageous category of integration.(Entwistle, 2010) In order to do this, we parse each model into five pieces. These are: Philosophical Assumptions, Model of Personality, Model of Abnormality and Health, Model of Psychotherapy and Demonstrated Effectiveness.(Jones & Butman, 1991) In this way, we can consider the victories of the past and leave behind the mistakes.