362 Counseling Psychology
Northwestern brought important dividends. The VA re-
sponded by creating two new positions for psychologists,
Counseling Psychologist (Vocational) and Counseling Psy-
chologist (Vocational Rehabilitation and Education). Under
the leadership of Robert Waldrop, the VA sought to help uni-
versities establish counseling psychology doctoral training
programs that would complement existing clinical psychol-
ogy training programs. The APA followed suit and began to
accredit counseling psychology doctoral training programs in
- Along with this would come the need for counseling
psychologists to pass through those rites of passage that de-
fine a profession, including issues of professional ethics, li-
censure, and the like. All in all, it seemed that counseling psy-
chology was starting to come into its own.
Diversification
Not only did the federal government help to create the pro-
fession of counseling psychology, it also supported students
entering the field through training stipends provided by the
VA and the USPHS and through benefits under provisions of
the GI bill (Baker & Benjamin, in press). As counseling psy-
chology moved closer to clinical psychology, it distanced
itself from its earlier identification with the National Voca-
tional Guidance Association, which together with others in-
terested in guidance and student personnel work formed the
American Personnel and Guidance Association (now known
as the American Counseling Association). Many members of
Division 17 shared membership in these associations, often-
times serving as officers in each (Pepinsky, Hill-Frederick, &
Epperson, 1978).
The number of settings and activities that counseling
psychologists concerned themselves with seemed to ex-
plode. Many pursued the opportunities available through the
VA, others remained closer to student personnel work, and
still others, such as Donald Super, Anne Roe, and David
Tiedeman, vigorously pursued programs of research centered
around vocational development (Blocher, 2000).
The launch of the Russian satellite Sputnikon October 4,
1957, provided new opportunities for counseling psychology.
Passage of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of
1958 again focused considerable attention upon the nation’s
schools. There were widespread concerns that the public
schools were not producing enough students interested in
math and science. The finger of blame pointed directly at pro-
gressive education, which was faulted for failing to provide a
demanding enough curriculum that would bring out the best
in American youth. Among other things, the NDEA autho-
rized funds to identify public school students who might
show promise in math and science. To identify those
students, a national program of testing would be necessary, a
program that at its core would require significant numbers of
school counselors who could identify and direct students
with potential. Just as World War II had identified shortages
of mental health professionals, NDEA identified shortages of
school counselors and quickly supplied funding to colleges
and universities to conduct counseling and guidance insti-
tutes. Approximately 80 institutes per year were conducted.
These could be summer institutes of 6 to 8 weeks or yearlong
sequences. Participants were generally drawn from the ranks
of high school guidance counselors, who were attracted to the
opportunities and the stipends the institutes offered (Tyler,
1960).
Institute staffs were mostly educational psychologists,
counseling psychologists, and developmental psychologists.
Topics of study included tests and measurement, statistics,
and individual and group counseling methods. The use of
group experiences was common, as was supervised practicum
experience. The institutes were supported for 8 years from
1958 to 1966, at which time they continued under a variety
of educational acts. The institutes provided employment for
counseling psychologists and helped to increase the visibility
of counseling psychology, but by and large the program
increased demand for counselor educators, enhancing the
presence of such programs on university campuses and mak-
ing training requirements for graduate degrees in counseling
and guidance more concrete. In the 8 years of the program,
some 44,000 counselors were trained (Baker, 2000; Tyler,
1960).The Question of IdentityCounseling psychology was perhaps moving along too many
paths, and in 1959, the APA’s Education and Training Board
called for an evaluation of the status of the field. The initial
report, authored by three counseling psychologists (Irwin
Berg, Harold Pepinsky, and Joe Shobin) was not flattering.
Criticisms were made about the lack of a research emphasis
and the broad meaning of counseling(to read the report see
Whitely, 1980). It was recommended that consideration be
given to dissolving Division 17 and moving it under the aus-
pices of Division 12, Clinical Psychology. This was not the
sort of amalgamation the Boulder participants had envi-
sioned. The report was never released, and after much protest
on the part of Division 17, a new report was commissioned
and published (also in Whitely, 1980). It presented a more en-
couraging view of counseling psychology and provided data
to demonstrate that the profession was alive and well.
The whole affair contributed to serious questions of iden-
tity and the place and direction of counseling psychology.