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History
of the American Board of Counseling
Psychology
by
Ted Stachowiak, Ph.D., ABPP
This
article originally published in THE DIPLOMATE Vol.
17, No. 1, July, 1997, of the American Board of Professional
Psychology's 50 year Anniversary Issue.
Our
History
The
primary purpose of the American Board of Counseling
Psychology, Inc. is to promote excellence in the practice of
Counseling Psychology. With this purpose in mind, in August,
1991, in San Francisco, David Drum, who was then
Counseling Psychology's Specialty Representative to ABPP's
Board of Trustees, convened a meeting of the Counseling
Psychology Council. Members of the Council were Ken
Bloom, Jim Clack, Dave Drum, Chuck Guyer, Donna McKinley,
Don Routh, Norma Simon, Tom Skovholt, and Ted
Stachowiak. Several members came to the Council meeting
ex-officio as Chairs of their ABPP Region.
In
order to strive for a more consistent, valid, and cost
effective examination, the Counseling Psychology Council
elected to incorporate the assessment center approach in
which multiple candidates are examined at the same site by
multiple examiners. Donna McKinley (Credentials
Review), Ted Stachowiak (Work Sample Review), and
Jim Clack (Oral Examinations) began the task of
developing criteria for evaluation at each of the three
phases of the application and examination process. Council
members shared the task of developing and reviewing
vignettes and scoring protocols for the oral
examination.
The
range of acceptable work samples was expanded beyond
client-based interventions to reflect the diversity of
professional activities in which counseling psychologists
are involved. In addition to Assessment, Intervention,
Research and Theory, and Professional Commitment, an
Alternative Interventions component was added to the
examination. The latter evaluates a candidate's ability to
respond to common social problems or issues through
interventions other than client-therapist dyads. The ability
to think beyond one-to-one psychotherapy in developing
interventions and to be responsive to changing societal
needs lies deep in the roots of counseling
psychology.
Because
of the initial experimental nature of the examination,
candidates at that time, if they desired, were given the
opportunity to be examined by the traditional three- to
four-person committee. For candidates participating in the
new format, the Council established an "experimental" period
of two years. Camdidates examined under the assessment
center approach during the experimental period who were not
successful were not recorded as "failed." Instead, an
unsuccessful examination was regarded as no examination, and
candidates were given the opportunity for a second
examination with no additional examination fee.
The
first assessment center examination was conducted in Spring
1992, at the Counseling and Mental Health Center, the
University of Texas. Dave Drum hosted the examination
and Jim Clack provided training to the examiners and
coordinated the day-long event. In the assessment center
model, multiple teams of two examiners examine a candidate.
Each examiner makes independend ratings of the candidate's
peformance, using crieteria-based protocols and a scoring
system. After all candidates have been examined, the
examiners poole their ratings of the candidate's performance
and discuss each candidate as appropriate. This approach
provides multiple perspectives about each candidate's
performance, and adds to the breadth and depth of the
examination process.
In
April 1992, at a Holiday Inn in Baltimore, Maryland, amidst
what wasthen called the "storm of the century," the
Counseling Psychology Council drafted by-laws for the
American Board of Counseling Psychology and the American
Academy of Counseling Psychology. Dave Drum had a
miserable cold, and in the course of the weekend meeting,
the menu selections at the Holiday Inn narrowed because the
food could not be delivered to the restaurant. It was great
weather for a meeting. The bylaws were drafted, the
credentials, work sample, and oral examination criteria and
procedures were reviewed and adjustments were made in light
of the experiences of the first assessment center model
examination held in Austin. In May 1992, the American Board
of Counseling Psychology was incorporated in Columbia,
Missouri, the site of ABPP's Central Office.
Because
of a timing quirk, Donna McKinley may be the only
Past President of a Board who attained that distinction by
election. In August 1993, in Toronto, Canada, elections were
held and she was elected Past President. Jim Clack
was elected as the Board's first President, Ted
Stachowiak as President Elect, and Ken Bloom as
Secretary/treasurer. In addition, Chuck Guyer was
elected as the first President of the American Academy of
Counseling Psychology, Ted Packard was nominated to
replace Dave Drum as the Board's specialty
Representative to ABPP. Norma Simon took on the
responsibilities of Chair of Credentials Review. Bert
Lucas took over as Chair of Oral Examinations, and
Hank Robb stepped in as Chair of Work Sample
Review.
During
the brief existence of the American Board of Counseling
Psychology, the central agenda items have remained
relatively constant: (1)continuous refinement of the
criteria used to assess applicants, particularly the work
sample and oral examination criteria; (2) the
demystification of the Diplomate through the development of
a criteria-based approach and emphasis on specialty
compentence; (3) streamlining the application and
examination process without compromising the integrity of
the Diplomate; (4) the development of a more effective
mentoring process; (5) the development of flexibility in the
application and examination process; (6) the inclusion of
diversity in the examination criteria; (7) maintaining the
viability of the Counseling Psychology Diplomate.
The
Board is pleased with its 1991 decision to implement the
assessment center model for condicting examinations and it
is pleased with the quality of the examination process.
almost without exception candidates have expressed an
appreciation for the collegiality and professionalism that
they have experienced. The major cost of this improved
examination is the sometimes-cumbersome logistics. We
continue to look for ways to simplify and
streamline.
It is
time again for a change. Now with the criteria-based
assessment center model firmly in place, the Board seeks to
develop more flexible procedures for determining that the
examination criteria have been met. A single format for
performing a credentials review, for assessing work samples,
or for conducting the oral examination is no longer
appropriate or desirable because it does not allow
sufficient flexibility for candidates at various levels of
experience and professional development. For instance, one
main purpose of the work sample review phase is to provide
evidence to both candidate and examiners that the candidate
is ready for the oral examination, and to instill the
confidence of a successful outcome. We believe that the
approaches used to achieve this can vary depending on the
experiences and professional contributions of the applicant
and we believe it appropriate that they do so.
During
the past decade, ABPP has been in the process of a major
reorganization. The development of Specialty Boards
affiliated with ABPP highlights those changes. The creation
of Specialty Boards has made it possible to develop and
continually refine an examination process that represents
the uniqueness of the specialty. Another benefit has been
the cretion of the academies. Under the initial leadership
of Chuck Guyer, and now Joe Talley, and soon
Chris Ovide, the American Academy of Counseling
Psychology has been successful in its efforts to educate
various consitituencies about the Specialty of Counseling
Psychology and to promote the value of Specialty
Certification to potential applicants.
To the
current members of the Board - Jim Clack, Bill Parham,
Norma Simon, Hank Robb, Bert Lucas, Ted Packard, and
Tom Skovholt, I express my deep appreciation for the
commitment they have consistently shown and for their hard
work. Because of them, and the founding Board members, the
American Board of Counseling Psychology continues to provide
a Specialty Certification that promotes excellence and
represents the highest recognition of competence through
voluntary examination by one's peers. As one of the original
specialty designations developed by ABPP 50 years ago,
Counseling Psychology has a long history, a proud legacy,
and an inevitable destiny with the future of the
profession.
This
page last updated October 11, 1999.
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