Counseling in Iran: History,Current Status,and Future Trends

As a growing profession, counseling in Iran was first established within the Iranian educational system. Counselors in Iran have provided mental health services during natural disasters and war. The counseling profession in Iran currently faces challenges in addressing the needs of women; ethnic minorities; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. In this article, the authors focus on the historical background, current trends, and future challenges of the counseling profession in Iran.     

The Future of Training and Credentialing in Group Psychotherapy

High-quality group psychotherapy training is seen as more important than ever in the current health care environment. The training opportunities available at present are assessed. It is argued that there is a body of knowledge about generic group psychotherapy that can and should be taught, and that there are appropriate people to teach it. Credentialing is discussed, and it is suggested that the assessment of actual work in clinical situations must be emphasized if such efforts are to be meaningful.     

Graduate trends for one marriage and family therapy program in an interdisciplinary setting

This research compared trends from 1981 to 1993 in several mental health professional training programs at the University of Houston Clear Lake, surveying graduates from three professional mental health master's programs—clinical psychology, school psychology, and family therapy—with the goal of identifying trends in the status of their professional credentialing and current employment. Four mental health groups have attained licensure since a 1981 survey, resulting in graduates now seeking professional licenses and perform psychotherapy more exclusively than other mental health activities. Interdisciplinary training has become increasingly important due to the introduction of managed care and other insurance regulating entities.     

Counseling in Ireland

Counseling in Ireland has experienced rapid growth in the past 30 years. Public attitudes toward counseling have become more positive, especially with the increasing secularization of a once strongly religious Catholic society. Licensure is nonexistent but there are certification bodies that attempt to ensure qualified practice. There is no third‐party payment, so access to counseling for impoverished individuals is a problem. Training programs are quite varied. Efforts are being made to standardize training and to develop licensure requirements.     

Freestanding Psychology: The Only Way in Academic Health Centers

Psychology must assure that its programs, faculty and staff, clinical services, research enterprises, and training programs must be freestanding in Academic Health Science Centers and not organized within any other department except a freestanding Department of Psychology. Without this autonomy, it is argued, Psychology can never reach its full potential as a health care science and profession in hospital and academic health care center settings. This thesis is argued on the basis of issues of finances, credentialing and privileging, role modeling for psychologist trainees, the importance of Psychology's persona within the health science center and in the eyes of the public, and finally, academic freedom.     

Analyzing Job Analysis Data Using Mixture Rasch Models

An important piece of validity evidence to support the use of credentialing exams comes from performing a job analysis of the profession. One common job analysis method is the task inventory method, where people working in the field are surveyed using rating scales about the tasks thought necessary to safely and competently perform the job. This article describes how mixture Rasch models can be used to analyze these data, and how results from these analyses can help to identify whether different groups of people may be responding to job tasks differently. Three examples from different credentialing programs illustrate scenarios that can be found when applying mixture Rasch models to job analysis data. Discussion of what these results may imply for the development of credentialing exams and other analyses of job analysis data is provided.     

资格认证测验的信度估计及其特征分析

资格认证测验属于典型的标准参照测验,在国内已得到普遍应用,但在报告心理测量学指标时很少提到标准参照模式的信度估计指标。该文归纳了标准参照测验信度估计的指标体系,分析讨论了适用于资格认证测验的信度估计及其与测验长度、分界标准分布、样本同质性的关系与特征。     

Board certification in health psychology

As professional practice in health psychology has matured, mechanisms for board certification through the American Board of Professional Psychology have been developed. This article describes the American Board of Health Psychology and its role in the credentialing of practitioners who demonstrate advanced competence in the science and practice of psychology related to health, including the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of illness.     

Dennis Engels: A Humanitarian and Ethical Scholar

Dr. Dennis Engels retired in 2011 after a 35‐year career as a counselor educator, during which he contributed over 30 years of service to the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling. In this profile article, the author reviews the highlights of Dr. Engels's distinguished career and presents an interview in which Dr. Engels discusses (a) his journey as a counselor educator, (b) ethical standards and credentialing, and (c) the future of counseling.