Bridging the gap between Counseling Psychologists and Organization Development Consultants

This article describes the similarities between the Organization Development (OD) process and the counseling process, as well as common traits among OD practitioners and Counseling Psychologists. It is directed to educators as well as business people. Since people skills have been identified as the key skill in successful OD interventions, it is posited that Counseling Psychologists are in a position to expand their roles by offering a fresh, if not unique, perspective to organizations. Suggestions are made for Counseling Psychologists to translate their skills to an organizational setting. Implications for counselor training programs, along with recommendations for a programmatic needs review are presented.This article summarizes the applicability of the Counseling Psychology profession to Organization Development interventions and discusses recommendations for counselor training.Portions of this article are based on the opinions of the authors and are not fully supported by research.