Timeline: History of Counseling

This is my first official guest post!! I was super excited when Declan Habeck from Northwestern University reached out to me and asked if I would feature the history of counseling on my blog.  Since I have an undergraduate degree in history, I felt it was incredibly important that we understand how our profession emerged over the last four centuries.  Why understand about our professional past?  I think the answer can be best summed up in this quote...

Timeline: A History of Counseling
By: Declan Habeck

Counseling has been around in various forms for centuries. In the 1700s, it was primarily teachers and social advocates offering conversation-based therapy on topics like child welfare and education. In recent years, however, counseling has become a popular mental health profession among those who have an interest in preventing and treating different mental, emotional, and behavioral issues.

The following interactive timeline from Counseling@Northwestern explores the history of counseling and how the profession evolved into a respectable and well-established area of expertise. The slideshow features information about pioneers in the industry like Sigmund Freud, who developed the first psychoanalysis field, the three major pioneers of counseling in the 1900s and the role they played in the early stages of institutional and school guidance, and how government involvement through legislation, particularly in dealing with thousands of returning WWII soldiers, affected the way in which the counseling profession evolved.

Timeline: The History of Counseling also illustrates how more modern laws like Title IX turned our attention to the needs of diverse populations. The interactive slides also showcase the impact of categorizing counselors as primary mental health professionals, as a way to legitimize the profession and differentiate those who are certified counselors. The History of Counseling examines how counseling techniques and the overall profession have evolved throughout the last few centuries, leading us to the counseling practices and techniques we know and use today. 

Check it out here!