Advancing Counselor Education in Evidence-Based Practice
- PDF / 363,734 Bytes
- 15 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 18 Downloads / 191 Views
Advancing Counselor Education in Evidence-Based Practice Michael T. Morrow 1 & Hsin-Hua Lee 1 & Eleonora Bartoli 1 & Angela R. Gillem 1
Published online: 27 February 2017 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017
Abstract Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a core priority in counselor education. This paper details one United States’ counselor education program’s self-assessment of its EBP curriculum. Faculty members collaborated to identify challenges and generate solutions to strengthen the EBP emphasis within the program. This paper is intended as a resource for programs working to improve their own training in EBP. Keywords Counselor education . Evidence-based practice . Empirically supported counseling
Introduction In the United States, counselors’ ethical commitment to evidence-based practice (EBP) is featured prominently in the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics (ACA 2014). This commitment appears as early as the Code’s Introduction, which affirms counselors’ duty to Bengage in counseling practices that are based on rigorous research methodologies^ (p. 8). Specifically, counselors are called to Buse techniques/procedures/ modalities that are grounded in theory and/or have an empirical or scientific foundation^ (pp. 10–11). In addition, counselors are mandated to discuss with clients the potential risks and implications of using interventions that fall outside the scope of EBP. Accordingly, counselors have been charged to follow an evidence-based orientation in their work; some promoters have even argued that counselors must establish a clear identity as evidence-based practitioners to fully legitimize the profession in the current mental health landscape (cf., Generali et al. 2013).
* Michael T. Morrow [email protected]
1
Department of Psychology, Arcadia University, 450 S. Easton Rd, Glenside, PA 19038, USA
150
Int J Adv Counselling (2017) 39:149–163
Overview of Evidence-Based Practice EBP is currently regarded as an overarching model intended to guide counselors’ thinking and behavior in ways that best support and empower clients (Generali et al. 2013). This model is based on three components (client characteristics, the best available research, and counselor expertise) that shape counselors’ decisions and actions throughout the entire course of counseling (Yates 2013). Decisions are made by integrating the most compelling research with counselors’ own expertise, along with various characteristics of the client. Counselors synthesize these data to deliver interventions that are grounded in both science and applied experience, yet are personalized to meet clients’ individual needs and incorporate their unique strengths. When, and only when, counselors thoughtfully integrate these components, they are considered to be following a model of EBP. Admittedly, descriptions of EBP (including the one above) tend to be abstract and difficult to envision in actual counseling practice. Therefore, the next few sections describe each component of EBP and then delineate a framework for putting
Data Loading...
