The author reflects on the collaborations that led to this special issue. The author also reviews some of his original ideas, comments on the values embodied in this issue, and outlines some of his hopes for the future of the counseling profession.

This article describes the development of the historic "Principles for Unifying and Strengthening the Profession." An outcome of the "20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling" initiative, this document delineates a core set of principles that unifies and advances the counseling profession. "Principles for Unifying and Strengthening the…

The common factors debate conducted on the pages of this and other major family therapy journals has evolved toward a preliminary consensus that the therapist plays a crucial role in activating and effectively bundling common and model-specific factors in the delivery of successful treatment. However, Blow, Sprenkle, and Davis (2007) remain…

Freedom is presented as an overarching paradigm that may align and bring together the counseling profession's diverse counseling theories and open a doorway to a new generation of counseling techniques. Freedom is defined and discussed in terms of its 4 modalities: freedom from, freedom to, freedom with, and freedom for. The long-standing problem…

The focus of this article is on the history, status, and trends of the counseling profession in South Africa and on the similarities with the development of the counseling profession in the United States. A need exists for South African professional counselors to refocus their research efforts to reflect the realities of the 21st century and link…

This profile celebrates and chronicles selected themes and highlights of the ideas, scholarly accomplishments, leadership, humanity, and work ethic of Edwin L. Herr, one of the major forces in the counseling profession, for purposes of archiving elements of his history and stimulating continuity of his ideas, achievements, and dedication.

Statistics show that two thirds of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIs/ANs) live outside of tribal areas, and 50% of those individuals who seek counseling services will not use tribal resources. There is a strong likelihood that counselors will have the opportunity to provide services to AI/AN clients. The review of the academic literature…

This article presents a diffusion of innovation theory-based framework for addressing the gap between research and practice in the counseling profession. The author describes the nature of the research-practice gap and presents an overview of diffusion of innovation theory. On the basis of the application of several major postulates of diffusion…

The counseling profession has strongly identified with the multicultural movement. Nevertheless, postmodernism, which is the ideological foundation of multiculturalism, has had relatively little impact on other segments of the profession. The author argues that many realms of the counseling profession are locked within modernism and could be…

The counseling profession prides itself on its developmental focus. However, counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors have generally applied only "phasic," and not "stage," theories to counseling and supervision practice and have not incorporated developmental concepts into their teaching. This article continues the effort of rectifying…

Based on the core conditions of client-centered counseling and supported by aspects of psychodynamic, cognitive developmental, and behavioral theories, a perspective is introduced that provides a resolution to the dilemma experienced by counselors and counseling students whose personal values and beliefs conflict with the ethical guidelines of the…

Karl Tomm, a Canadian psychiatrist and family counsellor, has been at the forefront of developments in collaborative practice with clients for over 25 years. We situate Dr. Tomm's ideas in relation to counselling, noting some of his important contributions to conceptualizing counsellors' engagement with clients. We will also depict Tomm's…

The consequences of burnout, including therapeutic ineffectiveness, premature occupational attrition, depression, and substance abuse, are potentially serious for counselors, both personally and professionally. After identifying the characteristics of burnout in professional counseling and introducing a humanistic existential theoretical model of…

In this article the author traces the history of inner subjective experiences (ISE) as a focus of the counseling profession and discusses the implications of this history for the identity of the profession and counseling practice. He outlines the history of ISE in the counseling profession by discussing (a) the valuing of ISE as the foundation of…

This paper is an attempt to develop a therapeutic stance, responsive therapy, for counselors that abandons the effort to select the one "true" therapeutic emphasis, and is based on the assumption that all therapeutic emphases are "true." A description of counselor behavior ensues which enhances a therapeutic atmosphere, moves…