The Scientist-Practitioner in Counseling Psychology

Abstract

This article presents a revised conception of research and practice in counseling psychology that (1) emphasizes the traditional activities of each role that have positive implications for the other role; (2) expands each role to bring each closer to the activities of the other; (3) highlights a number of practices in the humanities and other social sciences that can aid counseling psychologists in their efforts to further integrate research, theory, and practice; and (4) indicates why counseling psychologists are uniquely well suited to accomplish such an integration and have in many instances informally begun the task. What has historically occurred is that an unnecessarily wide gap has arisen between research and practice in counseling psychology (e.g., Goldman, 1976). By broadening the range of acceptable explanations in psychological research and modifying slightly the evidence-collecting procedures in the practice of counseling, the gap between the two might be lessened to the benefit of both undertakings.