The history of the counseling profession is filled with stories of the people and events that helped shape it and make it what it is today. The field has been influenced by multiple historical events, societal needs, and social contexts. The counseling profession continues to evolve through unique approaches and philosophies from the counseling field and from contributions of the American Counseling Association (ACA), American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC).

For this Assignment, examine historical contributions to the identity of the mental health counseling profession, discuss how this field differs from other helping fields, and you will analyze a future direction in the field and how it might affect you in your professional role.

Assignment:

Include the following sections:

• Part 1 - Present
  • What is counseling?
  • How does it differ from other helping professions?
  • Summarize the philosophical underpinnings of the counseling profession.
• Part 2 - Past
  • Looking historically, if you showed Part I of your paper to the historical figure you chose, how would this figure handle it? Would the figure be shocked, mildly surprised, or in complete agreement? How would the figure respond?
• Part 3 - Future
  • Discuss the future direction you selected that most excites you, and explain how it will enhance your professional practice as a counselor.

Be sure to use proper APA format and citations. These details are demonstrated in the template provided for this Assignment.