| Abstract: | The sharp contrast between counselor preparation and professional practice is one of the most perplexing problems in the counseling profession. Most counselor preparation programs attempt to help prospective counselors acquire the skills, the attitude, and the commitment necessary to be helping persons. Too often, however, when the counselor takes a job in a school, he is unable to establish and maintain his helping position. Further, his effectiveness as a helping person may in fact diminish with time on the job. Some possible reasons for this condition include: (a) lack of a systematic approach, (b) regression to attitudes and concerns held prior to entering the profession, (c) conflict between needs of students and institutional demands, and (d) the tendency to set unattainable goals. These conditions contain several implications for the profession and suggest a reexamination of traditional emphases in counselor preparation. |
