ABSTRACT
Emener and Cottone (1989) reviewed models of professionalism and concluded that the four primary characteristics of a profession are (a) a body of specialized knowledge and theory-driven research, (b) professional preparation and review, (c) a code of ethics, and (d) professional identification and practice control. Similarly, Wittmer and Loesch (1986) indicated that, “A profession is typically defined as a vocational activity having (1) an underlying body of theoretical and research knowledge, (2) an identifiable set of effective skills and activities, and (3) a publicly professed, voluntarily self-imposed set of behavioral guidelines” (p. 301). Support for the belief that counseling is a profession is provided throughout this book. For example, professional preparation for counselors and legal and ethical guidelines for counseling practice have been addressed. Yet, while support can be garnered for the proposition that counseling is a profession according to commonly applied criteria, those criteria do not encompass perhaps the most important part of a profession—specifically, that professionals have a distinctive orientation toward their work. This orientation is what differentiates professional counselors from others (e.g., lay-person “listeners,’ faith healers, palmists, advisors, or spiritualists) who purport to provide counseling services.
