ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the type of counselling research that has been conducted in Britain in recent years, and to consider the place of research and evaluation within counselling as a whole. In the past, the counselling profession in Britain has been able to draw upon only a very restricted substantial research base. This situation is changing, as more counsellors and counselling educators become trained in research methods. Also, the last few years have seen the publication of several new books providing detailed information on how to design and implement research in counselling (Aveline and Shapiro 1995; Barker, Pistrang and Elliott 1994; Heppner, Kivlighan jr. and Wampold 1992; McLeod 1994b; Parry and Watts 1989; Watkins and Schneider 1991). However, counselling research remains under-funded and under-developed, and many counsellors are either unaware of the contribution that research knowledge can make to their practice, or are sceptical about the relevance of research for the kind of work they undertake. My hope is that this chapter will enable readers to gain a better understanding of what research can and cannot achieve, and will thereby help to de-mystify the research process. In this chapter, I will be referring as far as possible to research studies that are specifically in the area of counselling. There are, of course, many more studies in fields such as psychotherapy, social work, nursing, and clinical psychology that address similar topics and constitute a valuable resource for counsellors.
