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Public perception of the professional titles used within psychological services
Author(s) -
Kanellakis Pavlo,
D'Aubyn Jennefer
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
counselling and psychotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.38
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1746-1405
pISSN - 1473-3145
DOI - 10.1080/14733145.2010.485697
Subject(s) - perception , public opinion , psychology , public health , professional development , empirical research , public relations , medical education , social psychology , pedagogy , nursing , political science , medicine , law , politics , neuroscience , philosophy , epistemology
Background and aim: There have been several calls for adopting an empirical approach investigating public opinion concerning the differentiation between the professional titles ‘counsellor’ and ‘psychotherapist’. The present research makes a first step to addressing this issue. Method : Sixteen interviewers, recruited across the UK, interviewed 450 members of the public in 57 UK district codes. Age, gender and education were monitored for sampling purposes. Results : The findings indicated that around two thirds of the public perceive the professional title ‘counsellor’ to be distinct from the professional titles ‘psychotherapist’ and ‘psychological therapist’ and for these latter two titles to be almost identical. About one third of the public perceive the opposite trend, and one tenth is undecided whether these professional titles are distinct or indistinct. Conclusion: These results have implications for the debate concerning the structure of the Health Professions Council (HPC) Register in the regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists.