The final article is “Current Status and Prospects of Korean Counseling Psychology: Research, Clinical Training, and Job Placement. ” The Korean psychologists are looking at the results of the SWOT analysis to see where their strengths and weaknesses are, and to create a plan for the future of Korean counseling (Seo et al). According to the authors, their primary strength is “Korean counseling psychologists have put much emphasis on conducting research that has direct implications to counseling theory and practice. ” So, research is a major strength for Koreans.
They go on to explain that their journal has been published since 1988, and in looking at the types and number of articles they have published, there has been a significant increase in the last five years. Obviously, they are devoting more and more time to research (Seo et al). One of the specific positive features that the authors mention is that in more recent articles (since 2000), researchers have looked at Western psychological practices carefully, and examined whether or not they fit in with Korean society and their needs.
This is important, because as the previous article state, counseling is not going to look the same in every country, and it should not (Seo et al). Another asset mentioned is that Korean psychologists are highly and rigorously trained to work with people before they are certified. Students must pass a written exam, as well as submitting heavy documentation about their training, number of hours spent counseling, and transcriptions of sessions they have conducted. Another strength is the job placement that occurs after candidates are certified (Seo et al).
An area in which the Koreans feel they need to work more is accountability and professional ethics. This has just emerged as an issue to them. Another issue is that while the Koreans have worked heavily on research, they have worked more heavily in some areas than others. One goal is to increase the diversity of the research they are doing. Another goal is to diversify the research subjects, since most of are currently college students (also true in America), and the results may not always generalize to the entire population (Seo et al).
Regarding training procedures, although they are rigorous, they are not standardized across the schools. There is also a lack of internships and other pre-working opportunities, especially for doctoral students (Seo et al). In external opportunities, the Koreans find that many institutions are hiring counselors, including religious places, which increases job availability. Other opportunities include the number of internet-related issues that have cropped up (and which require counseling) and the number of refugees and other immigrants who are coming to the country (Seo et al).
Threats include people in similar professions, such as social workers or clinical psychologists. Another threat is the ever-expanding definition of what a “counseling psychologist” should do (Seo et al). To turn these threats and weaknesses into strengths, the Koreans intend to make their profession better known, so that they can continue to serve the population in a helpful way.
They also intend to create more career opportunities so that competing with professionals in similar fields does not become an issue (Seo et al). International psychology is a major field right now, and one that warrants looking at further.
Sources Leong, Frederick T. L. , and Savickas, Mark L (2007). “Introduction to Special Issue on International Perspectives on Counseling Psychology. ” Applied Psychology 56 (1), 1–6. Savickas, Mark L (2007). “Internationalisation of Counseling Psychology: Constructing Cross-National Consensus and Collaboration. ”
Applied Psychology 56 (1), 182–188. Seo, Young Seok; Kim, Dong Min; Kim, Dong-il (2007) “Current Status and Prospects of Korean Counseling Psychology: Research, Clinical Training, and Job Placement. ” Applied Psychology 56 (1), 107–118.