Counseling, History of

Early 20th Century

The counseling profession developed in many ways from responses to changes in society. In the early 20th century, when counseling was first emerging, humanistic reform, with an increased emphasis on the value of all human beings, was also emerging. Human qualities such as choice, creativity, self-realization, and ultimately the value of all people became the focus of human change and intervention. During this period of humanistic reform, society saw changes in conditions of prisons, asylums, and factories based on the humanistic principles noted above. The focus was toward treating all clients, regardless of circumstance, in a way that regarded and supported their potential for success and remediation. Concurrently, the school system was taking a lead in this transformation through its focus on humanistic education, including student-centered learning with the teacher as a facilitator, development of the self-actualized student, and student cooperation. Humanistic reform led to a new way of viewing the individual and the facilitation of human well-being.

Also during this time, America was in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, a time of great change resulting in a shift in human need. One of the primary consequences of the dramatic changes occurring in American society was the movement from farms to the city. As a great influx of people moved to cities to work in industry and in the factories, people were severely overcrowded, which ultimately resulted in an increase in disease and the beginning of slums and poverty. An additional consequence was the disorganization of the family. Before the industrial revolution, families lived close to one another, worked together, and relied on one another for support. Once families [Page 121]moved to the cities to work in the factories, the family structure changed, and the human population became increasingly isolated. These changes created new needs for the individual and the family.

In education, this time period saw the ongoing development of progressive education led by John Dewey. The focus of this movement was child learning through real-world experience and an emphasis on schools reflecting the overall life of society. Also part of this movement was respect for the child and the implementation of a curriculum that allowed for children to develop personal interests; this curriculum included agricultural education, industrial education, and social education with an emphasis on the acculturation of immigrants. Progressive education coupled with the humanistic movement shed light on the growing need to attend to the overall well-being of children, beyond the walls of the school. Another key figure in the change of American schools was Horace Mann, who is often referred to as the father of American education. Mann believed in the development of a system of common schools: universal, free, and nonsectarian education.

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