Recruitment: History and Recent Trends in Diversity

Early in the history of the psychology/counseling profession, few efforts were made to “recruit” culturally diverse persons; rather, diverse persons, typically through grassroots and organizational efforts, sought entry into psychology despite major resistance. This was especially true during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, as time has passed, especially within the last 3 to 4 decades, more of a concerted effort to attract diverse persons has been made by professional mental health organizations.

The U.S. civil rights movement in the late 1960s was instrumental in raising awareness within psychology and counseling that the academic and professional ends of the fields might not be effectively meeting the needs of certain diverse groups, especially women and individuals from groups that differed racially or ethnically from the majority. This realization led to a focus on diversifying the personnel in the professions and the recruitment of persons from underrepresented groups.

However, this early recruitment effort did not immediately extend in equally forceful ways to all groups. For example, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual) individuals were not initially included. In addition, although women were initially an underrepresented group, the discipline of psychology is actually now more popular with women than with men at the undergraduate and graduate levels, especially within the applied branches. So, in the 21st century, the idea of who is underrepresented has changed, and males are now considered underrepresented persons in psychology and counseling.

At the current time, there are many divisions of the American Psychological Association (APA) and special interest groups within the APA that focus on diverse groups, such as persons with physical disabilities (Division 22; Rehabilitation Psychology), persons from outside the United States (Division 52; International Psychology), persons with neurocognitive disorders (Division 33; Mental Rehabilitation and Developmental Disabilities and Division 40; Clinical Neuropsychology), men (Division 51; Psychology of Men and Masculinity) as well as more traditional demographic groups such as women (Division 35; Psychology of Women), LGBT persons (Division 44; Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues), and people of color (Division 45; Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues). In addition, the APA Public Interest Directorate also has committees focused on women (established in 1973), on LGBT persons (established in 1980), on persons with disabilities (established in 1985), and on socioeconomic status (established in 2006), among others.

The profession of counseling, represented by the American Counseling Association, also has specialty divisions focusing on diverse groups of people, such as the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association (established in 1958), the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (established in 1972), the Association for Adult Development and Aging (established in 1986), and the Association for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues in Counseling (established in 1997).