Five Forces of Counseling

One way to understand the development of key theories and approaches to psychotherapy is through the lens of forces, which can be understood as paradigms or worldviews that have significantly shaped counseling theory and practice. Five forces have been consistently noted in counseling literature, which include the psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, humanistic-existential, multicultural, and social justice approaches. In particular, the multicultural force has helped to expand efforts to include advocacy, social justice, and attention toward diversity in counseling.

Various approaches have been deemed instrumental in their impact on counseling theory and practice over the decades. Although a variety of counseling theories exist, some have been more formative than others in terms of their overall impact on the ways people perceive and engage in the therapeutic relationship. Various theorists are associated with each of the five forces, each of whom helped to expand ideas that held tremendous impact on how people understand clinical theory and practice. In some ways, the five forces are like bridges that connect distinct frameworks with each other; however, in other ways, each force is a reaction to the approaches that preceded it. This entry provides an overview of the five forces of counseling and psychotherapy, the theorists associated with each force, and the impact of each on the mental health field.