Wang, L.-f., Kwan, K.-L., & Huang, S.-F. (2011). Counseling Psychology Licensure in Taiwan: Development, Challenges, and Opportunities. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 33(1), 37-50. doi: 10.1007/s10447-010-9111-3

Introduction

Counseling licensure and certification are critical issues in the development of the counseling and psychology professions (Coreyet al. 2006; Eagels and Bradley 2001). In the United States and the United Kingdom, various counseling licensure and certification systems have been established to regulate the quality of academic training as well as qualifications for professional practice (Corey et al. 2006; Eagels and Bradley 2001). Similarly, counselors and counseling psychologists in some Asian countries have begun to pay attention to professional issues such as ethical practice, certification, licensure, and training concerns (Kwan 2003; Leung et al. 2007; Wang and Lin 1999).

Many Asian countries, including China (Hou and Zhang 2007), India (Arulmani 2007), Japan (Watanabe-Muraoka 2007), Korea (Kim 2006), Singapore (Chong and Ow 2003), and Taiwan (Wang and Huang 2006) are developing and consolidating their licensure or certification systems. Counseling licensure and certification systems are at various developmental stages in different Chinese communities. In Mainland China, counseling certification is managed by the Chinese Ministry of Labor, although some counseling professionals are concerned with the low standards and requirements of this certification (Hou and Zhang 2007). In Hong Kong, counselor certification for academic training and professional practice has been established (Leung 2006). In Singapore, a licensure system for counselors has been proposed (Chong and Ow 2003). Taiwan was the first country in Asia with a national psychologist licensure statute (The Psychologist Statute), which was approved by the Taiwanese legislature and implemented in 2001.

The counseling profession has grown rapidly in different parts of the world. There is much to learn from the unique experiences and development of the profession in each country, including the licensure and credentialing process for counselors and counseling psychologists (Heppner 2006; Heppner et al. 2008a, b). We no longer live in a ‘flat world’ (Friedman 2006). As global citizens, we are highly interconnected economically and professionally.

As dictated by standards of ethical practice, counseling psychologists strive to be culturally competent scholars through acquiring and exchanging knowledge through international publishing (Leung and Tsoi-Hoshman 2007). A review of the Taiwanese licensing process for psychologists expands the worldview of readers in other countries and facilitates collaborative work among colleagues from around the world who strive to advance the ethical practice of the counseling psychology profession overall.

Similar to the experiences of counseling psychologists in a number of countries (e.g., see Kim 2006, and Leung 2006 for discussions on Korea and Hong Kong respectively), Taiwan also has faced unique challenges in the process of establishing and maintaining a national licensing system for psychologists. In this article, we first introduce how counseling psychology is defined and how counseling psychologists are differentiated from school counselors and clinical psychologists in Taiwan. Second, we trace the historical development that led to licensure, and present common and unique challenges to the profession after the passage of licensure in Taiwan. Third, we discuss Taiwanese counseling psychologists’ past and ongoing strategic responses to the challenges. We hope the Taiwan example facilitates more professional exchanges on the development and advancement of the ethical practice of counseling psychology in other parts of the world.