Abstract:

Prevention is an important goal in counseling and mental health. While attention to it is accelerating, it still remains taught infrequently in counselor education and other professional helping training programs, both in the United States and in Turkey. This article conveys competencies and curriculum change strategies that counselor educators in Turkey might consider, along with any appropriate alterations to reflect cultural imperatives, to introduce or expand preventive counseling in their curricula. Particular attention is given to the “Big 5” competencies, which include holding a primary prevention perspective, a knowledge base in systemic and ecological principles and processes, a knowledge base in social justice, skills in group work, collaboration, and consultation, and possessing attitudes that facilitate prevention. Emphasis is placed on how ecology and prevention are intertwined. Finally, curriculum change strategies amenable for introducing prevention into the counselor education curriculum are detailed, including creating, infusing, including, and combining necessary course material.

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