The relationship between personality traits and the theoretical orientation preferences of counselors and clinical psychologists in Lebanon

Abstract

The field of psychology includes a broad spectrum of theories, interventions, and tools to differently deal with diverse psychological, social, and academic problems that diverse populations might face in their daily life. Each counselor and clinical psychologist chooses a particular course of action to employ depending on the way he-she deals with the cases faced. This course of action is usually derived from grounded theories that the counselor went through in his-her college years. One of the factors relating to the choice of theoretical orientation is personality. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine(a) the relationship between personality traits of counselors and clinical psychologists and their theoretical orientations, (b) the differences between theoretical orientations of counselors and clinical psychologists in relation to their personality traits; and (c) the differences between school counseling and clinical psychology in their choice of theoretical orientations. The sample included 30 counselors and 30 clinical psychologists in Beirut. The relationship between personality traits and theoretical orientation preferences was investigated quantitatively by using two scales: The Counsellor Theoretical Position Scale (CTPS) to measure theoretical orientation, and the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) to measure personality traits. The analyzed results showed that there are significant relationships between personality traits and theoretical orientation preferences of counselors and clinical psychologists in Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism in relation to the two theoretical orientation domains (R-I and O-S), there were no differences between theoretical orientations of counselors and clinical psychologists in relation to their personality traits, and finally, there are no significant differences between the theoretical orientations of counselors and clinical psychologists in Lebanon. Limitations, conclusion, and implications for further research and practice were also mentioned.