Psychological counseling in Russia: professional retraining, current status, problems and solutions

This article focuses on the reasons for the increasing consumer demand for counseling psychological services and statistical data for 2020–2024, indicating a mature market for counseling psychological services. It also examines the social and pedagogical aspects of the problem of poor–quality professional retraining of counseling psychologists in the educational program «Psychological Counseling.» Since this problem remains unresolved, the following is proposed to improve the quality of professional retraining programs for psychologists: differentiate the recruitment of students into groups taking into account age, education, work experience, and other socio–demographic parameters, with priority given to graduates of pedagogical and psychological universities and colleges; include only scientifically sound methods in the program content, and the practical portion should include internships, supervision, student work with checklists, reflection diaries, etc.; attract competent instructors with practical experience and length of service in psychological counseling, academic degrees/titles, and a strong theoretical scientific foundation. For a more objective and effective assessment, a final qualifying work assignment (FQA) is recommended instead of a final interdisciplinary exam. The integration of these measures will contribute to improving the quality of training, student motivation, and their readiness to work as a counseling psychologist.