Forty Years Later: Returning Wellness Counseling to Our Roots and Intentionally Including Traditionally Underserved Populations

ABSTRACT Forty years after introduced wellness into the counseling literature, wellness has become a cornerstone of the counseling profession. Over the same period, a multi‐trillion‐dollar wellness industry has emerged, positioning wellness as a luxury available only to those who can afford its ever‐increasing price. Counselors are uniquely positioned to help clients navigate the wellness economy, yet embedded assumptions within the profession often prevent those with traditionally marginalized identities from receiving wellness counseling. Multiple systemic barriers and four core underlying assumptions limit how the profession has conceptualized and implemented wellness counseling. These are understanding: who defines wellness, how structural constraints limit wellness counseling; the effects of Maslow's Hierarchy on wellness interventions; and how cultural and social contexts affect wellness. Challenging each of these assumptions allows practicing counselors and counselor educators to engage in wellness counseling with all clients in all settings, regardless of immediate needs or systemic barriers.