In Spain, the field of counselling is not an independent field. Psychology, on the other hand, has a long history. It was taught at universities in Spain as a branch of philosophy until the 20th century. The cities of Madrid and Barcelona played a major role. Here, psychology was studied both inside and outside the universities and established itself as an applied science. The two cities differed in their psychological focus. While Madrid was primarily concerned with the influence of pedagogy and philosophy, Barcelona was more experimental in terms of natural science. (cf. Erb 2005, p.63ff.). In 1918, the Institute for Vocational Guidance was founded in Barcelona. Here, young people were examined psychologically, socially and medically and assigned to an occupational group accordingly. (cf. ibid. p.103).
Over time, psychotherapy was shaped by many influences. In the 1920s by psychoanalysis, phenomenological psychology and psychiatry in the 1950s, the person-centered approach in the 1970s, and Gestalt therapy in the 1980s and cognitive therapy in the 2000s. (cf. Marín-Martín/Prieto 2015, p.211) Many different directions of psychology, chairs, institutes, journals, professional associations, and societies developed. (cf. Erb 2005, p.255)
In 1991 psychotherapy was recognized as a service in clinics and psychiatric institutions. (cf. Cohen 2002, p.19).