Co-counseling was originally formulated in the early 1950s by the American Harvey Jackins through a combination of his personal experiences gained through a wide range of counseling experience. Jackins founded the Re-evaluation Counseling (RC) Communities, with headquarters in Seattle, Washington, United States.

Co-Counseling International (CCI), a federation of co-counseling communities and individuals, formed in 1973. CCI currently works to "maintain, promote and develop the practice, culture and theory of co-counseling regionally and nationally through an energetic and focused peer community of individuals committed to the practice and vision of co-counseling." (http://cci-usa.org/)

Co-counseling has progressed significantly since its founding. Today, workshops are held in the U.S. and internationally in order to teach the basic foundations of Co-counseling.