Rehabilitation Counseling

Rehabilitation counseling is a rewarding profession that assists persons with physical, mental, developmental, cognitive, and emotional disabilities to fully develop their personal, social, interpersonal, and vocational potentials.  Rooted in a strengths-based, holistic approach, the purpose of the rehabilitation counseling program is to equip students with the specialized knowledge and skills to facilitate the independence, integration, and inclusion of persons with disabilities in employment and the community.

Program Goals

1.  The Rehabilitation Counseling program addresses the knowledge, skills, and dispositions expected of graduates of the master's program, enabling them to assess a person's needs, develop plans to meet the identified needs, and deliver or arrange for services.

2.  The program provides students with Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) standards-based learning experiences in the following  content areas:

       *  Professional identity and ethical behavior 
       *  Psychosocial aspects of disability and cultural diversity 
       *  Human growth and development 
       *  Employment and career development 
       *  Counseling approaches and principles 
       *  Group work and family dynamics
       *  Assessment 
       *  Research and program evaluation 
       *  Medical, functional, and environmental aspects of disability 
       *  Rehabilitation services, case management, and related services

3.  The program offers students experiences that promote development of their professional identities as rehabilitation counselors by:

       *  providing the necessary knowledge and skills to work effectively as a counselor 
       *  facilitating an understanding of the Scope of Practice for rehabilitation counseling 
       *  fostering participation in professional counseling organizations 
       *  encouraging advocacy activities for persons with disabilities and the profession of counseling 
       *  meeting criteria for professional credentialing, certification and licensure

Program Objectives

1.  Development of a "Plan of Study" for each student including 60 graduate credits that meet the educational requirements for counselor licensure in Pennsylvania.

2.  Integration of standards-based objectives in course work that complies with the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) accreditation standards.

3.  Encourage students' involvement in professional counseling organizations (e.g., American Counseling Association, American Rehabilitation Counseling Association, and National Rehabilitation Association) by discussing the benefits of such involvement and providing students with membership application material.

4.  Promote students' understanding of the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors and the Scope of Practice for rehabilitation counseling by reviewing this material in their course work, discussing case examples, and providing students with copies and /or links to these documents.

5.  Faculty and students' completion of the "Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions" form as a means to ensure a proper fit between the students' attributes and their ability to work effectively with persons with disabilities or all types (i.e., physical, mental, developmental, cognitive, and emotional).  This form is to be completed following students' completion of 12 credits, during the final semester of course work and any other time deemed appropriate throughout a student's course work as determined by 

Program Requirements                                                                                                                                                 

I. Required Core Courses (30 semester hours)

COUN 705 Group Processes (3)

COUN 710 Appraisal Techniques in the Helping Professions (3)

COUN 712 Human Development Across the Lifespan(3)
COUN 715 Career Development and Life Planning (3)
COUN 720 Counseling and Consultation Theories (3)

COUN 725 Organization and Development of Programs in the Helping Professions (3)
COUN 730 Supervised Counseling Practice (3)
COUN 735 Counseling Practicum (3)

COUN 745 Multicultural Counseling(3)

COUN 794 Research Seminar in Guidance and Couseling OR
EDUC 788 Research in Education (3)

II. Required Specialized Courses in Rehabilitation Counseling Program (30 semester hours)  

COUN 702 Introduction to Rehabilitation Counseling (3)

COUN 780 Medical Information for the Helping Professions (3)                                   COUN 782 Vocational Development, Services and Resources in Rehabilitation (3)

COUN 784 Psychosocial Aspects of Disabilities (3)
COUN 788 Special Evaluation Techniques (3)
________Elective (3)
COUN 795 Internship in Counseling (12)

60 semester hours