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, and equips 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 
       *  the role of social and cultural diversity 
       *  human growth and development 
       *  employment and career devlopment 
       *  counseling and consultation 
       *  group work 
       *  methods of assessment and use of data 
       *  research and program evaluation 
       *  medical, functional, and environmental aspects of disability 
       *  rehabilitation services and resources

3.  The program offers students experiences that promote devlopment 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 
       *  meeting criteria for professinal 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 Educati0n (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)

COUN705 Group Processes in the Helping Professions(3)                                       COUN710 Appraisal Techniques in Counseling((3)                                                   COUN712 Human Development Across the Lifespan(3)
COUN715 Career Development and Life Planning (3)
COUN720 Counseling and Consultation Theories (3)                                             COUN725 Organization and Development of Programs in the Helping Professions (3)
COUN730 Supervised Counseling Practice (3)
COUN735 Counseling Practicum (3)                                                                          COUN745 Multicultural Counseling(3)
EDUC788 Research in Education(3)

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

COUN702 Introduction to Rehabilitation(3)                                                               COUN780 Medical Information for the Helping Professions (3)                                   COUN782 Vocational Development, Services and Resources in Rehabilitation(3)COUN784 Psychosocial Aspects of Disabilities (3)
COUN788 Special Evaluation Techniques (3)
______Elective (3)
COUN795 Internship in Counseling (12)
60 semester hours