Counselor Education: The College at Brockport

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The Counselor Education program at The College at Brockport offers several options for students interested in the counseling field. There are three master’s programs, including Master of Science in Education (MSEd) in College Counseling, MSEd in School Counseling (K-12), and MS in Mental Health Counseling. For students who have already earned a master’s degree, we also offer a Certificate of Advanced Study in school counseling.

Many of our courses are conveniently held at The College at Brockport MetroCenter in downtown Rochester, which is centrally located near area suburbs and school districts.

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The Practice of Professional Counseling:

The application of mental health, psychological, or human development principles, through cognitive, affective, behavioral or systemic intervention strategies, that address wellness, personal growth, or career development, as well as pathology.

Professional Counseling Specialty:

A Professional Counseling Specialty is narrowly focused, requiring advanced knowledge in the field founded on the premise that all Professional Counselors must first meet the requirements for the general practice of professional counseling.

Adopted by ACA Governing Counsel, October 1997
Adopted by NBCC Board of Directors, November 1997

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Mission Statement:

The mission of the Department of Counselor Education is to prepare and mentor scholar practitioners, with a deep level of self-understanding, in the art and science of professional counseling.

Purpose and Philosophy

This program seeks to prepare excellent counselors who choose an emphasis for special preparation in college, mental health or school settings. Such counselors possess knowledge of human behavior and social systems, counseling and communication skills, self-awareness, and respect for human dignity and diversity. As a result, they are able to integrate this knowledge, skill, and attitude with their personhood. This combined emphasis on skill development, theory, and utilization of self produces counselors who function effectively in a variety of helping settings and who have a positive impact on the individuals, agencies, institutions, and/or pluralistic communities in which they work.

The philosophy of the program emphasizes the personhood of the counselor and utilization of self as the most important instruments in effecting therapeutic and systemic change. Thus, classroom instruction combines experiential (self) and didactic learning to create opportunities for students to acquire and demonstrate theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and understanding and utilization of self necessary to be effective counselors. Further, the program exposes students to multiple theoretical orientations. Finally, students are expected to learn how to learn, by acquiring the skills necessary to continue personal growth and professional development while in the program and after the completion of their formal education. These rigorous academic and self-cultivating experiences develop students who are effective communicators and contributors to the counseling profession.

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Program Objectives

Students realize the above statement of purposes and philosophical beliefs through successful achievement of the following objectives.

At the completion of the MSED in Counseling and the MS in Mental Health Counseling programs, students will be able to:

Understand the relationship between self-awareness and counselor effectiveness, and employ this understanding in the professional practice of counseling.
Provide effective individual counseling.
Provide effective group counseling.
Perform effectively in the general counselor functions identified for the appropriate employment setting.
Effectively address issues and concerns related to a diverse society that arise while functioning as a counselor.
Apply legal and ethical principles in the practice of counseling.
Consult effectively with appropriate personnel and clients.
Address issues of career development in the practice of counseling.
Effectively apply measurement and evaluation concepts within the counseling process.
Apply an understanding of human growth and development from childhood through adulthood to the practice of counseling.
Conduct needs assessment and research in the field of counseling.
Understand the counseling community, the roles and functions of the professional counselor in a variety of settings, significant professional organizations, and the importance of professional standards and credentialing.
Effectively communicate utilizing oral and written modalities.
Contribute to the counseling profession (e. g., development of innovative programs and practices, deliver professional presentations, and represent the counseling perspective in collaborative environments).