MASTER OF BEHAVIORAL STUDIES: COMMUNITY COUNSELING

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES:

TThe Community Counseling program is designed to provide the appropriate counselor training and perspective necessary for graduates to function effectively in counseling and related areas. The Master of Behavioral Studies (MBS) Degree in Community Counseling is designed to prepare individuals for careers in Community based professional counseling. The program offers an opportunity for the student to specialize in the treatment aspects of counseling. Graduates may work in a variety of settings including university counseling centers, mental health centers, inpatient psychiatric units, alcohol and drug treatment centers, correctional facilities, private/independent practice, and a variety of other clinical counseling settings.

MISSION STATEMENT:

The graduate program in Community Counseling provides an environment of academic excellence that prepares and empowers students entering the counseling field to be both professional and ethical in the provision of services and act in the best interest and welfare of the clients they serve. By having personal access to excellent teaching and clinical supervision, rigorous academic programs, collaborative experiences, and research opportunities, students will acquire a body of knowledge, professional skills, and cultural competencies that will prepare them for the field of counseling to promote success, responsible citizenship, and lifelong learning.

STUDENT LEARNER OUTCOMES:

The following eight student learner outcomes are recommended and promulgated by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP, 2001), and are expected to be obtained by graduates of our Community Counseling Master’s Degree Program:

Professional Identity: Includes studies that provide an understanding of all of the following aspects of professional functioning:

• history and philosophy of the counseling profession, including significant factors and events;
• professional roles, functions, and relationships with other human service providers;
• technological competence and computer literacy;
• professional organizations, primarily the American Counseling Association (ACA), its divisions, branches, and affiliates, including membership benefits, activities, services to members, and current emphases;
• professional credentialing, including certification, licensure, and accreditation practices and standards, and the effects of public policy on these issues;
• public and private policy processes, including the role of the professional counselor in advocating on behalf of the profession;
• advocacy processes needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede access, equity, and success for clients;
• ethical standards of ACA and related entities, and applications of ethical and legal considerations in professional counseling.

Social and Cultural Diversity: Includes studies that provide an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues and trends in a multicultural and diverse society related to such factors as culture, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation, mental and physical characteristics, education, family values, religious and spiritual values, socioeconomic status and unique characteristics of individuals, couples, families, ethnic groups, and communities including all of the following:

• multicultural and pluralistic trends, including characteristics and concerns between and within diverse groups nationally and internationally;
• attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and acculturative experiences, including specific experiential learning activities;
• individual, couple, family, group, and community strategies for working with diverse populations and ethnic groups;
• counselors’ roles in social justice, advocacy and conflict resolution, cultural self-awareness, the nature of biases, prejudices, processes of intentional and unintentional oppression and discrimination, and other culturally supported behaviors that are detrimental to the growth of the human spirit, mind, or body;
• theories of multicultural counseling, theories of identity development, and multicultural competencies;
• ethical and legal considerations.

Human Growth and Development: Includes studies that provide an understanding of the nature and needs of individuals at all developmental levels, including all of the following:

• theories of individual and family development and transitions across the life-span;
• theories of learning and personality development;
• human behavior including an understanding of developmental crises, disability, exceptional behavior, addictive behavior, psychopathology, and situational and environmental factors that affect both normal and abnormal behavior;
• strategies for facilitating optimum development over the life-span;
• ethical and legal considerations.

Career Development: Includes studies that provide an understanding of career development and related life factors, including all of the following:

• career development theories and decision-making models;
• career, vocational, educational, occupational and labor market information resources, visual and print media, computer-based career information systems, and other electronic career information systems;
• career development program planning, organization, implementation, administration, and evaluation;
• interrelationships among and between work, family, and other life roles and factors including the role of diversity and gender in career development;
• career and educational planning, placement, follow-up, and evaluation;
• assessment instruments and techniques that are relevant to career planning and decision making;
• technology-based career development applications and strategies, including computer-assisted career guidance and information systems and appropriate world-wide web sites;
• career counseling processes, techniques, and resources, including those applicable to specific populations;
• ethical and legal considerations.

Helping Relationships: Includes studies that provide an understanding of counseling and consultation processes, including all of the following:

• counselor and consultant characteristics and behaviors that influence helping processes including age, gender, and ethnic differences, verbal and nonverbal behaviors and personal characteristics, orientations, and skills;
• an understanding of essential interviewing and counseling skills so that the student is able to develop a therapeutic relationship, establish appropriate counseling goals, design intervention strategies, evaluate client outcome, and successfully terminate the counselor-client relationship. Studies will also facilitate student self-awareness so that the counselor-client relationship is therapeutic and the counselor maintains appropriate professional boundaries;
• counseling theories that provide the student with a consistent model(s) to conceptualize client presentation and select appropriate counseling interventions. Student experiences should include an examination of the historical development of counseling theories, an exploration of affective, behavioral, and cognitive theories, and an opportunity to apply the theoretical material to case studies. Students will also be exposed to models of counseling that are consistent with current professional research and practice in the field so that they can begin to develop a personal model of counseling;
• a systems perspective that provides an understanding of family and other systems theories and major models of family and related interventions. Students will be exposed to a rationale for selecting family and other systems theories as appropriate modalities for family assessment and counseling;
• a general framework for understanding and practicing. Student experiences should include an examination of the historical development of consultation, an exploration of the stages of consultation and the major models of consultation, and an opportunity to apply the theoretical material to case presentations. Students will begin to develop a personal model of consultation;
• integration of technological strategies and applications within counseling and consultation processes;
• ethical and legal considerations.

Group Work: Includes studies that provide both theoretical and experiential understandings of group purpose, development, dynamics, counseling theories, group counseling methods and skills, and other group approaches, including all of the following:

• principles of group dynamics, including group process components, developmental stage theories, group members’ roles and behaviors, and therapeutic factors of group work;
• group leadership styles and approaches, including characteristics of various types of group leaders and leadership styles;
• theories of group counseling, including commonalties, distinguishing characteristics, and pertinent research and literature;
• group counseling methods, including group counselor orientations and behaviors, appropriate selection criteria and methods, and methods of evaluation of effectiveness;
• approaches used for other types of group work, including task groups, psychoeducational groups, and therapy groups;
• professional preparation standards for group leaders;
• ethical and legal considerations.

Assessment: Includes studies that provide an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation, including all of the following:

• historical perspectives concerning the nature and meaning of assessment;
• basic concepts of standardized and nonstandardized testing and other assessment techniques including norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment, environmental assessment, performance assessment, individual and group test and inventory methods, behavioral observations, and computer-managed and computer-assisted methods;
• statistical concepts, including scales of measurement, measures of central tendency, indices of variability, shapes and types of distributions, and correlations;
• reliability (i.e., theory of measurement error, models of reliability, and the use of reliability information);
• validity (i.e., evidence of validity, types of validity, and the relationship between reliability and validity);
• age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, disability, culture, spirituality, and other factors related to the assessment and evaluation of individuals, groups, and specific populations;
• strategies for selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment and evaluation instruments and techniques in counseling;
• an understanding of general principles and methods of case conceptualization, assessment, and/or diagnoses of mental and emotional status;
• ethical and legal considerations.

Research and Program Evaluation: Includes studies that provide an understanding of research methods, statistical analysis, needs assessment, and program evaluation, including all of the following:

• the importance of research and opportunities and difficulties in conducting research in the counseling profession;
• research methods such as qualitative, quantitative, single-case designs, action research, and outcome-based research;
• use of technology and statistical methods in conducting research and program evaluation, assuming basic computer literacy;
• principles, models, and applications of needs assessment, program evaluation, and use of findings to effect program modifications;
• use of research to improve counseling effectiveness;
• ethical and legal considerations.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT:

The faculty places a high priority on assessment of student learner outcomes. Assessment procedures include, but are not limited to, standardized testing, surveying, faculty and site supervisor evaluations for practicum and internship courses, and course evaluation.

PROGRAM ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Admission to the Community Counseling program is a two-step process. First, prospective students must apply for admission to the School of Graduate Studies. After being successfully admitted to the School of Graduate Studies, the student must apply to the departmental Community Counseling Coordination Committee for acceptance into the Community Counseling program. Please note that successful admission to the School of Graduate Studies does not guarantee that the prospective student will be admitted to the Community Counseling program. The Community Counseling program admission requirements include the following:

1. Admission to the School of Graduate Studies
2. Program Application Form
3. Three Letters of Recommendation, including one from each of the following categories:
   • Personal (no relatives)
   • Academic (not including members of the Community Counseling Coordination Committee)
   • Professional/Work-Related
4. Graduate Record Examination (GRE):
   Normally the successful applicant will have combined General GRE scores of at least 700 across Verbal and Quantitative sections. The applicant also must complete the Analytical Writing section with no required minimum score for advising purposes only. Note that GRE scores are only valid for five years from the date the test is taken.
5. Statement of Personal/Professional Goals:
   Students must identify their understanding of the profession of Community Counseling. In addition, students must delineate their career goals and objectives and their relevance to this graduate program. Lastly, students must address their openness to self-examination and personal and professional self-development.
6. Applicants may be conditionally admitted to the Community Counseling Program at the discretion of the Community Counseling Coordination Committee.

NOTE: Admission to the MBS Program in Community Counseling does not guarantee graduation. Success in academic coursework is only one component of becoming a successful counseling student. The following non-academic conditions may result in dismissal if they are observed to impair the student’s ability to work with others in class, practicum, or internship settings: 1) personal concerns or psychopathology, 2) interpersonal relationship issues, or 3) personal attitudes or value systems that conflict with effective counseling relationships.

COMMUNITY COUNSELING COORDINATION COMMITTEE:

In addition to these academic qualifications, professional qualifications will also be considered by the Community Counseling Coordination Committee of the Graduate Program in Community Counseling. Factors considered in admitting an individual to the Community Counseling program include emotional and social maturity, the ability to communicate effectively, and other personal attributes believed necessary for success in the counseling profession.

A student who is denied admission to the Community Counseling program may appeal this decision and receive a personal hearing before the Community Counseling Coordination Committee of the graduate program in Community Counseling. Some of the potential factors considered by the committee include professional experience, emotional maturity, and negative life events such as a death in the family. The committee also makes decisions about other difficult situations presented by graduate students and/or faculty members. When making recommendations, each situation is addressed individually. Possible recommendations may include: continuation in the program without restrictions; discontinuation of the student’s program of study; discontinuation in the program without completion of a predetermined program of remediation (such as personal counseling); postponement of permission to complete practicum or internship courses; or reduction in course load. Students may appeal committee decisions; however, committee decisions stand until such time that they are upheld or overturned via the appeals process. Therefore, students may not be allowed to register for an upcoming semester pending the results of any appeals processes they may elect to pursue.

Admission to the Community Counseling Program is only one step in the admission and retention process. For example, a student in Community Counseling must earn a grade of "B" or better in each of the courses in the "Clinical Courses" sequence on the degree plan in order to graduate. Other potential causes for concern by the faculty may become retention issues. For example, if a faculty member discovers that a student is impaired in any way, and that student may potentially harm clients, that student’s admission status may become probationary, temporarily suspended, or be revoked outright.

LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR APPLICATION INFORMATION:

An individual interested in becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) should consult a graduate advisor and the state licensing office for current requirements. Requests for application packets may be requested from:

In Oklahoma:
Oklahoma State Department of Health
Division of Professional Counselor Licensing
1000 N.E. 10th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73117-1299
(405) 271-6030
Website

In Texas:
Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors
1100 West 49th Street
Austin, TX 78756-3183
(512) 834-6658
Website
If you have a felony record, or other significant legal issues, you may want to contact the licensing board to which you plan to apply in order to verify your eligibility for licensure after course completion.

THESIS OPTION:

With department approval, graduate students whose professional objectives necessitate the development of additional competence in research may elect to complete a master’s thesis in lieu of three semester hours in the behavioral studies component. However, completion of a thesis is NOT a mandatory requirement for the Community Counseling master’s degree.

1. Core Counseling Courses (24 graduate semester credit hours):
   • COUN 5113: Orientation to the Counseling Profession
   • COUN 5243: Lifespan Development
   • COUN 5323: Career Guidance Through the Lifespan
   • COUN 5283: Assessment in Counseling
   • COUN 5443: Theories of Counseling
   • COUN 5473: Counseling Diverse Populations
   • COUN 5523: Group Processes
   • COUN 5863: Research in Counseling
2. Specialization Courses (9 graduate semester credit hours):
   • COUN 5553: Intervention Strategies
   • COUN 5563: Marriage/Family Counseling
   • COUN 5373: Psychopathology
3. Elective Course (3 graduate semester credit hours):
   • COUN 5333: Individual Intelligence Testing
   • COUN 5343: Personality Assessment
     OR
   • Another Elective Approved by a Graduate Advisor
4. Clinical Courses (12 graduate semester credit hours):
   • COUN 5423: Techniques of Counseling
   • COUN 5543: Counseling Practicum
   • COUN 5923: Counseling Internship I*
   • COUN 5933: Counseling Internship II

Total: 48 hours

*Students Must Complete Four of the Following Courses Before Enrolling in COUN 5923: Internship I:

• COUN 5423: Techniques of Counseling
• COUN 5443: Theories of Counseling
• COUN 5523: Group Processes
• COUN 5113: Orientation to the Counseling Profession
• COUN 5553: Intervention Strategies
• COUN 5543: Counseling Practicum

Optional Courses:

Optional courses are offered during each academic year. Individuals who plan to pursue LPC licensure in the state of Oklahoma need 12 hours in addition to the 48 required for graduation. Some of the offered optional courses are listed below.

• COUN 5223: Advanced Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence
• COUN 5613: Counseling Children and Adolescents
• COUN 5623: Human Sexuality in Counseling
• COUN 5913: Counselor Supervision and Consultation
• COUN 5973: Forensic Psychology
• COUN 5973: Grief Counseling
• COUN 5973: Play Therapy
• COUN 5973: Positive Psychology
• COUN 5973: Self Care and the Mental Health Professional
• COUN 5973: Substance Abuse Counseling

NOTE: As a graduation requirement, each student must complete the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE) during the last semester of classes. Contact the Community Counseling Program Coordinator for more information.

Southeastern Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services.