The precepts underlying
the education and training of counseling professionals
follow the developmental model. Counselors are trained
to understand the individual in terms of where he or she
is in the ongoing process of growth, development and passage
through life stages, and explore with the individual any
aspects of development in social, cognitive, emotional
and behavioral spheres that might have been delayed or
interrupted. The developmental model enables counselors
to begin, without judging, with the individual's current
state. Counselors also approach problem-solving from an
holistic perspective, concerned about every aspect of the
individual's functioning. Behaviors, feelings, and thoughts
are understood in terms of the individual's world in which
they occur. Both in assessing the individual and in planning
and implementing treatment interventions, counselors maintain
a focus on the whole pattern, and the wellness of the individual's
mind, body and spirit. Counselors seek to assist the person
in identifying and strengthening personal assets and adaptive
abilities; they strive to facilitate normal and optimum
development. Typically, counseling professionals provide
mental health treatment services in outpatient settings
to less pathological populations who are experiencing life
adjustment difficulties, although education and training
in the PhD-CES program will prepare practitioners to work
in psychiatric settings, as well.
As a program accredited by the Council
for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational
Programs (CACREP), the PhD-CES program accepts as a
primary obligation extending the knowledge base of
the counseling profession in a climate of scholarly
inquiry, and it prepares students to generate new knowledge
for the counseling profession through research and
dissertations that are appropriate to the field of
counselor education or supervision. The PhD-CES program
has taken into account the societal changes of the
21 st century and will prepare graduates to be leaders
and advocates for change. |
|
