About the Division of Counseling Psychology

The Division of Counseling Psychology offers four graduate programs:

PhD in Counseling Psychology (APA Accredited)
Master's in Mental Health Counseling
Master's in Rehabilitation Counseling
Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) in School Counseling

A fundamental mission of all our programs is to promote and value diversity. This is found in the many opportunities our students have to explore issues of human diversity (race, ethnicity, culture, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability, etc.), to learn a variety of theoretical approaches to counseling, to study with a multicultural array of students and faculty, to work with a range of client populations, and to practice in multiple work settings. A common link across our master's and doctoral training programs is a commitment to excellence. Our graduate students work in countless agencies and schools throughout the local communities, contributing valuable new ideas and assistance to students, clients, and organizations.

About the PhD Program:

The PhD program in Counseling Psychology has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1980. For information, contact the Committee on Accreditation, Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, Education Directorate, 750 First St., NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, 202-336-5979, http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation.

The doctoral program embraces the scientist-practitioner model of training and has been ranked among the top counseling psychology programs in terms of faculty productivity and scholarly contributions to the literature. As early as 1984, our doctoral program was ranked “5th” in the nation, based on publications and professional leadership positions among counseling psychology programs (Skovholt, Stone, & Hill, 1984). This ranking was sustained and improved in the following decade, with Delgado and Howard (1994) ranking the program “4th” in the nation in terms of overall productivity, and Hanish, Horan, Keen, St. Peter, Ceperich, and Beasley (1995) ranking the program “2nd” in the nation in terms of contributions to the literature. Similarly exemplary rankings have been reported in terms of contributions to specific journals: We were ranked as the #1 contributor to the Journal of Vocational Behavior, and as the #2 contributor to the Journal of Counseling Psychology (Ellis, Haase, Skowron, & Kaminsky, 1993). In the most recent analysis of contributors to this APA journal, our doctoral program ranked as the 4th (Buboltz, Miller, & Williams, 1999). National recognition of the contributions of individual faculty has also been outstanding: Three of our faculty (Bruch, Friedlander, Haase) are ranked in the top 8% of the members of Division 17 in terms of scholarly productivity (Horan, Hanish, Keen, Saberi & Hird, 1993), and one (Friedlander) is ranked not only among the 50 most frequently cited authors in all of counseling psychology (Howard & Curtin, 1993), but also as one of the top 3 researchers in psychotherapy process-outcome research (Hill, Nutt & Jackson, 1994), and as the 9th most active contributor to the Journal of Counseling Psychology between 1973-1978 (Buboltz et al.,1999).

During its last APA accreditation process, the program was commended for (among other things) "a clearly articulated training model and well organized curriculum." Our academic offerings highlight the integration of theory, research, and practice, ethics, and training in multicultural diversity. Clinical experience is available in various locations (community agencies, residential settings, hospitals, college and university counseling centers, forensic and administrative sites), including the UAlbany Psychological Services Center, a training clinic run conjointly with the clinical psychology program. The majority of our students receive tuition waivers and fellowships or assistantships for 4 or more years.

The program accepts 7 or 8 new doctoral students each year. Typically, half the incoming class has bachelor's degrees, and half has master's degrees. The Division is strongly committed to multicultural diversity and to recruiting students of color. Currently, students of color make up roughly 25% of the total enrollment. The program has awarded over 185 PhDs -- between 5 and 16 per year since 1983. Graduates of the PhD program are licensed in many states and contribute to the field as practitioners adn scholars. In our most recent self-study, virtually all graduates within the past 5 years readily found employment in varying settings, including counseling centers, hospitals, community agencies, medical schools, and academia.

About the Master's Programs:

The Master of Science and Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) programs in the Division are designed to reflect traditions in psychology that focus on individual and contextual differences and developmental progression. The emphasis in these three practitioner training programs is on identifying, preventing, and ameliorating client problems across the life span and across the varied domains of human experience (family life, education, interpersonal relationships, work and leisure).

Faculty:

The Division currently has 8 full-time faculty and a number of part-time faculty. Three faculty members are Fellows of the American Psychological Association. Faculty are actively involved in research activities and in national and local psychological organizations. Many are also engaged in clinical work as consultants and in independent practice.

References:

Buboltz, W. C., Miller, M., & Williams, D. J. (1999). Content analysis of research in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (1973-1978). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46, 496-503.

Delgado, E. A., & Howard, G. S. (1994). Changes in research productivity in counseling psychology: Revisiting Howard (1983) a decade later. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 41, 69-73.

Ellis, M. V., Haase, R. F., Skowron, E. A., & Kaminsky, L. (1993, August). Institutional contributors to scholarly and professional activities in counseling psychology. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada.

Hanish, C., Horan, J. J., Keen, B., St. Peter, C. C., Ceperich, S. D., & Beasley, J. F. (1995). The scientific stature of counseling psychology training programs: A still picture of a shifting scene. The Counseling Psychologist, 23(1), 82-101.

Hill, C. E., Nutt, E. A., & Jackson, S. (1994). Trends in psychotherapy process research: Samples, measures, researchers, and classic publications. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 41, 364-377.

Horan, J. J., Hanish, C., Keen, B., & Hird, J. S. (1993). When examining the cerebral functioning of Division 17, which organ should we dissect? The Counseling Psychologist, 21(2), 307-315.

Howard, G. S., & Curtin, T. D. (1993). Individual productivity and impact in counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 21(2), 288-302.

Skovholt, T. M., Stone, G. L., & Hill, C. E. (1984). Institutional affiliations of contributors to scholarly and professional activities in counseling psychology: 1980-1983. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 43, 394-397.