MS in Rehabilitation Counseling

Rehabilitation counseling is a process intended to facilitate the vocational and personal development of people with disabilities. The disability may be physical, emotional, mental, social or some combination thereof. Within that process, various services enable clients to make the fullest use of their inherent or remaining potential in choosing, planning for, and attaining a satisfying and effective life. In a very real sense, rehabilitation counselors are concerned with maximizing the abilities of disabled people by assisting them to cope with any handicapping factors.

Rehabilitation counseling is unique in applying a diverse range of treatment approaches and community resources to enhance the individual's life needs and status. The process of rehabilitation counseling includes therapeutic counseling, psychological and vocational evaluation, vocational exploration and training, job development and placement, and follow-up and evaluation. In addition to learning the counseling skills and behavioral principles common to the human services profession as a whole, rehabilitation counselors develop expertise in the process of rehabilitation and the psychology of disability. Furthermore, rehabilitation counselors are committed to fostering development throughout the client system. As such, our program focuses on developing of skills and knowledge for filling educational and preventive roles as well as traditional remedial or therapeutic roles.

The 57-credit Master's of Science program in Rehabilitation Counseling is designed to prepare counselors to assume the full range of professional responsibilities required in a variety of community rehabilitation agencies and organizations. Our training model, which integrates behavioral science theory and knowledge with practitioner skills, assumes that the effective counselor has a strong understanding of the theoretical and scientific bases of professional techniques. In addition, our program's commitment to human diversity is manifested in coursework as well as fieldwork placements. A dedication to facilitating development in a culturally sensitive fashion underlies our training philosophy.

Given these program goals and assumptions, the curriculum must include both comprehensiveness and depth. To these ends, admission requirements include 15 credits of psychology including statistics, abnormal psychology, and personality. The full-time program curriculum requirements include a research/assessment sequence, an intervention theory/techniques sequence, a fieldwork sequence, and one elective.

The University at Albany program was among the first group of Rehabilitation Counseling Programs to receive national accreditation by the Council on Rehabilitation Education. It has retained its full accreditation status since 1980.

REHABILITATION COUNSELING PROGRAM
TYPICAL COURSE SEQUENCE

SUMMER I

ECPY 630 Behavioral Disorders (3)
ECPY 661 Principles & Practices in Rehabilitation (3)
ECPY 662 Psychology of Disability (3)
ECPY 761 Medical Aspects of Disability (3)
12 cr.

FALL I

ECPY 601 Introduction to Counseling Theory and Practice (3)
ECPY 604 Career Development (3)
ECPY 608 Foundations and Techniques of Group Counseling (3)
ECPY 612 Pre-practicum in Counseling (3)
12 cr.

SPRING

ECPY 602 Practicum (2 days per week in community agency) (3)
ECPY 603 Assessment in Counseling and Rehabilitation (3)
ECPY 614 Psychology of Chemical Dependency: Theroy and Practice (3)
ECPY 627 Advanced Counseling Theory and Practice (3)
12 cr.

SUMMER II

ECPY 663 Career Development and Placement of the Disabled (3)
ECPY 768 Internship in Counseling (half-time) (mid-May - end of August) (6)
Elective ECPY 809 (strongly recommended) or ECPY 611 (3)
12 cr.

FALL II

ECPY 667 Research Principles and Methods in Counseling (3)
ECPY 768 Internship (half-time) (September - end of December) (6)
9 cr.

Total Minimum Credit Hours = 57