A fundamental mission of the Counseling 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.
Visit the Division of Counseling Psychology web site.
The doctorate program in Counseling Psychology at the University at Albany provides integrated scientist-practitioner training in psychology as a scientific discipline and in counseling psychology as an area of professional specialization. Continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1980, the program involves full-time study in courses, seminars, practica, and internship training. The required curriculum encompasses four basic areas: (a) a professional core in counseling psychology (including theory, research and practice in areas of intervention, assessment, and career development), (b) supervised practica, (c) research design, measurement, and statistics, and (d) core psychology coursework. In addition, students must engage in a variety of professional experiences, complete special training in the mandated reporting of child abuse/neglect, demonstrate competence in an appropriate research tool, pass comprehensive doctoral examinations, complete a 2000 hour pre-doctoral internship, and submit an acceptable dissertation demonstrating their ability to conduct scholarly research in counseling psychology.
The Master of Science program in Mental Health Counseling is designed to prepare counselors to assume the full range of professional responsibilities required to function in a wide array of community human service agencies and organizations, including psychiatric and substance abuse settings. Our training model, which integrates behavioral science theories with practitioner skills, is based on the assumption that the effective counselor has a strong understanding of the theoretical and scientific bases of professional concepts and techniques.
