Mental Health Counseling - Rehabilitation, MS

Graduate Coordinator: Glacia Ethridge Email: gethridg@ncat.edu Phone: 336-285-4391
Department Chair: Caroline Booth Email: csbooth@ncat.edu Phone: (336) 334-7916

The Mental Health Counseling - Rehabilitation program is a 60-hour program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs Education (CACREP) as a Clinical Rehabilitation program. This and is designed to prepare culturally competent counselors who specialize in working with persons with physical, developmental, cognitive, psychological, and neurological disabilities and/or illnesses. The program is accredited as a Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling program. Rehabilitation Counseling students are equipped with knowledge, skills, and experience to empower persons with disabilities through the counseling process. Students are further equipped with unique competencies to provide effective rehabilitation counseling services within a cultural context.

Certification and Licensure

Students are prepared to take the National Counseling Examination (NCE) of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) prior to graduation which is administered twice annually. Students who pass the NCE prior to graduation are recognized as board eligible by NBCC. Students are also prepared to take the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) exam. Students who complete all requirements for graduation are eligible to apply for Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor licensure through the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (www.ncblcmhc.org). As counseling licensure laws vary by state, students seeking to practice outside of the state are encouraged to familiarize themselves with licensure requirements in their intended area of practice.

Additional Admission Requirements

• Statement of purpose: Describe career goals, including clinical/research interests, professional and volunteer experience relevant to intended program of study and future counseling career goals.
• Three professional letters of recommendation from persons who know the applicant in either an academic or supervisory capacity. Letters from family members, acquaintances, and friends are not acceptable.
• A current resume or curriculum vita
• Interview: After initial review of all applications, the applicants with greatest potential are also expected to participate in a pre-admission interview with the Counseling faculty.

Program Outcomes:

• Critical Thinking: Students will develop skills and attitudes of effective thinking that employ the use of thoughtful reflection and logical inquiry to draw evidence-based conclusions as they relate to community counseling.
• Oral Communication Skills: Students will demonstrate proficiency in communicating in individual dyads and small and large group settings and in appropriate use of grammar to communicate counseling findings, while avoiding sexist language, doublespeak and clichés. Evaluation occurs during the benchmarking process. Students must receive a satisfactory rating from the majority of faculty to earn a satisfactory rating. Faculty will evaluate 100% of the student population.
• Written Communication: Students will demonstrate proficiency in academic and scientific writing, which includes avoiding digressions, consistent tenses, using the active voice and citing sources as well as findings, professional documentation, and report writing with emphasis on APA publishing guidelines.
• Cultural Self-Awareness and Sensitivity: Students will demonstrate awareness of self-including knowledge of macro, micro, and meso ecological systems.
• Cultural Competence: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues, and trends in a multicultural society.
• Ethical Practice: Students will demonstrate understanding and application of relevant professional ethical standards.
• Professionalism: Students will demonstrate professional maturity, integrity, and discipline consistent with professional standards of practice.
• Research and Design: Graduate community counseling students will demonstrate proficiency in designing quantitative, qualitative, single case designs, action, and outcome-based research, as well as co-occurring and support software packages (e.g., SPSS). Students will understand ethics surrounding Human Subjects Social and Behavioral Science research procedures and Responsible Conduct in Research.
• Research Evaluation: Students will demonstrate proficiency in evaluating empirical and non-empirical research. Students will be able to review the professional literature and glean from the review relevant information for both research and practice. Students will be able evaluate research and its application to field experiences. Students will develop a research paper that reflects their knowledge of this content. The specifics of the research paper along with the grading rubric are presented in the achievement summary.
• Statistics: Students will demonstrate proficiency in basic statistics methods including scales of measurement, measures of central tendency, indices of variability, shapes and type of distributions, correlations, reliability and validity. Students will apply supportive software packages (e.g., MS Excel, SPSS).
• Technological Competence: Students will demonstrate proficiency in implementing best technology practices.