PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING
APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY
BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA
Revised 1/10

Description
The M.A. in Professional School Counseling (427*) is a sixty semester hour program. The master’s program is designed to meet the requirements for North Carolina School Counselor Licensure (K-12) and to follow guidelines and standards of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Approval by these additional accrediting agencies allows graduates to be eligible in many other states for reciprocal licensure. Our 60-hour program affords our graduates the opportunity to further develop their counseling skills and to graduate at the Specialist (S) level status

All courses are taught from a multicultural perspective which emphasizes the differing experiences, cultures, histories, and perspectives of people from a variety of ethnic, gender, racial, and social class backgrounds.

Required Courses and Semester Hours
HPC 5310 Introduction to Professional School Counseling 3
HPC 5110 Multicultural Counseling 3
HPC 5790 Group Methods and Processes 3  (See advisor if you had HPC 4790 as an undergraduate)
RES 5000 Research Methods 3
HPC 5140 Psychological and Educational Testing 3
HPC 5210 Life and Career Planning 3
HPC 5220 Counseling Theory and Techniques 3
HPC 5272 Individual & Family Development 3
HPC 5754 Legal and Ethical Issues in PSC 3
HPC 5900 Practicum in Counseling 3  (Prerequisite: HPC 5220, 5310, 5790 and departmental chair approval*)
HPC 6290 Child & Adolescent Therapy 3
HPC 6452 Seminar in Professional School Counseling 3  (Prerequisite: HPC 5310)
HPC 6620 School-Based Consultation 3
HPC 6900 Internship in Professional School Counseling 6  (Prerequisite: HPC 5140, 5210, 5220, 5310, 5754, 5790,
5900, 6620 and departmental chair approval*)

Guided Electives (consult with your advisor) 15
Total: 60

Note: Each student must see his/her advisor prior to registering.

*Permission forms available in the departmental office must be completed prior to registration.

Check out our webpage at: www.hpcsc.appstate.edu

Mission Statement

The master’s program is designed to meet the requirements for North Carolina School Counselor Licensure (K-12) and to follow guidelines and standards of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The Professional School Counseling Program at Appalachian State University is one of six in North Carolina nationally accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Appalachian has historically had a major responsibility for graduate and undergraduate preparation for professional educators in the Northwestern and Western Piedmont areas of North Carolina. This responsibility includes the preparation of professional school counselors to meet employment needs within the western region.

Students completing this program are prepared to design and implement comprehensive, developmental school counseling programs. Additionally, graduates are prepared to carry out the functions identified by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in the job description of the school counselor. Currently, the demand for licensed school counselors is greater than the capacity of all of the counselor education programs in North Carolina combined. Surveys indicate the likelihood that this need will continue to increase.

Objectives

1. CACREP/NCATE: Professional roles and functions; professional goals and objectives; professional organizations and associations; professional history and trends; ethical and legal standards; professional preparation standards; professional credentialing; technological competence and computer literacy; and the counselor’s role as advocate for the profession and its clientele in the public policy process.

2. CACREP/NCATE: Societal changes and trends with a multicultural and pluristic emphasis nationally and internationally; human roles; societal subgroups; gender issues; social mores and interaction patterns; and differing lifestyles; individual, couples, family and community; and group strategies with diverse populations using experiential learning activities.

3. CACREP/NCATE: The nature and needs of individuals and families at all developmental levels across the life span; normal and abnormal behavior; and learning and personality development within cultural contexts.

4. CACREP/NCATE: Career development theories and decision making models; occupational and educational information resources including technology based applications and strategies; career developmental program planning, resources, follow-up, and evaluation; holistic approach identifying the numerous and diverse life roles which influence career development; assessment instruments and techniques; and career counseling process.
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5. CACREP/NCATE: Counseling theories provide a philosophic base of the helping processes; counseling and consultation theories and their application from both an individual and systems perspective; helping skills such as basic interviewing, assessment and counseling; helper self-understanding and self-development; and facilitation of client and consultee change.

6. CACREP: Group development, dynamics, and counseling theories; group leadership styles; group counseling methods and skills; and the different approaches (both theoretical and experiential) to group work. NCATE: Individual and group counseling approaches appropriate for the developmental stage and needs of children and adolescents; approaches to peer facilitation programs; specific issues which may affect the developmental and functioning of children and adolescents; and developmental approaches to support students and families at points of educational transition.

7. CACREP/ NCATE: Individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation; historical and theoretical bases for assessment techniques; validity and reliability; appraisal methods; psychometric statistics; factors influencing assessment and evaluation of individuals and groups; the use of appraisal results in the helping process, current technological resources; and ethical and legal considerations in research.

8. CACREP/NCATE: Types of research; basic statistics; principles, practices and applications of needs assessment and program evaluation; current technological resources; and ethical and legal considerations in research.

9: CACREP: The school environment including history, philosophy, trends, purpose and objectives, ethics, legal aspects, standards, and roles within the school.

10. CACREP: The implementation of a comprehensive school counseling program including the direct counselor functions of individual counseling, small group counseling, and classroom guidance; and the indirect functions of coordination, consultation, and peer facilitation.
NCATE: Program development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive school counseling program; specific strategies designed to meet program goals and objectives; preparation of a counseling schedule reflecting appropriate time commitments; and priorities in a developmental school counseling program.
Coordination of the school counseling components as they relate to the total, positive school environment and community; integration of the counseling curriculum in the total school curriculum; coordination with resource persons; referral process for specialized help; and methods of planning and presenting counseling program to school personnel, parents and the community.
Program development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive school counseling program; specific strategies designed to meet program goals and objectives; preparation of a counseling schedule reflecting appropriate time commitments; and priorities in a developmental school counseling program.
Methods of enhancing collaboration within the school community to benefit children, adolescents, and their families through consultation with parents, teachers, administrators, support staff, and community resources.

DEPARTMENTAL EXPECTATIONS

Program faculty expect students to demonstrate commitment and proficiency in:
1. Gaining the necessary knowledge as identified in program objectives.
2. Understanding and applying appropriate ethical standards.
3. Developing facilitative interpersonal skills.
4. Developing the personal qualities necessary to integrate and apply their knowledge and skills.
5. Demonstrating good judgment and appropriate emotional functioning prior to contact with clients in any practicum or internship. {Those students who are recovering from a personal addiction to alcohol or drugs are expected to have 12 months of continuous sobriety prior to registering for the Practicum in Counseling and 15 months of continuous sobriety prior to registering for the internship.}

REMINDERS

1. It is the student’s responsibility to develop a written plan of study with his/her advisor upon completion of 9-12 semester hours.

2. Students must meet for a minimum of 10 clock hours in a planned group activity intended to provide direct experience as a participant in a small group. This requirement is met during HPC 5790.

3. Students are strongly encouraged to consider taking additional computer classes to learn the fundamentals of database, spreadsheet and Internet capabilities. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is now requiring that all licensed school personnel be able to pass a test on state mandated computer competencies.

4. HPC 5900: Practicum in Counseling (100 clock hours) may be scheduled in fall or spring after completion of all prerequisites. Application deadlines are March 1st for Fall practicum and October 1st for Spring practicum.

5. HPC 6900: Internship in Professional School Counseling (600 clock hours) may be scheduled in fall or spring after completion of all prerequisites. Application deadlines are March 1st for Fall Internship and October 1st for Spring Internship.

6. Students are required to complete a criminal background check and receive clearance prior to beginning Practicum and Internship.

7. Students are required to take a TB test prior to beginning Practicum and Internship

8. Students are urged to pre-register to insure their place in the courses they select.

9. Students may be required to receive professional counseling to aid them in their personal growth.

10. The “Selected Policies and Procedures” handout available in the HPC office provides information on liability insurance, academic appeals, retention policy, personal endorsement policy, admissions policies, and placement services.

11. Endorsement for school counseling licensure from ASU requires that applicants complete a master’s degree program in professional school counseling. Application from graduates of another HPC program will be considered on an individual basis. Applicants with master’s degrees in other fields must complete a second master’s degree after following the regular admissions process through the Graduate School.

12. Endorsement for licensure to NCDPI requires PSC program faculty recommendation and a passing score (570) on the School Counseling Specialty Area of the PRAXIS.

Examples of Guided Electives

HPC 5130: Women’s Issues in Counseling
HPC 5270: Theories of Marriage & Family Therapy
HPC 5273: Mediation and Divorce Therapy
HPC 5274: Substance Abuse/Family Systems
HPC 5275: Systemic Family Therapy Institute
HPC 5380: College Students and Their Environments
HPC 5410: Introduction to Student Affairs
HPC 5532: Teaching Life and Career Planning
HPC 5535: Expressive Arts: Children and Adolescents
HPC 5538: Counseling and Service Learning: Bolivia
HPC 5540: Student Development and the Great Outdoors
HPC 5543: Seminar in Teaching
HPC 5545: Dreams, Art and Nature
HPC 5546: Clay, Craft Therapy
HPC 5547: Learning Communities
HPC 5560: Addictive Process
HPC 5570: Counseling the Addicted Person
HPC 5680: Counseling the Aging
HPC 5710: Helping the Troubled Employee
HPC 5751: Law & Ethics in Professional Practice
HPC 5820: College Student Development Theories
HPC 5840: Human Relations and Interactions
HPC 5860: Dreamwork: Clinical Methods
HPC 5870: Creative Process, Movement, and Therapy
HPC 6162: Systemic Gestalt Therapy
HPC 6272: Marital and Couples Therapy
HPC 6340: Ecotherapy
HPC 6350: Body/Mind
HPC 6360: Therapy and the Expressive Arts
HPC 6370: Intermodal Expressive Arts
HPC 6380: Therapeutic Writing
HPC 6536: Expressive Arts in NYC
HPC 6539: Poetry & Therapy
HPC 6570: Appalachian Addictions Institute
HPC 6710: Human Sexuality
HPC 6730: Sexual Abuse Counseling

…and/or many of the courses offered through the Departments of Special Education (SPE), Sociology (SOC), Family & Consumer Science (FCS) Psychology (PSY), Social Work (SW). Consult with your advisor if you have questions regarding appropriate electives.