Counseling

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Master Program Mission Statement & Objectives

The mission of the Master of Counseling (M.COUN.) program faculty is to nurture the next generation of highly skilled and ethically-minded counseling professionals.  The Department of Counseling faculty believe that providing comprehensive education, grounded in evidence-based practices, and a commitment to creating an environment of belonging, accessibility, as well as being representative of the world within which counselors work, prepares students to excel in counseling practice, research, advocacy, and leadership within the counseling profession. The Master of Counseling degree is designed to be the strong foundation upon which graduates enter a lifetime career in the counseling profession.

Master Program Objectives

The Master of Counseling program offers four specialty practice areas to meet students’ learning and professional career goals:

Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling (MCFC);  Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC);  Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling (CRC);  and School Counseling (SC).

Students will experience a variety of learning opportunities through rigorous coursework, hands-on experiences, and supportive mentorship.  We strive to empower our students to make meaningful and healthy contributions to the well-being of individuals, couples, families, and communities while upholding the highest of standards of professionalism and ethical conduct.  The clinical nature of this program allows students to graduate with confidence in their abilities to meet future client needs and state licensure requirements as professional counselors.  In addition, graduates from the School Counseling specialty practice area meet the requirements for the Idaho School Counselor Pupil Service Staff Certificate;  while graduates from the Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling specialty practice area meet the requirements to apply for the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.

Objectives for all students within the counseling program align with the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) core areas and seek to maintain each of the following for all graduates. 

  1. Develop a strong sense of professional counseling identity and ethical practice.
  2. Facilitate student exploration of the meaning and practice of culturally competent counseling and exploration of personal biases, privileges, and identities.
  3. Prepare students to conceptualize clients from a developmental perspective and consider how this may impact client experiences throughout the lifespan.
  4. Prepare students to work with clients in any stage of career development and life-work balance.
  5. Provide students with a foundational knowledge of counseling skills and building therapeutic relationships.
  6. Prepare students to engage with group counseling facilitation and systems approaches.
  7. Prepare students to be competent in clinical assessment, program evaluation and consumers and producers of knowledge.

Doctoral Program Mission Statement & Objectives

Our CACREP-accredited doctoral program in Counselor Education and Counseling is dedicated to advancing the field of counselor education and supervision through rigorous scholarship, innovative andragogy and supervision, and active engagement with leadership and advocacy. Our mission is to cultivate the next generation of leaders in counselor education and supervision who will shape the future of the counseling profession via transformative learning experiences, mentorship, and scholarly inquiry. 

We believe it is also our mission to:

  • instill a strong sense of professional identity as counselor educators, supervisors, social justice advocates, and researchers,
  • help students gain an understanding of the rich history and knowledge base in counselor education,
  • facilitate expertise in the skills of teaching, supervision, advocacy, and research,
  • aid students/graduates in their initial job placement as a counselor educator,
  • teach and perform research applicable to the practice of counselor education, supervision, and counseling,
  • aid students in developing lifelong cultural humility and its integration into their roles as counselor educators and supervisors. 
  • The Department of Counseling also has a mission within the Kasiska Division of Health Sciences, College of Health, which is to represent the mental health perspective within the Division and to consult with Division faculty and departments, encouraging a holistic perspective for health care services.

Doctoral Program Objectives

The Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Counseling is designed to prepare graduates for work in counselor education programs. The major emphasis of this program is to prepare graduates for a career in university teaching, supervision, and research in counseling programs.

Counselor education and counseling students at Idaho State University will be:

  • Prepared to teach courses in counseling skills and counseling theories.
  • Prepared to supervise counselors and counseling students via individual/triadic and group supervision across all counseling specialties (i.e., CMHC, CRC, MCFC, and SC).
  • Prepared to teach selected courses in one or more of the CACREP counseling specialty areas.
  • Prepared to teach selected courses within 3 of the CACREP core areas.
  • Prepared to evaluate counselor education programs and counseling sites.
  • Knowledgeable of professional issues in the field of counselor education and the profession of counseling.
  • Knowledgeable of ethical issues and practices in the field of counselor education and the profession of counseling.
  • Experienced in developing and conducting qualitative and quantitative research.
  • Experienced in writing for professional publications.
  • Experienced in the advisement and mentorship of master’s level counseling students.
  • Knowledgeable and skilled in providing advanced clinical counseling skills.
  • Knowledgeable and integration of sociological manifestations of cultural diversity, intersectionality, and positionality and the roles and duties of a counselor educator. 

The Department of Counseling has curricular and professional objectives for each Master of Counseling student. Each of these objectives has specific outcome measures:

Program Level Outcomes and Curricular Objectives:

  1. Students will have knowledge of Lifespan Development in order to understand the nature and needs of persons at all developmental levels and in multicultural contexts.
  2. Students will have knowledge of social and cultural Identities and experiences to be effective in a multicultural and diverse ­society.
  3. Students will be knowledgeable and skillful in counseling practice and relationships processes.
  4. Students will be knowledgeable about group development, dynamics, counseling theory, group counseling methods, and group work approaches.
  5. Students will be knowledgeable and understand career development and related factors.
  6. Students will understand and be ­knowledgeable about individual and group approaches to assessment and ­evaluation.
  7. Students will be knowledgeable about various research methods, statistical analysis, needs assessment, and program evaluation.
  8. Students will be knowledgeable about the profession of counseling including history, organizational structures, ethics, standards, and credentialing.

Student Professional Objectives:

In addition to the above curricular objectives, the Department of Counseling has program specific objectives. These include:

  1. School counseling students will obtain certification as school counselors.
  2. Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling students will obtain certification as rehabilitation counselors.
  3. Students in all majors (Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; School Counseling) will obtain state licensure as professional counselors (i.e., LPC).

Counseling

Graduate-level preparation for (1) counselors who seek employment in schools, universities, community mental health, and various other settings, and (2) college student affairs professionals.

Pre-Counseling

Preparation should consist of a broad ­undergraduate course of study which may include some work in psychology, sociology, and the communication skills. For those seeking positions in public elementary and ­secondary schools, state ­certification ­requirements should be ­considered.

Undergraduates interested in continuing their education in the Master of Counseling program should consider enrolling in the Seminar course, COUN 4490 titled Introduction to Counseling Services. This 1-credit course is offered each Fall semester.

Degree Programs

Degree programs offered by the department, all at the graduate level, include Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Specialist, and Master of Counseling. ­Majors are available in Counselor Education and Counseling (Ph.D.); Counseling (Ed.S.); Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling (M.COUN.); Clinical Mental Health Counseling (M.COUN.); Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling (M.COUN.); School Counseling (M.COUN.).

Admission

Admission to the Department of Counseling master’s program is based on a variety of criteria outlined in the Graduate Catalog. Because of limited class sizes and the large number of applicants, admission into the Department of Counseling is highly ­competitive.

For more information about the graduate programs offered through ISU's Department of Counseling, please refer to the College of Health within the Graduate Catalog, or visit the department's website at: https://www.isu.edu/counseling/.

Accreditation

Graduates from the school counseling program are prepared to be certified as a school counselor by the State of Idaho.

The Department of Counseling programs are approved by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) are as follows: Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling (M.COUN.), Clinical Mental Health Counseling (M.COUN.), School Counseling (M.COUN.), and Counselor Education and Counseling (Ph.D.). The Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling program began in the fall of 2020 and accreditation of this specialty program is being sought. 

Counseling Faculty 

Counseling Courses