OUR PROGRAM

The Masters Program in Rehabilitation Counseling is housed in the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions and within the School of  Graduate Studies for admission process and financial support. Students pursuing the master’s program have the opportunity to complete coursework in preparation for careers in  rehabilitation counseling. The students completing our program meet all the requirements to apply to the national certification to become a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. In addition,  to apply to Maryland Board of Professional Counselors & Therapists to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. The program supports students in developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies to be responsive to the varied vocational and mental health needs of individuals, couples, families and communities throughout our region, our state, and the nation.

Mission

The mission of the Master of Science program in Rehabilitation Counseling (MSRC) is to train highly qualified counselors to deliver effective rehabilitation services for individuals from diverse backgrounds with physical, developmental, and sensory disabilities. The program focuses on assisting our graduates in developing an inclusive, collaborative, and holistic approach to rehabilitation counseling that values the individuals’ right to participate fully in the decision-making process. This approach considers several components of the individual’s life (including vocational, psycho-social, spiritual, cultural, and environmental/contextual) which may impact their lifestyle, aspirations and overall quality of life. The program orient and equip graduates with wide evidence-based knowledge in theory and practice to provide effective interventions to people with disabilities and assume positions of leadership in the rehabilitation counseling profession.

Vision

To become a lead program in Maryland and the Eastern Shore of the United States as a graduate program of excellence, in continuous development, in the comprehensive training of professionals in the field of rehabilitation counseling, who will serve and intercede on behalf of people with disabilities, guided by the highest values. ethics and scientific knowledge.

Goal

The goal of the MSRC program is to attract and train students from diverse socioeconomic, cultural, and academic backgrounds to become competent rehabilitation counselors with the attitudes, knowledge, values, abilities, skills, and experiences to effectively assist individuals with disabilities in achieving their highest potential (i.e., vocational, psychological, economic, and social independence) and the improved quality of life. We ensure that our graduates become critical allies and advocates for individuals with disabilities

Programatic Objectives

  • Recruit and retain students of diverse backgrounds to be competent within the scope of practice of the rehabilitation counseling profession, offering them a well-rounded curriculum that integrates theory and practice to develop the attitudes, knowledge, values, abilities, skills, and experiences required to become a competent rehabilitation counseling professional.
  • Develop in our graduates, knowledge, skills, and dispositions grounded in ethical and culturally sensitive practice consistent with the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) Code of Professional Ethics and Scope of Practice, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP), and the applicable laws and regulations for the counseling professionals.
  • To prepare professionals capable of conceptualizing the rehabilitation counseling process from a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual framework, to deliver services in a variety of settings within the public and private sector working with diverse people with disabilities.
  • To develop in our graduates a professional worldview framed in social responsibility, equality, and justice, to become active leaders in the community and the rehabilitation counseling field.

Learning Objectives

  1. Students will develop an understanding of the counseling profession, professional identity, and develop the knowledge and skills to practice consistent with federal and state laws, licensing requirements, certifications, intervention guidelines, and ethics codes and standards.
  2. Students will apply and demonstrate counseling knowledge, skills, and practices to provide services and advocate for individuals, families, and groups through culturally appropriate practice promoting social justice, equity, and access.
  3. Students will recognize and apply lifespan developmental theories to human behavior, learning, and personality, with an emphasis on a biopsychosocial perspective, to better understand the multiplicity of factors (systemic, environment, biological, neurological, and physiological) interfering in human behavior.
  4. Students will develop the knowledge and skills of career development and its practical applications related to professional and rehabilitation counseling.
  5. Students will recognize, understand, and apply theories and models of counseling to conceptualize and provide a treatment plan recognizing the client’s needs and subjective world view and feelings, and maintaining an empathic healing alliance during a counseling process.
  6. Students will understand the role of group work within various counseling settings and how to apply ethically and culturally relevant group principles and techniques in their work with clients.
  7. Students will understand and apply ethical and culturally relevant strategies for selecting, administering, interpreting, and using assessment results in the practice of counseling.   
  8. Students will demonstrate research knowledge and skills to advance evidence-based practices in counseling, including critical reasoning of research to inform counseling, and utilize ethical and culturally relevant strategies for conducting, interpreting, and reporting the results of research and/or program evaluation.
  9. Students will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to address issues concerning the scope of practice of rehabilitation counseling in a variety of professional contexts and will learn the skills to translate legislative mandates into proactive action that maximizes the rehabilitation of individuals with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

History

  • Aug 1998- Concept of M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling initiated.
  • Sep- Dec 1998– Developed a 48 credit hour, 4 semester(full time), sequence of graduate level classes consistent with the guidelines provided within the CORE documents. Began compiling the Master Reference List
  • Dec 1998- Submitted proposal for routing through administrative levels of approval.
  • Jun 2000- Proposal submitted to MHEC for state levels approval
  • Aug 2000- MHEC approved the proposal for the M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling
  • Dec 2000- Letters sent to students indicating that the start date will be Fall semester 2001.
  • 2014– Core and CACREP started merger
  • 2017- Rehabilitation Counseling program switched from 48 credits to 60 credits for accreditation requirements.

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