Students in the SC emphasis are required to successfully complete the following SC emphasis courses and 6 credits of electives with advisement:
COUN 660 Organization, Administration, and Supervision of School Counseling
EPSY 661 Counseling Exceptional and At-Risk Children and Adolescents
COUN 545 Community Agency Counseling
6 credits Elective coursework (please see elective options below)
COUN 660 Organization, Administration, and Supervision of School Counseling
COUN 660 Organization, Administration, and Supervision of School Counseling provides students with an understanding of the nature of counseling services in school settings. This includes an introduction to the school counseling profession and relevant professional associations (e.g., American School Counselor Association, American Counseling Association, Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development). The history and foundations of school counseling, traditional and current activities of school counselors, trends in school counseling, and the school counselor’s roles and functions are reviewed. In examining the roles of school counselors, an emphasis is placed on the counseling, consulting, advocacy, assessment, accountability, referral, and coordination roles. Multicultural, legal and ethical issues relevant to school counseling are explored and analyzed in depth.
In COUN 660, students become familiar with models of organizational development and analyze schools as systems so that they will be able to develop school counseling programs that are effective within the school setting. The current ASCA National Standards for School Counseling Programs and the ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs are examined and used as guidelines in the conceptualization, design, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive K-12 school counseling programs. Students in COUN 660 are introduced to current methods of data collection and ways of applying the same to inform decision making and accountability best practices in school counseling (e.g. school improvement plan, school report card). Procedures for evaluating and transforming outdated systems of school guidance into comprehensive developmental counseling programs, evidencing a balance of preventive and remedial services are studied. Pedagogical skills required for preventive, psycho-educational services (e.g., career education, training in decision-making and stress management) and crisis intervention and remedial services (e.g., interventions for grieving and/or suicidal adolescents, runaways, school bullying) are taught. Special attention is also given to how counselors can develop and coordinate peer programming interventions (e.g. peer mediation, peer mentoring, and peer tutoring) as well as their role as systems change agents within the larger school system.
EPSY 661 Counseling Exceptional and At-Risk Children and Adolescents
EPSY 661 Counseling Exceptional and At-Risk Children and Adolescents explores the history and traditions of the child services movement and the central features of state and federal legislation and administrative codes pertaining to the role of the counselor with at-risk and exceptional children. In this course students examine the effects of atypical growth and development, health and wellness, language, ability level, multicultural issues (i.e. race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual identity) and factors of resiliency on student learning and development. The characteristics and needs of at-risk and exceptional children and adolescents are discussed; the process of developing, implementing and evaluating developmental counseling programs for at-risk and exceptional children is described; and counseling approaches and interventions for these populations are presented.
In EPSY 661 students learn about school emergency management plans; the role and responsibilities of the school counselor during crises, disasters, and other trauma-causing events; and the potential impact of crises, emergencies, and disasters on students, educators, and schools. Collaborative school and community models for crises/disasters preparedness and response are studied, and the counseling skills needed for crisis intervention (i.e. substance abuse and suicide assessment and risk management), as well as strategies, programs, and practices designed to close the achievement gap and promote student academic success are fully examined. As a result, EPSY 661 enables students seeking to become school counselors to respond appropriately and effectively to the needs of special students, and serve as more effective advocates for children with special needs in the school setting.
COUN 545 Community Agency Counseling
COUN 545 Community Agency Counseling is included among the SC emphasis courses because New Jersey school counselor certification requires graduate level competency in community agency identification, consultation, collaboration and referral. With these skills in mind, COUN 545 provides a systemic perspective on how to identify, access, and engage community organizations and resources that can improve and promote the academic, career, and personal/social development of students within the school system and geographic environments in which students are preparing to function.
In this course students examine the ethical, legal, individual, and systemic considerations in making community agency referrals and ways of building working alliances with key stakeholders (i.e. parents/guardians, families, school personnel, and agency staff). COUN 545 students also locate, visit, and collectively share their observations and impressions of area community agencies and services, many of which may be used to improve student achievement and success within the school system setting. Of the various counselor roles and functions examined in this course, consultation and advocacy are given special emphasis as students learn how to effectively engage, negotiate, and utilize the services of larger human services networks in their work as K-12 school counselors.
Relevant School Counseling Electives
Students in the School Counseling program also select two electives (six credits), with department advisement. Relevant school counseling elective courses include, but are not limited to the following (To view these syllabi, “click” on the name of the course):
COUN 560 Counseling Girls and Women
COUN 561 Counseling Boys and Men
COUN 551 Substance Abuse and Addiction: Individual, Family, and Society
COUN 552 Substance Abuse Education and Prevention
COUN 553 Treating Substance Abuse and Co-Occurring Disorders
COUN 554 Substance Awareness Coordination in the Schools
COUN 600 Introduction to Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling & Therapy
COUN 601 Theory and Development of Family Systems
COUN 602 Assessment and Intervention in Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling & Therapy
COUN 697: Independent Study in Counseling: COUN 697 is an in-depth exploration of a topic within a specific area of the discipline of counseling involving supervised reading, research, and regular conferences with the faculty adviser.
COUN 698: Department Project in Counseling: COUN 698 provides opportunities for in-depth study in an area of interest to the student and/or participation in an activity related to counseling and personnel services.
In addition each May the Department of Counselor Education offers a series of one week, one credit, COUN 597 Special Topics courses which may be taken as electives. Recent Special Topics courses have included:
COUN 597 Wellness Counseling
COUN 597 Crisis Management in Counseling
COUN 597 College Planning & Preparation
COUN 597 Counseling for Domestic Violence
COUN 597 Eating Disorders Treatment
COUN 597 Mindfulness-Based Practices in Counseling