Mission, Goals & Objectives

Mission

The primary mission of ECU’s master’s program in Rehabilitation Counseling is to teach counseling and rehabilitation theories, applied counseling approaches, and clinical skills necessary for professionals to assist individuals with disabilities in achieving their maximum level of physical, psychological, social, educational, vocational, and economic functioning.

Program Goals

The primary goals of the Rehabilitation Counseling Program are to:

  • develop and maintain curricula and instruction based on current knowledge concerning the rehabilitation counseling needs of a multicultural society;
  • develop and maintain research that is designed to improve rehabilitation counseling with evidence-based strategies that advance the rehabilitation counseling profession;
  • maintain outreach, advocacy, leadership, and service to our community and to the rehabilitation counseling profession; and
  • maintain program excellence as defined by CACREP accreditation in the areas of rehabilitation counseling.

Program Objectives

In support of the Rehabilitation Counseling program’s mission, the program’s objectives are dynamic, developed based on current knowledge and projected needs concerning counseling practice in a multicultural and pluralistic society. Developed in collaboration with current and former students, various accrediting and licensing boards, and personnel in cooperating agencies, the program objectives are selected and evaluated by the faculty through a systematic and continuous process.

MS, Rehabilitation Counseling students will:

  • demonstrate understanding of ethical standards of professional counseling organizations and credentialing bodies, and applications of ethical and legal considerations in professional counseling (2.F.1.i);
  • demonstrate multicultural counseling competencies (2.F.2.c);
  • demonstrate an understanding of the systemic and environmental factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior (2.F.3.f);
  • use strategies for assessing abilities, interests, values, personality, and other factors that contribute to career development (2.F.4.e);
  • demonstrate essential interviewing, counseling, and case conceptualization skills (2.F.5.g);
  • understand therapeutic factors and how they contribute to group effectiveness (2.F.6.c);
  • demonstrate use of assessments for diagnostic and intervention planning purposes (2.F.7.e);
  • understand identification of evidence-based counseling practices (2.F.8.b); and
  • demonstrate an understanding of legal and ethical aspects of rehabilitation counseling, including ethical decision-making models (5.H.2.q).