Counselor Education

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CACREP Accreditation

 

The curriculum is designed to provide students with an advanced understanding of counseling concepts identified as central by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP) and certification standards for the State of Wisconsin. Students will develop skills in assessing personal issues related to client problems; collecting and analyzing information in determining appropriate counseling interventions; employing appropriate facilitative techniques; and preparing documents such as counseling-related reports, treatment plans, and education programs.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater offers two emphases within the counseling program: Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) and School Counseling. Both of these programs are accredited by CACREP through 2024. In the past year, the program had a completion rate of 95% for students in the CMHC emphasis (32 graduates) and 95% for students in the School Counseling emphasis (four graduates). Over this same period of time, 95% of CMHC graduates and 100% of School Counseling graduates passed the licensure examination. Each emphasis had a 90% job placement for graduates over the past year.

For more information about CACREP and the standards, visit www.cacrep.org.

Reasons to attend a CACREP accredited program (offered on CACREP website)

• Be assured of the quality of your academic program.
• Research shows CACREP graduates perform better on the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE).
• Streamlines the licensure application process.
• CACREP programs have been reviewed against professionally approved standards

 

CACREP Standards

 

The program objectives are based on the eight core counseling standards and program-specific standards found in the 2016 CACREP Standards. The CACREP core standards and the program-specific standards serve as a foundation for what is taught within the program. Furthermore, students are evaluated on each of these standards throughout the course of the program. This evaluation process is outlined in the student assessment policies section of this handbook. A PDF of the specific standards can be found here.

 

Eight Core Counseling Standards

 

Professional Identity & Ethical Practice	Studies that provide an understanding of all of the aspects of professional functioning.
Social and Cultural Diversity	Studies that provide an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues, and trends in a multicultural society.
Human Growth & Development	Studies that provide an understanding of the nature and needs of persons at all developmental levels and in multicultural contexts.
Career Development	Studies that provide an understanding of career development and related life factors.
Helping Relationships	Studies that provide an understanding of the counseling process in a multicultural society.
Group Work	Studies that provide both theoretical and experiential understandings of group purpose, development, dynamics, theories, methods, skills, and other group approaches in a multicultural society.
Assessment	Studies that provide an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation in a multicultural society.
Research & Program Evaluation	Studies that provide an understanding of research methods, statistical analysis, needs assessment, and program evaluation.

 

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