M.A. in Counseling Psychology
How Students Benefit
The faculty in the Counseling Psychology Program is committed to helping our students develop the skills that they need to be effective counselors. A reflection of our commitment is that we regularly assess how well the program achieves these goals by collecting information about important milestones for all of our students. Examples of the kind of information that we study are supervisor ratings of practicum and internship performance or passing the oral exam at the end of the program.
Practicum and internship experiences are a critical facet of professional training for our students because practicum and internship is where they develop and refine clinical skills and competencies in “real world” mental health agencies or settings. We believe that the quality of our students’ performance when they finish their internship placement is a good indicator of how well our program helps students develop counseling skills that are necessary to be able to work as a professional in mental health agencies or settings after graduation.
During the 2008 semester, our faculty assesed the program's effectiveness in promoting mastery of key counseling skills and competencies during the practicum and internship training. During the 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007 academic years, 157 students completed their practicum and internship training in 61 different community agencies. Based on ratings by clinical supervisors in these community agencies, these students demonstrated very high levels of mastery of important counseling skills.
This evaluation of the practicum and internship program assessed mastery and competence in 4 different domains: (1) competence in developing an interpersonal relationship with clients and clinical supervisors, (2) competence in clinical assessment, (3) competence in implementing counseling interventions, and (4) ethical and professional conduct in relationships with clients and agency colleagues.
For relationship skills, we examined 4 indicators of competence: (1) ability to communication empathy, (2) ability to set the client at ease, (3) ability to engage the client, and (4) ability to establish rapport with the client. The table below presents the percentages of students who were rated by agency supervisors as excellent or above average in each competency or skill.
| RELATIONSHIP SKILLS | % OF STUDENTS RATED EXCELLENT OR ABOVE AVERAGE BY AGENCY SUPERVISORS |
|---|---|
ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE EMPATHY |
95% |
ABILITY TO SET THE CLIENT AT EASE |
93% |
ABILITY TO ENGAGE THE CLIENT |
93% |
ABILITY TO ESTABLISH RAPPORT WITH THE CLIENT |
93% |
For assessment skills, we examined 4 indicators of competence: (1) skill in collecting assessment information, (2) skill in taking a history and gathering background information, (3) ability to integrate information and develop a case formulation, and (4) skill in selecting assessment methods. The table below presents the percentages of students who were rated by agency supervisors as excellent or above average in each competency or skill.
| ASSESSMENT SKILLS | % OF STUDENTS RATED EXCELLENT OR ABOVE AVERAGE BY AGENCY SUPERVISORS |
|---|---|
SKILL IN COLLECTING ASSESSMENT INFORMATION |
84% |
SKILL IN TAKING A HISTORY AND GATHERING BACKGROUND INFORMATION |
83% |
ABILITY TO INTEGRATE INFORMATION AND DEVELOP A CASE FORMULATION |
86% |
SKILL IN SELECTING ASSESSMENT METHODS |
74% |
For intervention skills, were examined 4 indicators of competence: (1) knowledge of various therapeutic modalities and levels of care, (2) ability to select the treatment modality that is appropriate for the client, (3) skill in applying treatment techniques or plan, and (4) ability to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention. The table below presents the percentages of students who were rated by agency supervisors as excellent or above average in each competency or skill.
| INTERVENTION SKILLS | % OF STUDENTS RATED EXCELLENT OR ABOVE AVERAGE BY AGENCY SUPERVISORS |
|---|---|
KNOWLEDGE OF VARIOUS THERAPEUTIC MODALITIES AND LEVELS OF CARE |
78% |
ABILITY TO SELECT THE TREATMENT MODALITY THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THE CLIENT |
83% |
SKILL IN APPLYING TREATMENT TECHNIQUES OR PLAN |
86% |
ABILITY TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF THE INTERVENTION |
84% |
For ethical and professional behavior, we examined 4 indicators of competence: (1) understands and follows agency procedures, (2) dependability in fulfilling agency obligations, (3) ability to use good judgment in making decisions, and (4) overall professional appearance and behavior. The table below presents the percentages of students who were rated by agency supervisors as excellent or above average in each competency or skill.
| ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT |
% OF STUDENTS RATED EXCELLENT OR ABOVE AVERAGE BY AGENCY SUPERVISORS |
|---|---|
UNDERSTANDS AND FOLLOWS AGENCY PROCEDURES |
94% |
DEPENDABILITY IN FULFILLING AGENCY OBLIGATIONS |
90% |
ABILITY TO USE GOOD JUDGEMENT IN MAKING DECISIONS |
92% |
OVERALL PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE AND BEHAVIOR |
90% |
Overall, this information indicates that agency supervisors rated our students very highly on a range of counseling skills when these students completed their internship placement. We believe that these findings are especially impressive because the clinical supervisors did not teach in our program. Hence, they could offer objective feedback about each student’s strengths and weaknesses. We hope that you find this information helpful in evaluating how well our program prepares students for a career as a mental health counselor.