Counseling

Overview

This Counseling  program at University of Guam includes theory, research, and an intense supervised practicum and internship. In the electives, graduate students may choose additional depth in the counseling areas of either research or practice.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

The Masters of Arts in Counseling follows the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP) eight common core areas representing the foundational knowledge required of all entry- level counselor education graduates (CACREP, 2016). In addition to the common core areas, students are required curricular experiences and to demonstrate knowledge and skills in the areas of foundations, contextual dimensions, knowledge, and clinical instruction. The standards for the eight common core areas are listed below:

Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice: The counselor candidate understands the history and philosophy of the counselors’ roles and responsibilities; advocacy processes; counseling credentialing; counselors’ practices and advocacy processes; strategies for self-evaluation and self- care; ethical standards of the counseling relationship, confidentiality, professional responsibility, and relationship with other professionals; ethical and legal standards of evaluation, assessment, and interpretation; ethical standards of supervision and training; ethical and legal standards of research and publication, distance counseling, technology, and social media; and of resolving ethical issues.

Social and Cultural Diversity: The counselor candidate uses understanding of multicultural and pluralistic characteristics within and among diverse groups nationally and internationally; theories and models of multicultural counseling; cultural identity development; multicultural counseling competencies; help-seeking behaviors of diverse clients; the impact of spiritual beliefs on worldviews; societal subgroups; and social mores and differing lifestyles.

Human Growth and Development: The counselor candidate works with learning theories within cultural contexts; the nature and needs of individuals across the lifespan; factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior; trauma effects on diverse individuals across the lifespan; and ethical and culturally relevant strategies for promoting resilience, optimum development, and wellness across the lifespan.

Career Development: The counselor candidate applies the theories and models of career development, counseling, and decision making; strategies for assessing factors that contribute to career development; strategies for advocating for diverse clients’ career, educational development, and employment opportunities in a global economy; strategies for facilitating client skill development for career, educational, life-work planning, and management; and ethical and culturally relevant strategies for addressing career development.