(A) Pertaining to
the educational requirements, a "graduate degree in counseling" means a degree
that meets all of the following criteria:
(1)
The degree and/or the official transcript of course work shall clearly indicate
that the degree awarded is a degree in counseling. Graduate degrees in other
human service areas such as psychology, social work and marriage and family
therapy are not considered degrees in counseling.
(2) The program shall be clearly identified
as a counseling program. Such a program shall specify in pertinent
institutional catalogues and brochures its intent to educate and train
professional counselors.
(3) The
counseling program shall stand as a recognizable organizational entity within
the institution and have a counseling faculty who identify with the counseling
profession.
(4) The counseling
program shall be an organized sequence of study that includes
graduate coursework in
the following areas of counselor
education.
(a)
Counseling theory: Includes a study of basic theories, principles of counseling
and philosophical bases of the helping relationship;
(b) Counseling techniques: Includes
individual counseling practices, methods, facilitative skills, and the
application of these skills;
(c)
Practicum: includes a supervised training experience, acceptable to the board,
consisting of the provision of counseling to bona fide clients, and/ or groups
seeking services from counselors.
A practicum must conform to CACREP standards in place at the time the
practicum is completed.
(d) Internship: Includes an on-the-job
experience in professional counseling acceptable to the board.
(i) The internship
must meet CACREP standards, however, at its discretion the committee may waive
certain internship hours or approve alternative means of completing internship
requirements, provided the counselor education program can attest to the
competence of the applicant following completion of the
internship.
(ii)
First time applicants from non-CACREP accredited programs who are intending to
use the internship experience to meet the educational requirements of the board
shall document their internship experience on a form prescribed by the board.
The form shall be completed by the supervisor or supervisors and shall document
the student's competency in all areas designated on the form.
(e) Human growth and development:
Includes studies that provide a broad understanding of the nature and needs of
individuals at all developmental levels. Emphasis is placed on psychological,
sociological, and physiological approaches, human behavior, (normal and
abnormal), personality theory, and learning theory.
(f) Social and cultural foundations: Includes
studies of change, ethnic groups, subcultures, changing roles of women, sexism,
racism, ethnocentrism, urban and rural societies, population patterns, cultural
mores, use of leisure time, and differing life patterns.
(g) Group dynamics, processing and
counseling: includes the study of group dynamics, group processes, practices
and methods of group counseling, supervised practice, supervised facilitative
skills, and theory and types of groups.
(h) Life-style and career development:
includes vocational-choice theory, relationship of career choice to life-style,
sources of occupational and educational information, approaches to career
decision-making processes, and career development exploration
techniques.
(i) Appraisal of the
individual through: testing includes the development of a framework for
understanding the individual, methods of data-gathering and interpretation,
case study approaches, individual and group psychological and educational
testing and the study of individual differences with consideration of ethnic,
cultural and gender factors.
(j)
Research and evaluation: Includes statistics, research design, the development
of research and demonstration proposals, as well as the development and
evaluation of program objectives.
(k) Professional, legal, and ethical:
includes the study of professional counseling organizations, codes of ethics,
legal considerations, standards of preparation, certification and licensure
including the Ohio licensure law, and the professional role identity of
counselors.
(5) In
addition, either as a part of the applicant's master's degree or after the
award of the degree, graduate coursework shall include training in the
following areas of instruction acceptable to the board:
(a) Evaluation of mental and emotional
status: includes the use of assessment procedures in diagnosis and treatment
planning. Focuses on the administering and interpreting individual and group
standardized tests of mental ability, and personality and
measurement.
(b) Diagnosis of
mental and emotional disorders: includes the appropriate use of the current
edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders," and an
understanding of the "International Classification of Diseases." Focuses on
conducting mental status examinations, and on the development and recognition
of a framework for identifying symptomology, etiology and psychodynamics of
mental and emotional disorders. Includes the study of clinical psychopathology,
personality, and abnormal behavior, personality disorders, and
psychopathological conditions specific to developmental phases throughout the
life span, and their application to counseling practice.
(c) Methods of intervention and prevention of
mental and emotional disorders: includes studies of the:
(i) Psychological and educational methods of
intervention, such as clientcentered, psychoanalytic, hypnotherapy,
rational-emotive therapy, and reality therapy.
(ii) Culturally sensitive intervention
techniques used with diverse populations such as minorities, children,
substance abusers, gay and lesbian individuals and individuals who are
physically or mentally challenged.
(iii) Intervention strategies used in
different situations such as marriage and family problems, crisis situations,
bereavement, sex therapy, rehabilitation, child abuse and multicultural
counseling.
(d)
Treatment of mental and emotional disorders: includes developing and
implementing a treatment plan, reporting and assessing progress of treatment,
appropriate referral procedures, formulation of timelines for treatment and
knowing the effect on client behavior and the interaction of psychotropic
medications and mood altering chemicals in the treatment of mental and
emotional disorders.