History of School Counseling Program

The School Counseling Master’s Program started at Youngstown State University in the beginning of the 1968-1969 academic year. School Guidance and Counseling was one of four masters programs leading to a Master of Science in Education degree. The program was originally 27 quarter hours in guidance and related psychology courses including Psychology of Learning, Human Growth and Development, Principles, Theory, and Practice, as well as Practicum and Evaluative Techniques. Also included were 9 quarter hours of Special Education and Interdisciplinary electives. Clyde V. Vanamen was in charge of Graduate Studies in Education when the program began.

School Counseling Program of Study

The 54-hour school counseling option meets the education requirements for school counselor licensure in the state of Ohio.  Students seeking Ohio school counselor licensure must have completed an approved school counseling program with a one-year induction process.  Students must also pass the school counseling specialty portion of the Praxis Exam administered by Educational Testing Service for the State of Ohio or any other state required standardized testing.  Students seeking school counselor licensure/certification in other states, such as Pennsylvania, have the responsibility to ensure that they meet the requirements of that particular state.  Internships must be completed in approved educational settings.

Educational Objectives

The educational objectives of the Community Counseling and School Counseling Programs have been designed to:

1. Provide a broad-based education for the preparation of graduate students to become competent and effective counselors by:
   
   
   1. Ensuring that students acquire current knowledge and essential skills in the following eight core counseling areas:
      
      
      • human growth and development
      • social and cultural foundations
      • helping relationships
      • group work
      • career and life-style development
      • appraisal
      • research and program evaluation
      • professional orientation and ethics
   2. Ensuring that students are prepared to meet the academic requirements for national certification and state licensure.
   3. Fostering student self-awareness and sensitivity to personal issues that impact the helping relationship.
   4. Developing student clinical skills and ability to build helping relationships in the context of supervised counseling experiences.
   5. Encouraging the assimilation and integration of counseling theory and skills.
   6. Advancing student commitment to the highest ethical, professional, and personal standards.
   7. Developing student awareness and understanding of current and developing practice and professional issues germane to the field.
2. Develop an awareness and understanding of multicultural issues and the current and evolving needs of our pluralistic society.
3. Promote commitment to the counseling profession through involvement in professional counseling organizations and related activities which foster professional identity as a counselor.

Administrative Objectives

In pursuit of the educational objectives of the Community Counseling and School Counseling Programs, the Department Chairperson, Program Coordinators, faculty, and staff have adhered to the following administrative objectives:

1. To maintain CACREP accreditation.
2. To encourage contributions to the counseling profession through scholarly activities and activities in professional organizations.
3. To promote diversity in faculty and student population.
4. To regularly evaluate the programs and use the results of those evaluations for program improvement.
5. To develop and maintain appropriate field placement sites and to encourage graduate employment by developing and maintaining positive, professional relationships with local agencies and school systems.