Department of Counseling
Established in 1971, GU's department of counseling has a unique focus on preparing graduates to provide professional counseling services to hearing-impaired clients with and without other disabilities. As such, its mission is to prepare competent mental health or school counseling professionals skilled in working with hearing impaired clientele within diverse settings. Toward that end, GU employs a training model that heavily emphasizes cultivating cultural sensitivity, knowledge, and practical skills vital to ethical and effective practice that affects micro and macro-scale changes toward health promotion in multicultural and socially equitable contexts.
M.A. School Counseling ("MASC")
This MASC degree program is the only one of its kind on the face of the globe in terms of its primary emphasis on hearing-impaired clientele and their families, communities, and educational systems. Consistent with accreditation standards, this 65-credit curriculum has the following learning objectives:
- Articulation, advocacy, and modeling a professional school counselor's role and identity
- Demonstrate cognizance, skills, and knowledge required to interrelate with and counsel diverse clientele with demonstrated comprehension of human growth and development
- Integrate knowledge, skills, and cognizance of legal, political, and economic issues in the context of cultural diversity, societal equity, and holistic student development
- Identification and assessment of multi-faceted influential factors in the social, scholastic, and personal functionalities of students
- Demonstrate decision making in accordance with legal, professional, and ethical standards
- Demonstrate research knowledge and evaluation relevant to school counseling practices
- Facilitate preventions and interventions that empower students to overcome learning obstacles and achieve maximum social, personal, academic, and career potential
- Demonstrate fundamental knowledge and application of theory-based models and processes for community and school collaboration
- Demonstrate adequate comprehension of conceptual, strategic, and clinical competencies essential for effective school counselors
- Appreciate the significance of school counselors as agents of positive systemic change and apply such cognizance to professional practice
M.A. Mental Health Counseling ("MAMHC")
In 1986, GU launched this MAMHC program in response to a critical nationwide shortage of counseling and mental health professionals with specialized expertise in working with hearing-impaired clients.
The GU Department of Counseling cites greatly expanded educational and occupational opportunities for this demographic segment due to advanced technology as an emergent trend that portends equal optimism for practitioners with special training in counseling those groups.
The 73-credit MAMHC curriculum is designed for completion in two academic years and one summer session of full-time study. It also places special emphases on community and clinical counseling through compulsory field internship activities.
Accreditation
Both of the above degree programs are accredited by the National Council on the Accreditation of Teacher Education ("NCATE") and the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs ("CACREP").
Contact
Ms. Renee Smith
Fowler Hall, #107
800 Florida Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 651-5515
E-mail: dept.counseling@gallaudet.edu