Rehabilitation Counseling, M.A.

The Rehabilitation Counseling (RC) program at NEIU delivers a comprehensive academic curriculum and supervised clinical experience that integrates the standards of CACREP. Students who are preparing to specialize as rehabilitation counselors will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to address varied issues within the rehabilitation counseling context. Students will learn how to work collaboratively with individuals with disabilities, their support systems, and their environments to achieve their personal, social, psychological, and vocational goals. The NEIU RC program emphasizes social justice, advocacy, and structural competence, particularly to affect systemic change and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Rehabilitation Counseling program at NEIU is dedicated to recruit and retain diverse students to be competent rehabilitation counselors who are committed to working with people with disabilities from widely diverse cultures, abilities, dispositions, and backgrounds.

Students in the Rehabilitation Counseling program will demonstrate the following knowledge bases and skill sets in preparation for their future work as Rehabilitation Counselors:

1. Possess knowledge of CACREP core content areas of: professional counseling orientation and ethical practice; social and cultural diversity; human growth and development; career development; counseling and helping relationships; group counseling assessment and testing; and research and program evaluation.
2. Conduct their behavior in accordance with the principles and standards of the American Counseling Association and Certified Rehabilitation Counselor’s code of ethics and decision making models, while demonstrating professional dispositions defined by the program as characteristic of exemplary Rehabilitation Counselors.
3. Demonstrate a commitment to assist individuals with disabilities to identify and utilize their own resources and opportunities to meet their developmental, vocational, and educational needs.
4. Acquire a comprehensive understanding of the personal, social, vocational, systemic, and psychological needs of persons with disabilities.
5. Demonstrate knowledge of and practice sensitivity regarding psychosocial influences, cultural believes, values, diversity, social justice, poverty, health disparities, stigma, and public policies and their implications for employment and quality of life for individuals with disabilities.
6. Possess a solid understanding of disability and rehabilitation service related community, social, and environmental needs. 

Foundation Counseling Courses
COUN 401 Professional Orientation & Legal/Ethical Practices (3 cr)
COUN 402 Developmental Counseling (3 cr)
COUN 403 Theories of Counseling (3 cr)
COUN 404 Assessment & Evaluation in Counseling (3 cr)
COUN 405 Individual Counseling Skills (3 cr)
COUN 406 Group Counseling (3 cr)
COUN 408 Research Seminar (3 cr)
COUN 409 Career Development (3 cr)
COUN 420 Introduction to Family Counseling (3 cr)
COUN 425 Diagnosis & Treatment of Addictive Disorders (3 cr)
COUN 427 Diagnostic Systems for Counseling (3 cr)
COUN 430 Social & Cultural Diversity in Counseling (3 cr)

Rehabilitation Counseling Courses
COUN 433 Foundations of Rehabilitation Counseling (3 cr)
COUN 434 Medical & Psychosocial Aspects of Disability (3 cr)
COUN 435 Work & Disability (3 cr)
COUN 436 Case Management for Rehabilitation Counseling (3 cr)
COUN 438 Trauma & Crisis Counseling (3 cr)

Advanced Clinicals
COUN 446 Practicum in Rehabilitation Counseling** (3 cr)
COUN 463 Internship I: Rehabilitation Counseling** (3 cr)
COUN 473 Internship II: Rehabilitation Counseling** (3 cr)

Practicum and Internship consists of 700 hours of documented field-related experience, of which 280 hours of face-to-face counseling is required. COUN 446 Practicum in Rehabilitation Counseling is a 100-hour, field-based experience requiring a minimum of 40 hours of direct contact with clients. COUN 463 Internship I: Rehabilitation Counseling and COUN 473 Internship II: Rehabilitation Counseling together consist of a 600-hour, field-based experience requiring a minimum of 240 hours of clinical contact with clients. Practicum is taken in the fall semester. Internship I is taken in the spring semester, and Internship II is taken in the summer semester. 

All Counselor Education students are required to pass a comprehensive departmental proficiency examination (DPE) prior to graduation. This exam is offered annually in February, June and October. To be eligible to take the DPE, RC students must have completed: COUN 401, COUN 402, COUN 403, COUN 404, COUN 405, COUN 406, COUN 408, COUN 409, COUN 427, COUN 430, COUN 433, COUN 434, COUN 435, COUN 436

Use the RC program planning guide to outline your proposed plan of study.