Overview

Competent counseling practice is informed and guided by theory. The School Counseling program emphasizes thorough knowledge of clients' developmental and social contexts. Theory-based approaches to individual, family, and group counseling are covered in-depth. During counseling practicum, students are closely supervised in their use of knowledge about clients and counseling theories. Students counsel school-aged children as well as adults and elders. Supervised practice continues and is expanded during internship. Upon completion of their internship, students will have met CACREP standards for training experience in school counseling.

Because school counseling requires high levels of professional maturity and interpersonal skills, the curriculum offers a number of experiential learning courses which are designed to foster students' personal development, relationship skills, and professional orientation. The courses include self-exploration and skill acquisition regarding personal values, professional issues, personal and professional relationships, and group dynamics. The courses offer opportunities for development of cohesive relations between students through self-disclosure, empathic listening, feedback, and role-plays.

School Counseling students take a common core of classes with students from the Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Counseling programs.  This core of course work provides all students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be a professional counselor and follows the standards developed by CACREP.  In addition, students in the School Counseling option also study aspects of counseling germane to the school setting.  These include school counseling program development, working with children and adolescents, professional issues in school counseling, and a 600-hour internship within a school setting.  The program focuses on a comprehensive and developmental approach to designing and implementing a school counseling program, and follows the standards developed by the American School Counselor Association.  The program emphasis strives to provide the necessary self-awareness, knowledge, and skills for counseling students to become competent and capable professional school counselors.

The program includes a counseling practicum (200 hours) and an internship (600 hours) totaling 800 hours of supervised counseling practice, and course work related to each of the CACREP core areas. Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) in Montana must complete a 60-credit master's degree, which includes six credits of practicum and an internship experience, and 3000 hours of supervised counseling experience (1500 hours must be completed after graduation). If school counseling students complete an additional 12 credits they may apply for licensure as a licensed professional counselor with the Board of Social Work Examiners and Professional Counselors after completing post-graduate, supervised counseling experience in the field. Students acquire 800 hours (1000 hours with a second practicum) of supervised counseling experience prior to graduation, which can be applied to the 3000 hours of supervised experience needed prior to licensure.