The primary mission of the CED programs (CED, CMHC, SC, CRC) is to develop counseling professionals who possess the skills and knowledge necessary to be highly competent and committed professionals in their specialty area. The program’s focus is on the development of competencies addressing biopsychosocial, environmental, educational, and systemic barriers to mental health and wellness. Students engage in challenging educational and counseling practice experiences focused on enhancing their skills and knowledge with an emphasis on culturally sustaining practice. Further, the department seeks to foster an egalitarian culture in which individual creativity, ethical behavior, professional identity, and scholarship are reinforced and nurtured across all programs. A central foundation of this mission is the preparation of counselors and counselor educators to work in an increasingly diverse society. The program’s understanding of diversity encompasses culture, sexual and gender identity, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, ability, and other aspects of individual identity. The program believes that meeting these goals requires that students and faculty engage in advocacy, equity, inclusion, and culturally sustaining practices.
These principles are in alignment with our professional, ethical, and accreditation standards including: Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (2024 standards) American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics (ACA, 2016), American Rehabilitation Counseling Association (ARCA), the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC), American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMCHA), and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). Overall, we seek to create educational and learning environments that support, sustain, and challenge students to address their development as professionals related to and representative of culturally-sustaining practice.
The Counselor Education Mission Statement and the program's commitment to diversity is in accordance with the following CACREP accreditation standards: 1.H. - The counselor education program has a process for identifying underrepresented populations and makes continuous and systematic efforts to recruit, enroll, and retain students that enhance and support the diversity of the program; 1.I. - The counselor education program intentionally creates and effectively maintains an inclusive and equitable learning community that respects individual differences.
