MEd in Counseling at Washington State University Tri-Cities
The Ed.M. Program in Counseling at WSU Tri-Cities is designed to develop high caliber community and school counselors. It is offered through the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology.
Students are trained in the scholar-practitioner model. The common thread of all training is a balance of applied, theoretical and scientific components in the practice of counseling. All students complete core course requirements including a counseling internship. This degree also requires a final comprehensive written examination.
Program Overview
The primary goal of the master’s programs in counseling is to train scholar-practitioners who understand counseling, understand clients, and counsel in context. Students develop the skills to critically evaluate the scholarly literature and to apply it in their counseling. The common thread of all training is a balance of applied, theoretical, and scientific components in the practice of counseling with a knowledge base drawn from existing practice, theory, and research in counseling. We recognize that there is no single approach to counseling and expose our students to the theoretical tenets, techniques, and research bases of the major counseling theories. Students are expected to select one of these theories or to develop a personal integrated approach to counseling that they demonstrate in their case conceptualizations and fieldwork. The program emphasizes the importance of understanding the world view of individuals. We emphasize the importance of counselor empathy and developing skills related to empathic understanding and the communication of empathy. The program seeks to enhance students’ understanding of children, adolescents, and adults by providing them with knowledge related to specific client problems, developmental tasks, current major counseling foci, and emphasizing the need to understand individuals in a socio-cultural context. We recognize that we will be preparing professionals who will be functioning in a diverse, constantly changing society who will need to be adaptable and flexible in their response to change.
The School Counseling and Community Counseling programs are available at both the Pullman and
Tri-Cities campuses. Most Pullman students are enrolled full-time. Most Tri-Cities students are enrolled part-time. The curriculum for both programs includes course work in theory, research, and techniques in individual and group counseling; vocational/career counseling and assessment; professional and ethical issues; life-span development; counseling diverse populations; statistics, measurement, and research design. In addition, students in the School Counseling program complete a two-course sequence on current issues in school counseling, a course in program evaluation, and two semesters of internship in the public school setting. Students in the Community Counseling program take additional coursework in individual appraisal and two semesters of internship in community mental health settings. For both programs, additional courses are available on an elective basis, including courses on psychopathology, hypnosis, counselor supervision, Chicano/Latino psychology, cross-cultural counseling research, eating disorders, counseling at risk youth, and psycho-social aspects of disability.
Graduates of the School Counseling program are eligible to obtain residency certification as school counselors in the state of Washington. Specifically, they are prepared to serve K-12 students within the framework of comprehensive, developmental counseling models using the knowledge and skills required by state standards as well as the National Model for School Counseling of the American School Counseling Association. The school counseling program is approved by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and accredited by National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). In addition, program oversight is provided by a Professional Education Advisory Board comprised of practicing school counselors, teachers, and principals, as well as program faculty.
The Community Counseling program prepares students to work in a variety of settings including community mental health centers, college counseling centers, and individual or group practice. The program prepares students for licensure as a mental health counselor.
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