Family Education & Counseling Center
Pocatello
The Department of Counseling Family Education and Counseling Center (established 1972) has provided family and couple counseling and family education programs for the ISU and Pocatello communities and serves as a training center for the graduate programs in counseling.
The family education program is embedded in a preventative philosophy of providing services to families before serious mental health problems develop in any family member.
The couple and family counseling services are typically utilized by couples and families who are experiencing various forms of relational difficulties. These services are provided during the fall semester for an average of 11 weeks.
The mental health counseling services at the Family Education and Counseling Center are provided by advanced level Master of Counseling students from the Department of Counseling. Counseling services are supervised by doctoral level (Ph.D. counselor education and counseling) students whose work is overseen by the Center's faculty director, Dr. David M. Kleist. Supervision is provided mainly through a process known as live supervision. Here a doctoral level supervisor, and masters level students, observe the provision of counseling services from behind a two-way mirror. Supervisory feedback can then be given during a counseling session and immediately afterward. Historically, advanced level Master of Counseling students have expressed that this context provides them with the most unique learning opportunity for their skill development.