Master of Counseling Degree (M.COUN.) - Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling - Pocatello and Meridian
About the Program
Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling is a systematic process which assists persons with physical, mental, developmental, cognitive, and emotional disabilities to achieve their personal, career, and independent living goals in the most integrated settings possible through the application of the counseling process. The counseling process involves communication, goal setting, the beneficial growth or change through self-advocacy, psychological, vocational, social, and behavioral interventions.
Program Information
Foundational Dimensions:
Students will understand and apply the following knowledge to clinical rehabilitation contexts:
- History and development of rehabilitation counseling
- Theories and models related to rehabilitation counseling
- Social science theory that addresses psychosocial aspects of disability
- Principles, models, and documentation formats of biopsychosocial case conceptualization and treatment planning
- Neurobiological and medical foundation and etiology of addiction and co-occurring disorders
- Etiology and effects of disabilities and terminology relevant to clinical rehabilitation counseling
- Screening and assessment instruments that are reliable and valid for individuals with disabilities
Contextual Dimensions:
Students will understand and apply the following contextual dimensions of clinical rehabilitation counseling into clinical contexts:
- Roles and setting of rehabilitation counselors
- Relationships between clinical rehabilitation counselors and medical and allied health professionals, including interdisciplinary treatment teams
- Rehabilitation service delivery systems, including housing, independent living, case management, public benefits programs, educational programs, and public/proprietary vocational rehabilitation programs
- Rehabilitation counseling services within the continuum of care, such as inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization and aftercare, and the rehabilitation counseling services networks
- Operation of an emergency management system within rehabilitation agencies and in the community in relation to accommodating individuals with disabilities
- Diagnostic process, including differential diagnosis and the use of current diagnostic classification systems, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
- Potential for substance use disorders to mimic and/or co-occur with a variety of neurological, medical, and psychological disorders
- Impact of crisis and trauma on individuals with disabilities
- Impact of biological and neurological mechanisms on disability
- Effects of co-occurring disabilities on the client and family
- Effects of discrimination, such as handicapism, ableism, and power, privilege, and oppression on clients’ life and career development
- Classifications, indications, and contraindications of commonly prescribed psychopharmacological medications for appropriate medical referral and consultation
- Effects of the onset, progression, and expected duration of disability on clients’ holistic functioning (i.e., physical, spiritual, sexual, vocational, social, relational, and recreational)
- Transferable skills, functional assessments, and work-related supports for achieving and maintaining meaningful employment for people with disabilities
- Role of family, social networks, and community in the provision of services for and treatment of people with disabilities
- Environmental, attitudinal, and individual barriers for people with disabilities
- Assistive technology to reduce or eliminate barriers and functional limitations
- Legislation and government policy relevant to rehabilitation counseling
- Cultural factors relevant to rehabilitation counseling
- Professional issues that affect rehabilitation counselors, including independent provider status, expert witness status, forensic rehabilitation, and access to and practice privileges within managed care systems
- Record keeping, third party reimbursement, and other practice and management issues in rehabilitation counseling
- Professional organizations, preparation standards, and credentials relevant to the practice of clinical rehabilitation counseling
- Legal and ethical considerations specific to clinical rehabilitation counseling
For the Master of Counseling (M.Coun.) degree, the student is required to complete the equivalent of at least four full semesters of resident graduate study beyond the bachelor's degree. The minimum for each program must total 60 semester hours.
The Idaho Counselor Licensing Board requires the following for licensable hours:
“Section 150 02. Supervised Experience Requirement. One thousand (1,000) hours of supervised experience in counseling acceptable to the Board. (7-1-93)
In the Department of Counseling, supervision by doctoral students who have received supervision training are viewed as acceptable to the Board. The Department of Counseling prefers that students seek out practicum and internship settings that have a licensed professional counselor first, before considering a site in which supervision is provided by a different mental health professional. Your development as a professional counselor occurs not only while in class at ISU but also during your clinical experiences outside of ISU. Mentoring by a professional counselor during your clinical supervision is a vital part of your emergent identity as a professional counselor.
- One thousand (1,000) hours is defined as one thousand (1,000) clock hours of experience working in a counseling setting, four hundred (400) hours of which shall be direct client contact. Supervised experience in practicum and/or internships taken at the graduate level may be utilized. The supervised experience shall include a minimum of one (1) hour of face-to-face or one-to-one (1/1) or one-to-two (1/2) supervision with the supervisor for every twenty (20) hours of job/internship experience. Face-to-face may include a face-to-face setting provided by a secure live electronic connection between the supervisor and supervisee. As stated under Subsection 150.01.a.iii. counseling practicum experience as opposed to job or internship experience shall be supervised at a ratio of one (1) hour of supervision for every ten (10) hours in the settings. For example: (3-29-12)
- A person in a twenty (20) hour per week job/internship who is receiving one (1) hour of individual supervision each week would accumulate one thousand (1,000) supervised hours in fifty (50) weeks to equal the twenty to one (20/1) ratio. (7-1-93)
- A person in a forty (40) hour per week setting with one (1) hour of supervision per week would still require fifty (50) weeks to equal the twenty to one (20/1) ratio. (7-1-93)
- A person in a forty (40) hour per week setting with two (2) hours of supervision per week would accumulate the one thousand (1,000) hours at the twenty to one (20/1) supervision ratio in twenty-five (25) weeks. (7-1-93)
- Until July 1, 2004, the supervision must be provided by a Professional Counselor or a Clinical Professional Counselor licensed by the state of Idaho. Effective July 1, 2010, supervision must be provided by a counselor education faculty member at an accredited college or university; Professional Counselor, registered with the Board as a supervisor; a Clinical Professional Counselor, registered with the Board as a supervisor; a Marriage and Family Therapist, registered with the Board as a supervisor; a Clinical Social Worker registered as a supervisor with the Board of Social Work; a licensed Psychologist; or a licensed Psychiatrist, licensed by the state of Idaho. Supervision by a professional counseling peer, however, may be acceptable to the Board if the peer/supervisory relationship include the same controls and procedures expected in an internship setting. (See Subsection 150.02.a.) For example, the relationship should include the staffing of cases, the critiquing of counseling tapes and this supervision must be conducted in a formal, professional, consistent manner on a regularly scheduled basis.”
Please note: Students are responsible for ensuring a site supervisor is registered with the IBOL prior to accepting a site for practicum or internship.
If you intend to be licensed or certified in a state other than Idaho, you are advised to:
- Review the licensing information for the program(s) below; and
- Contact the appropriate licensing agency in the U.S. states and territories where licensure is intended to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about licensure requirements and confirm how an ISU program aligns with those requirements. Because requirements may change during the course of your program of study, we recommend that you check licensing agency requirements regularly to monitor whether any changes may impact your licensure plans.
- For more information please see the ISU license disclosure or the Department of Counseling license disclosure.
Careers in
- Individual and Group Counseling
- Case Management
- Medication Monitoring
- Crisis Intervention
- Program Planning
- Administration
Career Outlook
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Program Planning Sheets
