Rehabilitation Counseling Students Association

Mission

To train empathic, culturally competent rehabilitation counselors to work in partnership with persons with disabilities and chronic illnesses and their families, in a manner that considers the barriers and assets of each individual.

What is Rehabilitation Counseling?

Rehabilitation Counselors are trained to provide an array of counseling-related services in partnership with persons with disabilities and chronic illnesses to address the psychological, social, environmental, vocational, and living barriers and assets of the individual and his/her family, in order to assist the individual in achieving full community access and independence. Rehabilitation counselors perform multiple roles including counselor, advocate, and case manager, and are trained to consider the interaction between the individual, his/her environment and culture, and the impact of society on achieving full access and independence. “Disability and chronic illness” includes a broad scope of physical, sensory, emotional, learning, developmental and neurological conditions. Today, rehabilitation counselors practice in many settings including public rehabilitation programs, non-profit organizations, independent living centers, community colleges and 4-year universities, disability resource departments in educational settings, substance abuse agencies, medical centers and hospitals, K-12 public schools, job training centers, and insurance companies, to name a few.

Employment Outlook and Salaries

There is a high demand for rehabilitation counselors. Nationally, approximately 50 million people have disabilities or chronic illness, and our health and mental health care system is ill-equipped to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of persons with disabilities and chronic illness. In addition, many of our war veterans have severe disabilities such as traumatic brain injury coupled with post-traumatic stress, which demand the services of trained rehabilitation counselors. Our public rehabilitation system is facing a substantial workforce need with 25% if counselors needing to be replaced due to normal attrition rates and retirement. Finally, rehabilitation counselors bring an expertise regarding disability to any health or mental health agency.

Salaries: Salaries vary widely and range from $39,000 to $60,000 depending on the place of employment. The California Department of Rehabilitation ranges in pay from approximately $43,000 to $60,000.

Professional Accreditation & Certification

The RCTP is accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE), certifying that it meets national training standards. In addition, students who graduate from our program are able to become Certified Rehabilitation Counselors (CRC) by passing a national examination. Today, there are more than 35,000 Certified Rehabilitation Counselors practicing in the US, and employers look for this certification to insure a quality rehabilitation counseling workforce.
See http://www.crccertification.com for additional information on the certification process.

How Do I Apply for the RCTP?
The RCTP is part of the Department of Counseling and applicants are required to follow the department and graduate school’s application process. Below are some general instructions, however, please see the department and graduate school’s website for details and deadlines @ http://counseling.sfsu.edu.

• The Department of Counseling is a fall-admit program. You must submit a completed application by January 14th of each year for admission for the following fall. If January 14th falls on a holiday or weekend, applications are due the following business day.
• A Bachelor’s Degree is required for admission to the program.
• Related work experience is taken into account in the admission process.
• Applications are available on-line and available in accessible formats.
• Students with disabilities and others from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

Degree Requirements and Curriculum Information

Situated within the broader Department of Counseling which offer training in six counseling specializations, rehabilitation counseling students have the opportunity to obtain an MS degree in Rehabilitation Counseling with rehabilitation counseling as their only specialization, or by graduating with a dual focus with rehabilitation counseling as either the primary specialization or the secondary emphasis. For example, Rehabilitation Counseling may be combined with specializations in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling (MFCC), Gerontological, Career, College, or School Counseling.

To obtain a master’s degree, SFSU requires a minimum of two years (60 units) of academic coursework including two academic years of 12 and 16 (minimum) hours of supervised clinical fieldwork. Rehabilitation Counseling Graduates are trained in the core counseling curriculum which covers such areas as individual and group counseling theory, skills and techniques; developmental, psychological, social and cultural foundations of counseling; and research and assessment. In addition, students take five rehabilitation courses in the areas of professional issues, medical and psychosocial aspects of disability; assistive technology, and occupational information. Students are required to do fieldwork in a rehabilitation counseling placement, preferably under the supervision of a CRC.

Students who specialize in providing rehabilitation services to those who are deaf, deafened and hard of hearing take additional coursework that covers information and techniques specific to working with these populations. Competence in sign language is required for the certificate in deafness but not for the certificate in deafened and hard of hearing (contact Dr. Zwillinger for more information about this program).

Curriculum