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Holy Family
Academic Program Description
In order to provide students with the opportunity to develop the skills required to practice as professional counselors with expertise in the areas of community, private, school, pastoral, or higher education settings, the program uses a scientist–practitioner training approach. Through involvement with program coursework students become active and involved learners. Students engage in both in-class and out-of-class cooperative, collaborative, and experiential learning that through interaction, exposure, immersion, and problem-solving enables students to integrate class material into their current knowledge and experiential base. The skill labs, practicum, and internship courses provide students with the professional experiences to synthesize course material with real-life counseling experiences to develop the skills appropriate for beginning practitioners.
The program allows students to concentrate their studies in the following areas:
- Clinical Mental Health Counseling
- Family and Marital Counseling
- Counseling in Student Affairs in Higher Education
- Pastoral Counseling
- School Counseling - Elementary, Secondary or Dual certification areas
The last field of study includes Pennsylvania Department of Education-approved certification programs in School Counseling. Students are required to pass the Praxis II (School Counseling) tests in order to become certified as a school counselor in the State of Pennsylvania. For information about these tests please review the Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology School Counselor Certification Handbook.
The Master of Science in Counseling Psychology program is built around a central core curriculum that is designed to help students develop knowledge and general counseling skills that can be applied in a variety of contexts. The concentration curriculum helps students develop those specific counseling skills required for proficiency in the student’s area of interest.
The Counseling Psychology program, concentrated at the University’s Newtown, Bucks County location, is designed for students who are available to attend classes scheduled in the evening or on Saturdays. The majority of the students in the Counseling Psychology program study on a part time basis, although a significant number of Counseling Psychology students do attend the program on a full-time basis. The length of the program for students attending on a part-time basis is between 3.5 and 4 years and for those attending on a full-time basis it is 2.5 to 3 years.
Eligibility for Licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
All concentrations of study in the Master of Science program in Counseling Psychology fulfill the educational requirements for licensure as a:
- Professional counselor in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
- Professional counselor of mental health and/or associate counselor of mental health in the state of Delaware
- Professional counselor and/or associate counselor in the state of New Jersey.
All concentrations fulfill all Council on the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) educational standards as well as the general and course-specific requirements for students to take the National Counselor Exam (NCE). Successful completion of the NCE allows the student to apply for the LPC license.
The National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) has designated the Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology at Holy Family University as an affiliate program to the NBCC. This allows students matriculated into the Master’s program to sit for the NCE up to six months prior to or after graduation. Holy Family University is one of a handful of higher education institutions within Pennsylvania with this designation.
Students interested in fulfilling the educational requirements for licensure must be aware of the licensure requirements and work closely with their faculty advisor to ensure that all educational and internship requirements for licensure are fulfilled.
Advisement
The Master of Science in Counseling Psychology program views advisement as crucial to successful completion of the program. Advisement in the program is best characterized as a mentoring relationship between a student and a faculty member. This mentoring relationship is grounded in mutual trust, dignity, collegiality, equality, and professionalism. The goal of this advising/mentoring relationship is to assist the student in developing an identity as a counseling professional who is engaged in a lifelong learning process.
Upon admission to the program, each student is assigned a faculty advisor. This faculty advisor will have expertise in the student’s area of concentration. The faculty advisor is the student’s resource person in dealing with the program and the University. Students are encouraged to meet with their faculty advisor on a regular basis. Students must meet with their faculty advisor for course selection, approval of practicum and internship sites, comprehensives, and other administrative issues. Appointments may be made in person or by calling 267-341-4032. Faculty office hours are posted at the faculty office.
Counseling Psychology Graduate Student Advisory Board
The Master of Science in Counseling Psychology program's Graduate Student Advisory Board (GSAB) is a group of graduate counseling psychology students who meet once a month to discuss issues pertaining to strengthening the department of Counseling Psychology. This group represents all students in the program and seeks to improve program quality, create program experiences that enrich student educational and personal life and foster communication and positive collaboration among faculty, staff and students.
