Welcome to OU's Counseling Department
The counseling profession helps people to become self-aware, growth oriented and effective in mastering the challenges of life. Counselors, as skilled, perceptive and broadly educated professionals, assist clients in identifying areas for improvement and in carrying out changes that promote life fulfillment. Drawing upon a foundation of research and theory in philosophy, psychology and education, counselors use therapeutic skills and consultation techniques with both individuals and groups. In any setting, the goal of counseling is to help people expand their potential, facilitate their development and live more satisfying and productive lives.
Our primary mission in the Department of Counseling is to assure that our graduates demonstrate the skills, abilities and expertise required of a professional counselor in a diverse society. As a counseling faculty, we are committed to continued study of the most current issues related to the field of counseling through the professional literature and by association with counseling and related professional organizations. We also remain active in research endeavors that maintain an environment of inquiry. The faculty aims to provide an educational environment which nurtures rigor and a desire to learn, and fosters collaborative relationships between faculty and students.
The faculty of the Department of Counseling is committed to attracting a diverse pool of graduate students who possess the intellectual ability and the personal characteristics that indicate a successful future as counseling professionals. The majority of our students are drawn from Southeastern Michigan, but increasingly we attract students who move here for the program, some from other states and countries. We intend to provide every student with a thorough and rigorous academic program in the core program content areas of human growth and development, social and cultural foundations, helping relationships, group work, career/lifestyle development, appraisal, research/program evaluation and professional orientation. We intend to provide each student with appropriate experiential learning opportunities to develop counseling and research skills. As a faculty, we are committed to creating a supportive, challenging learning environment in which students and faculty join in discovery learning and contribute to the understanding of the counseling process. We engage in activities that contribute to the well being of our community through on-campus and off-campus service delivery projects. Both students and the community benefit from our continued commitment to providing a model counseling program. We continue to develop our programs to provide students with the resources, knowledge and experiences to demonstrate excellence in counseling practices.
|