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The School Counseling 5-12 program at Bridgewater State University is accredited by (CACREP) Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. CACREP is an independent agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to accredit master's degree programs. It provides recognition that the content and quality of the program has been evaluated and meets the standards set by the profession. BSU is the only CACREP approved program in Massachusetts. It consists of eight common core curricular competency areas that are required of all students in the program.
Aquired Common Core Curricular Areas of CACREP
1) Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice
2) Social and Cultural Diversity
3) Human Growth and Development
4) Career Development
5) Helping Relationships
6) Group Work
7) Assessment
8) Research and Program Evaluation
1) Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice: This area requires an understanding of the professional functioning of counselors. According to ACA code of ethics, counselors are to act responsibly to the mission of ACA which is to “enhance the quality of life in society by promoting the development of professional counselors, advancing the profession and promoting respect for human dignity and diversity”. I identify with this requirement by acknowledging the importance of participating in professional organizations, seminars and workshops, staying informed with up-to-date legal and ethical standards and research materials.
I chose one artifact from my Ethical and Legal Issues for the School Counselor class on bullying, school violence and child abuse. It includes a formal paper and two school counseling brochures. This piece covered my understanding of the significant ethical issues and laws, policies, rights and responsibilities relating to school counselors, and ethical codes for ASCA and ACA. It included knowledge of the responsibilities that a counselor must take to promote a safe environment when dealing with the warming and protecting potential victim. Lastly, I included relevant information to preventing child and sexual abuse and its legal ramifications that I applied to my projects. If such abuse did occur, I discussed the role a counselor is mandated to fulfill such as reporting a 51A.
2) Social and Cultural Diversity: This area requires an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues and trends in a multicultural society. In my multicultural class I gained knowledge and competency in theories of multicultural counseling and application, identity development and social justice. In addition to the population that I will discuss in my artifact (the Older Adult/Ageism), I was exposed to and examined the individual, couple, family and group of other diverse clients.
The artifact that I created for this topic was from my Multicultural Counseling class. It includes a brief clip of an interview on the Older Adult/Ageism. I choose this piece to confirm my growing competence and understanding of multicultural counseling as it relates to our society. I interviewed a young lady in the older adult generation and we explored many aspects relating to stereotyping, prejudices, disabilities, critical events, economics, society and education. Although I respect all elders, it has taught me to give more reverence and value to older adults because they have critical worldwide information to events that affected our world. Studying this topic has provided me with a better understanding of the emotional and psychological changes they endured over the years and assisted me with the sensitivity skills that I could use in a counseling session to be effective with this group as well as all cultural groups. There is a great deal to be learned from and given to this group, that I believe can help us understand the current trends of our world.
3) Human Growth and Development: This area acquires an understanding of the nature and needs of individuals at all developmental levels, and in multicultural contexts. I have achieved competencies in growth and development through my readings and my experience in my pre-practicum. As a counselor, I am learning how to identify and explain developmental issues related to these age groups: Infancy (0-2) the physical development and perception, cognition and language; the Early and Middle childhood (2-11) physical, cognitive, and language development and social and emotional development; and the Adolescence (12-18) physical and cognitive and social and emotional development. The pre-practicum has afforded me opportunities to demonstrate my knowledge of the Special Education process by my participation in IEP and 504 assessments. The academic counselor position at BSU has presented issues relating to young adults adjusting to becoming an independent adult while still dealing with child-like, immature tendencies. Being able to be flexible in understanding theories with different human growth and development situations is a major role a counselor should possess. The majority of the times I apply the Client-Centered theory, by Carl Rogers to my client situations. The Client-Centered theory is based on helping the client's move in positive directions. This in turn will help them understand that their worldview and thoughts are unique, thus increasing confidence, self-esteem and self-actualization.
The artifact that I choose for this topic was a case summary of a male student, age 14. He was obsessed with the thought of his homework having to be neat, which in turn was causing his grades to decline. In addition his parents noticed that when he was anxious he began to show signs of facial tics. I was able to diagnose him with having OCD. In this case summary, I choose to use the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Supportive Psychotherapy as they would provide treatment that targets the harmful thoughts and behaviors that accompany OCD and for the growth and developmental stage of this teenager.
4) Career Development: This area involves an understanding of career development and related life factors. In my career counseling class I gained competencies in career development program planning and theories as well as decision-making models and assessment instruments. I also have knowledge of interrelationships among and between work, family and other life roles and factors, which can be explore through my artifact.
The artifact that I chose for this area is my family and career genogram. School Counselors can use this genogram as a tool to help students explore how their family influences their career identity. Information relating to values, family dynamics and roles can benefit students in understanding their family patterns. In addition to career development, this tool can also be used to help struggling students look beyond their immediate family and explore problems that followed multigenerational patterns. When I completed my career genogram, I realized I learned a great deal about my family, the commonalities in skills and hobbies. It also provided me insight as to the patterns of illness and educational and career trends. I found this project to be very informative and if used this way or as a family tree to reflect on family trends and patterns it could be useful to students of all ages. A recommendation would be since it is time consuming, to have students gather information at home from relatives and then compile during a classroom lesson and discuss the outcome and their thoughts.
5) Helping Relationships: This objective would acquire an understanding of the counseling process in a multicultural society. In this competency area I have studied the counseling theories that assisted me in delivering an effective counseling session. I am now able to provide career and academic counseling as well as crisis intervention. I Understand the significance of the five stages of the interviewing process, (relationship, story and strengths, goals, restory and action), which have increased my knowledge on how and when to apply my counseling skills.
The artifact that I chose is a transcript of a mock video session with an exceptional student having difficulties adjusting to school responsibilities and her social/emotional status. In helping the student, I assessed development and developmentally appropriate interventions. During the counseling session I displayed my knowledge of this CACREP area by displaying effective counseling skills such as paraphrasing, asking open/closed ended questions, being an active listener, showing empathy by acknowleding the student's feelings and exhibiting good body posture which made the student feel comfortable and open to expressing her feelings. I explored issues relating to her physical, cognitive and social and emotional developmental level. Also, the transcript demonstrates my strength in rapport building, effective counseling skills and knowledge of resources available to the student.
6) Group Work: This objective acquires both theoretical and experiential understandings of group purpose, development, dynamics, theories, methods and skills, and other group approaches in a multicultural society. Group work is a powerful tool understood and used by counselors to provide cohesiveness, promote growth and change in individuals. Some of the best benefits for students participating in group work is to build self-esteem, provide positive ways to deal with anger and support of one another against abuse. As I continue to be an effective counselor, I will continue to fulfill this compentency and understand the steps of the PROCESS of keeping focused on the "Here and Now" when I work in groups.
The artifact that I chose to show my competency in group work is a group proposal that I co-developed, wrote and facilitated. The name of the project was “Building Bridges” and the purpose was to introduce the idea of teamwork, communication, positive self-perception and creative problem solving. This activity involves a small group of 5-7 students that are given newspaper and masking tape and are required to build a bridge using only the materials provided. The bridge must be tall enough for a pan to pass underneath it and strong enough to hold a gallon of water. After the activity is complete the group comes together to discuss the dynamics, development and approaches and how diverse ideas came together to be successful as a group/team.
7) Assessment: This area requires an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation in a multicultural society. As a counselor I am aware of the basic concepts of standardized and nonstandardized testing and other assessment techniques as well as strategies for administering and interpreting assessments.
The artifact that I chose to demonstrate my competency in assessment is a presentation discussing a career assessment with a student. Career counselingand assessments for high school students is an important part of the high school experience that helps the student with career planning and also gives awareness to them of their current skills, interests, and knowledge and how they can use these skills to make a successful transition to high education or employment roles. In my interview, I had the opportunity to assess and assist a student with future plans after high school graduation.
8) Research and Program Evaluation: This area acquires an understanding of research methods, statistical analysis, needs assessment, and program evaluation. As a school counselor I am skilled in the use of research and program evaluation and understands the importance of research and accountability and its benefits to promoting the counseling profession.
The artifact I choose consisted of a research & program evaluation of the ASCA Model project of a high school. I completed this program evaluation to understand in detail the framework and rationale for a comprehensive school counseling program as outlined by the ASCA and MASCA Model. According to ASCA, a comprehensive school counseling program should be comprehensive in scope, preventive in design, developmental in nature, supportive of the school’s academic mission, driven by data and monitors all student progress (ASCA, 2005). In my artifact I examined all aspects of a high school including its missions, domains, goals, standards, and the roles of the faculty and lined them up to the elements of the ASCA model. The four elements of the ASCA model are Foundation-provides the “what every student will know and be able to do” of the program, Delivery System-addresses “how the program will be implemented”, Management Systems-addresses the “when, why and on what authority the program will be implemented” and Accountability-answers “how are students different as a result of the program?” As I pulled all these elements together and compared them to the standards of the ASCA model, I also discussed my research findings and how I was able to align them accordingly. This project also provided me with research data I was able to obtain from the Mass.gov website on schools statistics, rank, and factors most important to the school’s success.
SCHOOL COUNSELING 5-12 Program
I chose School Counseling because my experience as a mother and professional in addition to my education allows me to be a more effective and understanding counselor when relating to students and their needs. I believe that I understand children more, not just from learning the developmental theories and counseling techniques, but from my interaction with them on a personal level. I honestly enjoy conversations with and learning from them and the innate skill I possess to relate to them in a trusting manner shows them that I care even when they present me with difficult issues.
Since children today have so many issues to worry about that result in low self-esteem and insecurities, having a school counselor is vital to helping them understand, sort out and gain a better outlook on what should be important in their lives. A school counselor is one of the key people involved in a students’ success in and outside of school. They can provide care, guidance, leadership, motivation, and an understanding that influence students to achieve their goals in personal, academic and social lives. They educate students on their own path to becoming productive, well-adjusted adults of tomorrow. As I transition from being a professional in the financial industry to a professional educator working with adolescents, I realized I have a different perspective and new level of respect for educators who understand how the physical and cognitive development affects students they encounter.
The artifact that I choose for this section of my portfolio was a paper on consultation and collaboration. Consultation and collaboration among faculty, parents and the community is a clear way of assisting with the advancement of student accomplishments. It allows for communication and ideas to be exchanged amongst everyone involved in a student’s life to work together to find commonalities of ways of achieving academic, personal and emotional success. It also included lessons based on the ASCA National Standards and the MaModel. I collaborated with a classmate on a curriculum to increase safety and educate students on substance abuse awareness through collaborating with parents, faculty and community leaders and officers of the D.A.R.E program and members of MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving). This project along with many other artifacts that I included in this portfolio can actually be used to promote future growth in the counseling profession. This particular artifact has provided me the opportunity to infuse both consultation and collaboration theory with practical application while practicing as a role of a school counselor.
My learning process as a result of completing this capstone seminar was a great evolving experience. What I found most challenging was trying to find an electronic software program that would support what I wanted to do while providing me with simple, easy steps to navigate through the software. As I gathered information I reflected on the experiences that brought me to this point of attending this graduate program in counseling. The experiences included coping with and managing my children and their developmental issues, my transferable professional skills in management, technology and working with difficult people and my passion for empowering others to succeed.
What I learned most as a result of this project was how CACREP draws importance to the counseling profession and how vital it is for a counselor to be competent in all required core curriculum areas of CACREP. From the beginning of this graduate program it has been made clear the importance of having a CACREP accredited program and being the only program in Massachusetts approved thus far. As I enrolled in and completed each course with honorable grades and achieved the expectation of that course I realized each completion was a part of a competency area of the CACREP puzzle that was coming together. When I view my professional portfolio now, I recognize it is a culmination of a whole puzzle which demonstrates my understanding of the importance of the counseling profession. I will and have already recommended this capstone portfolio seminar to my peers because not only is it a better way to understand and appreciate the meaning of attending a CACREP approved institution, I will used this electronic portfolio when seeking employment by providing perspective employers an example of the skills I have and those that I have potential.