Counseling Programs | University of West Alabama

Program Mission

The University of West Alabama’s mission statement for the Counseling Program is unique in that it strives to provide a brighter future for individuals, families, and communities. By training emerging counselors to:

Celebrate creativity, knowledge, & diversity.
Teach students to view counseling as both an art and a science by providing them with the practical tools and knowledge to help facilitate change.
Provide students with cultural experiences to help them grow into culturally competent practitioners.
Advocate for client well-being through innovation and collaboration.
Involving the clients in learning the resources by student involvement in providing resources in students to foster lifelong learning.
Provide clinical skills needed to provide a wide variety of counseling services while maintaining the highest ethical and professional standards.
Train students in knowledge and application skills that support multiple counseling service needs in a framework of national, state, and local ethical and professional standards.
Encourage students to lead productive, responsible, and enriched lives.

Program Objectives

CACREP Professional Identity Standard	UWA Program Objective
Professional Orientation and Identity	PLO 1 - Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice Students will be able to articulate the elements related to professional identity including; the history and philosophy of the counseling profession, the value of professional organizations, the need for legal and ethical practice, and advocating for the profession and clients that are served.
Social and Cultural Diversity	PLO 2 – Social and Cultural Diversity Graduates will have knowledge and awareness of social and cultural diversity issues in counseling and be able to implement culturally sensitive counseling interventions.
Human Growth and Development	PLO 3 - Human Growth and Development Graduates will have knowledge of human growth and development, and will be able to apply personality and learning theories to facilitate change and growth in individuals and family systems at all developmental levels and in multicultural contexts.
Career Development	PLO 4 – Career Development Graduates will have knowledge of career development theories and methods and be able to apply career counseling skills to facilitate client exploration and problem solving.
Helping Relationships	PLO 5 - Helping Relationships Graduates will have knowledge of helping processes and will have the interviewing and counseling skills to facilitate client engagement in counseling.
Group Work	PLO 6 – Group Work Graduates will have a theoretical and experiential understanding of group purposes, development, dynamics, theories, and methods in a multicultural society, and will be able to apply these skills to facilitate group processes.
Assessment	PLO 7 – Assessment Graduates will have knowledge of individual and group approaches for assessment and evaluation in a multicultural society and will be able to apply these skills to facilitate the helping process.
Research and Program Evaluation	PLO 8 – Research and Program Evaluation Graduates will have knowledge of research and program evaluation and will be able to apply basic quantitative and qualitative research skills.