Evangel University Counseling Programs consists of a Master of Science in School Counseling and Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. The Evangel University Counseling Program trains graduate students to become professional counselors who integrate the Christian faith while providing holistic and ethical counseling services to diverse individuals and groups across the lifespan.
In addition to general admission policies, the Counseling program requires the following:
Advancement to Candidacy Status. To move to the internship courses, students must have been approved for candidacy. Students admitted to a program of study must apply for candidacy after completion of 18 credit hours of graduate coursework at Evangel University. To be considered for candidacy, students must:
In making a final decision regarding student advancement to candidacy, the counseling core faculty will consider whether the student:
Candidacy reviews are completed in the semester of each academic year. Students approved for candidacy will be notified by letter from the Graduate Counseling Program Administrator.
Professional Behaviors and Dispositions. The Counseling Program expects students to demonstrate specific behaviors and dispositions associated with a counselor identity as researched by Lambie and Swank (2015). Behaviors include professional ethics and boundaries; knowledge and adherence to course/ field site policies and procedures; as well as record keeping and task completion.
Dispositions include multicultural humility (competency); emotional stability and self-control; motivation to learn and grow/initiative; openness to feedback; flexibly and adaptability; congruence and genuineness, and professionalism.
Faculty continually assess student dispositions but formally assess at critical points in the program: admission interview, candidacy and during field courses.
Provides an understanding of the development, organization, administration, and evaluation of comprehensive K-12 school counseling programs that promote access and equity for all students. Focuses on data and best practices for using data to evaluate and improve existing comprehensive school counseling programs (CSCPs). Course content meets requirements for grades K-12 certification.
Explores human growth and development across the lifespan. Topics include major theories of development, factors that may affect development, and relevant counseling issues encountered at various points of development.
Discusses the disabled, culturally diverse, and gifted. Topics include teaching diverse individuals in elementary, middle, and secondary school settings.
Explores assessment, diagnosis, etiology, of child and adolescent disorders within a developmental context and the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Topics include therapeutic issues unique to children, effective interventions for children and adolescents, and practice of interventions including play therapy.
Examines adult and child psychopathology and behavioral disturbance in the context of the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). Topics include definitions, etiology, assessment by symptom recognition and assessment instrument, and preferred treatment; appropriate interventions both from a therapeutic and research model; mental disorders from a cultural and spiritual/religious model.
Explains basic behavioral science research methods and statistics then covers research methods and intermediate statistics applicable to counseling research. Topics include the philosophy of science, research ethics, research designs, data analysis, and basic program evaluation strategies.
Introduces professional issues in clinical mental health counseling. Topics include the history and philosophy of the counseling profession, the professional identity and role of the clinical mental health counselor, the public and private practice of mental health counseling as well as crisis intervention and general framework of consultation, the role of the students' Christian faith and life experiences as a foundation for a personal call to clinical mental health counseling.
Explores the field of school counseling and the integral part it plays in the school curriculum. Topics include historical development of school counseling, the professional identity and the evolving role of the school counselor, the basic principles and functions of a comprehensive school counseling program, and underlying philosophical, psychological, and sociological principles undergirding school counseling theory.
Orients online students to the graduate Counseling program, provides opportunities for synchronous learning and builds cohesion within the learning cohort. Topics include: scope and sequence of program, APA writing, use of technology, strategies for success in an online program and initial coursework for the summer semester.
Brings cohort members together for face-to-face participation in the Group Counseling Lab to foster ongoing cohort connection. Clinical Mental Health students will have in-person learning for their Couple and Family Counseling Course while School Counseling students will participate face-to-face in the School Counseling curriculum course. Also provides an overview of all second year courses.
Explores counseling techniques, current issues, trends, and problems in the education of special populations. Topics include issues related to all areas of exceptionalities, including the gifted and at-risk populations; communication skills with exceptional children and their families; and other topics determined by current legislative initiatives and school trends.
Introduces the field of counseling. Topics include ethics, professionalism, legal issues and responsibilities, and specific state laws pertaining to the student's state of practice.
Introduces counseling skills foundational to the application of counseling theory and intervention. Topics include evidence based theoretical foundations of basic counseling skills and factors that influence the application of skills across clinical settings and diverse client populations.
Provides experiential learning opportunities to practice and gain competency in the following skills: active listening, intake interviewing, crisis intervention, basic treatment planning and assessment. Role-plays and student/faculty immediate feedback will facilitate counselor self-awareness.
Explores contemporary approaches to assessment, treatment planning, and intervention based in bio-psycho-social systems and evidence-based interventions. Topics include cutting edge evidence-based practices including DBT, ACT, EMDR, the Unified Protocol, the CAMS Suicide Intervention, and more. Additionally, students explore future trends emerging in current research. Role plays and interactive activities allow for students to practice specific assessment, interventions, and treatment planning approaches that align with various evidence-based treatment protocols.
Examines the major classical and contemporary theories of counseling and psychotherapy. Topics include an overview and evaluation of major approaches; critical examination of theories for key theoretical constructs, personality formation, development of pathology, therapeutic processes that produce change/healing, the nature of the client-counselor or counselor-student relationship, and its effectiveness; theory analysis from an ethnic, cultural, and Judeo-Christian perspective. The purpose of this examination is to move students toward a personal model of therapy that reflects and integrates the present research regarding points of convergence and their own philosophy of life or worldview.
Summarizes the primary theories and approaches to counseling with couples and families. Topics include classical and current family and marriage models, sensitivity to the diverse forms of marriage and families in a contemporary society, the development of a personal theory of an evidence-based marital counseling approach with couple and family counseling.
Facilitates the student's integration of the Christian faith with professional counseling practice at the personal, theoretical, and pragmatic level. Students will engage in thoughtful discourse to ethically integrate Christian theology with the practice of counseling, in both clinical and school settings. Practice includes the application of spiritual assessments and interventions aligned with models of counseling.
Presents models of classroom management and related discipline issues. Topics include research orientation with a focus on diversity of current American culture and classroom practice.
Offers a comprehensive understanding of the pharmacological interventions used in mental health treatment. Through an integration of neuroscience, pharmacology, and psychopathology, students explore the mechanisms of action, therapeutic applications, and potential side effects of psychotropic medications. Emphasizing ethical considerations, cultural competence, and interdisciplinary collaboration, this course prepares students to critically evaluate medication options, collaborate effectively with prescribers, and advocate for holistic approaches to client care within the scope of counseling practice.
Provides students with field-based counseling experiences within the school setting. The practical experiences enable students to transfer acquired knowledge into applied practice. The completion of the required hours includes guidance curriculum activities, individual planning, responsive services, and system support. 150 hours with a minimum of 40 direct service.
(unless individually waived by professor) COU 509, COU 521, COU 523, COU 582, COU 625.
Provides students with field-based counseling experiences within the K-12 school setting. The practical experiences enable students to transfer acquired knowledge into applied practice. The completion of the required hours (300 hours with a minimum of 120 direct service) includes guidance curriculum activities, individual planning, responsive services, and system support.
(unless individually waived by professor) COU 590 and Candidacy Approval.
Provides students with field-based counseling experiences within the K-12 school setting. The practical experiences enable students to transfer acquired knowledge into applied practice. The completion of the required hours (300 hours with a minimum of 120 direct service) includes guidance curriculum activities, individual planning, responsive services, and system support.
(unless individually waived by professor) COU 590, COU 591, and Candidacy Approval.
Provides field-based, supervised counseling experiences for graduate students entering the field of clinical mental health counseling. Students will complete 100 hours of counseling related services, 40 of which must be direct service (1.e., individual, group, and relationship counseling). Students will attend weekly individual or triadic supervision sessions along with group practicum class.
COU 506, COU 526, COU 521 (B- or better) and COU 523 (B- or better).
Provides a multi-semester experience resulting in one credit for each of 100 hours of internship activity with a supervision seminar focusing on the integration of theory and practice. This weekly supervision seminar supplements the supervision students are receiving at their internship sites. The seminar is conducted using a clinical staffing format in which students present cases, and discuss therapeutic, diagnostic, ethical, faith integration, and treatment-planning issues encountered at their internship site. Didactic instruction occurs on an as-needed basis relevant to the issues presented by students. The seminar instructor maintains contact with the interns' site supervisor throughout the year.
COU 506, COU 521, COU 526, and admission to Candidacy.
Designed to facilitate a student's continuation of internship hours required for the program. Must have program coordinator's permission to enroll.
Investigates the theoretical framework for career education. Students will apply counseling skills and tools to assist individuals with career development. Topics include major theories of career development, sources of occupational information, principles of assessment in career counseling, career decision making through the lens of multiculturalism, gender, age, and lifestyle.
Examines assessment procedures commonly used in counseling. Topics include a review of historical basis for assessment, test statistics, cultural factors related to assessment, test selection, ethical considerations, and the relationship of assessment procedures to diagnosis and treatment.
Provides supervised practice and training in the administration, scoring, interpretation, and reporting of individual intelligence testing in school settings, specifically the Wechsler Intelligence Scales. This course is an elective for school counselors and meets one requirement for the School Psychological Examiner's Certificate.
Explores the administration, scoring, and interpretation of academic, social, emotional, and behavioral assessments used in diagnosing children and adolescents.
Provides an advanced internship experience resulting in one credit for each of 100 hours of internship activity with a supervision seminar focusing on the integration of theory and advanced practice. This weekly supervision seminar supplements the supervision students are receiving at their internship sites. The seminar is conducted using a clinical staffing format in which students present cases, and discuss therapeutic, diagnostic, ethical, faith integration, and treatment-planning issues encountered at their internship site. Didactic instruction occurs on an as-needed basis relevant to the issues presented by students. The seminar instructor maintains contact with the interns' site supervisor throughout the year. This advanced course exceeds the normal practicum and internship hours required by CACREP and is required for counseling licensure by online students in Indiana. Only students required to take Advanced Internship should enroll in this course.
COU 506, COU 521, COU 523, COU 526, COU 598 (taken in two semesters), and admission to Candidacy.
Engages advanced level study of theory and practice of group counseling. Topics include various theoretical approaches to group work including the basic principles of group dynamics, processes, developmental stages, member roles, and leadership tasks.
COU 523 Counseling Skills.
Provides experiential learning through group participation. Students will apply knowledge into the practice of group counseling by leading and facilitating group process. Additionally, students will utilize their experience as group participants to analyze group process and dynamics.
Focuses on counseling interventions when working with clients of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Topics include counseling special populations regarding age, gender, sexual orientations, disabilities, and socio-economic status.
Provides advanced study of crisis and trauma and the ramifications for the victim and family system. Topics include evidence-based treatment modalities of crisis intervention and trauma recovery, practical skills of intervention, development and implementation an effective therapeutic treatment approach, cultural implications, and existential issues.
Applies psychology to teaching with emphasis on research, theories, and practical applications relating to contemporary issues. Designed for educators and counselors as practitioners in school settings.
Provides the essential skills and knowledge needed to provide effective and ethical counseling services in an online environment. Through a blend of theoretical exploration, practical application, and case studies, students will examine the unique considerations and challenges of delivering mental health care via telecommunication platforms. Topics covered include legal and ethical standards, technological considerations, assessment and treatment planning, therapeutic rapport building, cultural competence, confidentiality, and crisis management in telemental health settings.
COU 646 and COU 647.
Equips future counselors with the essential competencies to recognize, respond to, and prevent instances of child and elder abuse. Topics covered include recognition of signs and symptoms, mandated reporting laws, and trauma-informed approaches to assessment and intervention, with cultural and ethical consideration. Students will develop the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively advocate for and support survivors of abuse and promote prevention efforts within their communities.
COU 645 and COU 647.
Examines the complex dynamics of IPV, including power and control dynamics, cycles of abuse, and the impact of cultural, social, and systemic factors. This course emphasizes a trauma-informed approach to working with survivors of IPV, with a focus on safety planning, crisis intervention, advocacy, and empowerment. Students will also explore the intersectionality of IPV with other forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, and ableism, and develop culturally competent strategies for supporting diverse populations affected by IPV. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to recognize, respond to, and prevent instances of IPV, contributing to the promotion of healthy relationships and the prevention of violence within their communities.
COU 645 and COU 646.
Introduces the multiple etiologies of addiction development. Topics include assessment, intervention, and relapse prevention for chemical and behavioral addictions; understanding, assessing and treating addictive behaviors within a systems context of family, friends, community, and culture; the role of a Christian worldview.
Explores human sexuality from an integrated psychological, physiological, sociological, and theological perspective. Topics include human dynamics including psycho-sexual development, human reproduction, sexual identity, and sexual disorders, perspectives regarding appropriate expression considering scriptural principles.
Provides field experiences in public school settings as diagnosticians. As diagnosticians in training, students assess children and adolescents, participate in diagnostic teams, and assist in determining educational needs. Practicum students are supervised by a certified School Psychological Examiner or a School Psychologist as well as a university professor.
COU 610, COU 611, and COU 613.
Provides students with a forum to acquire information related to developing and maintaining a professional practice. Topics include comprehensive and licensure examinations and certifications, job search, and securing supervision.
Provides students with a forum to acquire information related to developing and maintaining a professional practice. Topics include licensure examinations and certifications, professional development, leadership roles, counseling resources, and job competencies.
