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Counseling Psychology (CPSY)

The major in counseling psychology provides a foundation for the application of psychological principles to personal, social, and organizational problems. Theory and research related to normal human development, etiology of mental health problems, and ethical standards of the psychology profession are discussed. Emphasis is on interaction with clients in professional settings, such as human services and social services agencies or the corporate workplace. Major principles and methods which address social and counseling issues are applied to diverse populations. This major alone does not prepare students to function as counselors, therapists or psychologists. Rather, students develop the necessary skills to assume entry-level positions in a variety of settings such as government, private human service agencies, mental health organizations, business, and industry.

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. Communication: Communicate clearly and effectively in both written and oral forms to an intended audience using strategies and methods appropriate to college-level expectations. Students will demonstrate effective communication characterized by written work that is clear, organized, succinct yet exhibits depth of analysis and synthesis, and accurate in mechanics and document.
  2. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate strengths and weakness of divergent psychological research paradigms; students will also demonstrate the ability to creatively produce a psychological research design.
  3. Quantitative Analysis and Reasoning: Students will demonstrate their ability to apply quantitative analytical processes to solving data analysis problems associated with psychological research as evidenced by the appropriate application of descriptive and inferential statistics.
  4. Ethics: Students will understand the ethical complexity of human interactions in an applied psychological context; students will demonstrate the skill of applying a formal ethical decision-making process; students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of the American Psychological Association’s Code of Ethics; students will understand the underlying values that guide the ethical decision-making process.