2015-2016 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Counseling
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Faculty
Kiran Arora, PhD, Syracuse University
- Political Violence
- Trauma and Resiliency in Diaspora Families
- Self-of-the-Therapist
- Critiques of Power in Family Therapy
Gonzalo Bacigalupe, EdD, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- E-Health
- Emerging Technologies
- Transitional and Immigrant Health
- Family Therapy
- Family Health
Terry Bontrager, PhD, Texas A&M University
- Multicultural Issues
- Assessment of English Learners
- Professional Development and Supervision
Melissa Collier-Meek, PhD, University of Connecticut
- Implementation of Interventions and Practices in Schools
- After School Programs
- Home Settings
Amy Cook, PhD, University of Connecticut
- Social Justice
- School-Family-Community Partnerships
- Inclusion
Lisa Cosgrove, PhD, Duquesne University
- Ethical and Medico-Legal Issues in Psychiatric Research
- Informed Consent Policies and Practices
- Women’s Health Issues
Adam Feinberg, PhD, Lehigh University
- Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies
- Academic Assessment
MaryAnna D. Ham, EdD, University of Rochester
- Multicultural Family and Couples Therapy
- Training and Ethical Issues in Counseling and Family Therapy
Laura Hayden, EdD, Boston University
- Professional Issues in School Counselor Education
- Positive Youth Development through Sport and Physical Activity
Sharon Horne, PhD, University of Georgia (Visiting Professor)
- LGBT Psychological Well-Being
- International Psychology
- PTSD
Kyle D. Killian, PhD, LMFT, Syracuse University
- Intercultural and Interracial couples
- Immigrant and Refugee Families
- Trauma and Resilience
- Professional Self-care
Sharon Lamb, EdD, Harvard University
- Girls’ Development
- Gender and the Media
- Sexual Ethics
- Abuse and Victimization
- Sexual Development
Boaz Levy, PhD, University of Southern California
- Cognitive Functioning in Bipolar Disorder
- Quantitative Research Methods
Esmaeil Mahdavi, EdD, Indiana University
- Mental Health Counseling
- Group Dynamics
- Substance Abuse
Takuya Minami (Tak), PhD, University of Wisconsin
- Psychotherapy Process and Outcome
- Effectiveness of Psychotherapy Practiced in Clinical Service Settings
Timothy Poynton, EdD, Boston University
- Postsecondary Transitions of Graduating High School Seniors
- Instruments Designed to Measure the Attitudes and Beliefs of School Counselors
- Technology Applications
Robin Risso, MEd, Cambridge College
- Family Therapy
- Supervision
- Professional Practice
- Family Systems
Steven Vannoy, PhD, University of Wisconsin, MPH University of Washington
- Evidence Based and Alternative Psychotherapies
- Integrated Mental Health Care in Medical Settings and Suicide Prevention
Felicia Wilczenski, EdD, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Professional Development Issues
- Service Learning
- Assessment for Effective Intervention
The Programs
It is the mission of the Counseling Programs to train individuals in the theory and practice of the profession of counseling such that they become thoughtful and responsive practitioners. The profession of counseling is grounded in the view that counselors facilitate and maximize the development and potential of all persons.
Counseling is concerned with the development of appropriate repertoires of adaptive behavior within the environmental context in which the person resides. The counselor respects the ethnic background and diversity of each individual and attempts to promote development congruent with the person’s beliefs, values, and personal background.
The University of Massachusetts Boston Counseling Programs prepare its graduates to be professional practitioners in a variety of community settings and institutions: hospitals, schools, rehabilitation agencies, career planning centers, employee assistance programs, clinics, residential treatment facilities, and other mental health agencies. Students choose to focus on a particular area within the counseling profession. Options are:
The curriculum includes courses and field-based experiences critical to professional development. Field-based practica and internships are supervised onsite by professionals who meet specific licensure qualifications.
Full-time students can complete the degree in four semesters and two summer sessions (two full years). The exception is the Family Therapy Program, which recommends completion in no less than three years. Part-time students may progress at their own pace but must complete the degree in six years.
In order to accommodate students with full-time jobs, courses meet once a week and are offered in the late afternoon and evening.
A number of courses are available online as well as onsite. These include COUNSL 601 , COUNSL 605 , COUNSL 606 , COUNSL 608 , COUNSL 613 , COUNSL 615 , COUNSL 620 , COUNSL 630 , COUNSL 653 , COUNSL 670 , , and .
The Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS)
This program is designed for those already holding a master’s degree in counseling. The professional development opportunities offered through the CAGS curriculum enable students to acquire licensure in a second specialty area. NOTE: The MH program only accepts CAGS applicants who are entering with a degree from a different program within the department.
For other CAGS, students entering UMass Boston holding a master’s degree in counseling must complete a program of study of at least 30 credits, through which they meet the course requirements for the area within the Counseling Program for which they seek licensure. For the Mental Health Program, an applicant from another university would need to complete a minimum of 48 academic credits to be eligible for the CAGS.
The MEd/CAGS or MS/CAGS
Students seeking to complete both the master’s degree and the CAGS at UMass Boston will complete the MS or MEd requirement of 60 credits and a minimum of 18 additional credits to meet the MS or MEd/CAGS requirement of 78 credits total.
Counseling: Family Therapy Program (MS, CAGS)
The Program
The program of family therapy in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology is committed to a vision of strengthening healthy families by preparing ethical and qualified professionals who embrace an inclusive perspective of interconnected systems. The program’s curriculum is comprised of basic professional counseling content and theory and provides a comprehensive framework for learning family therapy. The courses lead students to view families as entities within larger social systems and to promote collaborative, inclusive, and integrative systems approaches.
The curriculum offers students in the Family Therapy Program an optimal perspective for supporting individuals, families, and communities in urban environments and provides them with a framework for developing skills to facilitate dialogue with marginalized individuals, families, and communities.
The University of Massachusetts Boston Family Therapy Program was granted full accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) in 2003 and is the only family therapy program so designated within Massachusetts. Renewal of accreditation was granted in 2009.
The Family Therapy Program is one of the four master-level programs (family therapy, mental health counseling, school counseling, and school psychology) within the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, which is housed in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Goals and Objectives
The primary goal of the Department of Counseling and School Psychology is to prepare highly qualified thoughtful and responsive professionals educated to serve a diverse urban population as family therapists, mental health counselors, school counselors, and school psychologists. The following objectives are necessary to pursue the department’s goal:
1. Students will become knowledgeable and skilled practitioners through training and experiences in
- theories of human development
- theories of individual and group counseling
- theories of abnormal behavior
- theories of psychological, educational, and vocational assessment
- biological/physiological bases of behavior
- dynamics of multicultural influences on individual worldviews and individual uniqueness
- the use of technologies in the practice of our professions, including the psychological limitations and benefits of technology
- systems theories and the dynamics of family relationships
2. Students will become caring, principled, and respectful professionals through training and experiences in
- humanistic and person-centered approaches
- guided practice in acquiring interpersonal skills
- ethical principles, standards of practice, and respect for persons
- the actual practice of the profession through practicum and internship
3. Students will become committed agents of change for social justice through training and experiences in
- laws and regulations governing the practice of their profession
- theories of empowerment
- theories of oppression and dominance
- theories of change
- history of the profession
4. Students will become committed reflective and critical thinkers through training and experiences in
- reading, interpreting, and using the professional research literature (becoming a practitioner-scientist)
- theories and techniques of program evaluation and assessments
- self evaluation and self reflection activities during practical and internship experiences
- self evaluation and feedback through a culminating experience graduate training (e.g., the capstone)
Full-time students in the Family Therapy Program complete the program in no less than three years. Part-time students may progress at their own pace but must complete the degree in six years.
In order to accommodate students with full-time jobs, courses meet once a week and are offered in the late afternoon and evening.
A number of required courses in the Family Therapy Program are available online as well as on site. These include COUNSL 601 , COUNSL 606 , COUNSL 608 , COUNSL 620 , COUFAM 622, COUFAM 626, COUNSL 653 . Students will have one or two courses available online in the course of study.
Counseling: Mental Health Counseling Program (MS)
The Program
The Mental Health Counseling (MHC) Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston is committed to the preparation of highly qualified professionals in the field of mental health counseling, leading to the masters of science degree. Our commitment is reflected in the admission policies as well as our hiring practices; we attract highly qualified students and exemplary faculty members who are actively engaged in research and who represent multicultural perspectives and individual diversity.
The MHC Program is dedicated to the training of professionals who most likely will work in urban environments and provide counseling and related activities to individuals representing an urban and diverse population. The MHC Program prepares its graduates to be professional practitioners in a variety of community settings and institutions: hospitals, clinics, residential treatment facilities, employee assistance programs, and other mental health agencies.
The MHC Program curriculum is organized to facilitate the development of its students and the individuals with whom the students work. Specifically, the curriculum emphasizes respect for the social foundations and cultural diversity of all persons. It achieves this goal by fostering each student’s self-awareness, compassion, and ability to think critically. Our faculty work from a variety of perspectives and are all presently or have been practicing clinicians. While the faculty orientations may differ, all are committed to both evidence-based practice while at the same time advocating that students pay particular attention to the systems of power that influence what kinds of theories, practice, and research findings get promoted and disseminated as evidence. The program prepares its students to make significant practitioner-oriented contributions to counseling and prepares them for further study at the doctoral level if they desire to do so. The MHC faculty are actively engaged in research and have published numerous books and seminal articles, and they have received grants in their field of specialty. Their scholarship has received national and international media attention.
The MHC curriculum includes courses and field-based experiences critical to professional development. Field-based practica and internships are supervised on-site by professionals who meet specific licensure qualifications.
The MHC program offers a CAGS degree only to students who have received an MS from one of the other programs in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology. Students who hold a master’s degree in a related field from another university are welcome to apply to the MS program in MHC and may be ablel to transfer in up to two courses (6 credits).
Full-time students in the Mental Health Counseling Program can complete the MS degree in four semesters and one or two summer sessions (two full years). Part-time students may progress at their own pace but must complete the degree in six years.
In order to accommodate students with full-time jobs, courses meet once a week and are offered in the late afternoon and evening. If a student matriculates as a “state” student rather than an “online” student, he or she can still take some courses online with approval from the graduate program director.
Counseling: School Counseling Program (MEd, CAGS)
The Program
It is the mission of the School Counseling Program to train individuals in the theory and practice of the profession of counseling such that they become thoughtful and responsive practitioners. The profession of counseling is grounded in the view that counselors facilitate and maximize the development and potential of all persons. Counseling is concerned with the development of appropriate repertoires of adaptive behavior within the environmental context in which the person resides. The counselor respects the ethnic background and diversity of each individual and attempts to promote development congruent with the person’s beliefs, values, and personal background.
The curriculum includes courses and field-based experiences critical to professional development. Field-based practica and internships are supervised onsite by professionals who meet specific licensure qualifications.
Full-time School Counseling Program students can complete the MEd degree in four semesters and two summer sessions (two full years). Part-time students may progress at their own pace but must complete the degree in six years.
In order to accommodate students with full-time jobs, most courses meet once a week and are offered in the late afternoon and evening.
Programs
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