Masters of Rehabilitation Counseling
Arkansas State University
Jonesboro, AR

HEY! MRC graduates and past faculty, our 40^th birthday is approaching. In 2009, ASU will celebrate its 100^th birthday and we will celebrate our 40^th birthday. Please contact Lisa A. Ochs, J.D., Ph.D, CRC, (contact information below) if you would be interested in helping to plan a birthday party for the MRC program and yourselves. Thanks!

 Mission and Objectives

INTRODUCTION

The Masters of Rehabilitation Counseling (MRC) program is nationally accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE). The MRC program implements its mission and objectives under the guidance of CORE and the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC). As the program’s national academic accrediting body, CORE recognizes, based on empirical evidence, that rehabilitation professionals must acquire specific knowledge and skills in order to work effectively with persons with disabilities and their significant others. As stated by the CRCC, “rehabilitation counseling is a systematic process which assists persons with physical, mental, developmental, cognitive, and emotional disabilities to achieve their personal, career, and independent living goals in the most integrated setting possible through the application of the counseling process. The rehabilitation counseling process involves communication, goal setting, and beneficial growth or change through self-advocacy, psychological, vocational, social, and behavioral interventions” (CRC Certification Guide, 2006, p. 4). The MRC program endorses the underlying values of the rehabilitation profession, as set forth by the CRCC.  As such, the program recognizes and seeks the advancement of the following values through the program mission and objectives:

• A belief in the dignity and worth of all people;

• A commitment to support persons with disabilities in professional advocacy and self-advocacy activities leading to full participation in the rights and privileges afforded to all people;

• A belief that all people, including those with disabilities are integral members of our communities;

• A commitment to facilitate the inclusion, independence, and integration of people with disabilities in all desirable aspects of community life;

• A belief that all persons possess valuable personal assets that can serve as key building blocks for future success;

• A commitment to establish counseling relationships based on the premise that collaborative, working-alliances facilitate consumer empowerment; and

• A belief that interdependent connections benefit all people, including individuals with disabilities and their significant others.

MISSION

The mission of the MRC program is to ensure that persons with disabilities, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age or other personal characteristics, have access to qualified rehabilitation counseling professionals. To that end, the MRC program is committed to the advancement of opportunities for persons with disabilities, especially opportunities associated with productivity, independent living, meaningful access to the community, and overall quality of life. The MRC program recognizes that the lives of persons with disabilities and their significant others will be affected directly by the personal commitment and professional preparation of MRC program graduates.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the MRC program include ensuring students         receive the opportunity to:

·         Understand and engage in personal reflection in relation to the MRC program’s underlying values as stated;

·         Acquire a comprehensive, fundamental knowledge of the rehabilitation profession so that individuals with wide-ranging disability types, including those with severe disabilities, may be served competently;

·         Develop a recognition that rehabilitation professionals must engage in lifelong professional development in order to attain and maintain the fundamental competencies required to serve individuals with disabilities;

·         Develop a personal commitment to assist individuals with disabilities in the development of empowering personal characteristics, including the capacity for self-understanding, environmental understanding, and active personal agency in developing and attaining personal, educational, vocational, and other goals;

·         Recognize differences in individual consumer values and provide professional services that reflect those values in rehabilitation plan development, including the selection of professional services;

·         Develop the competencies necessary to provide rehabilitation services in an ethical manner evidenced by personal and professional integrity; and

·         Personally develop and foster consumer development of the critical self-assessment and problem-solving skills that are essential to efficacious rehabilitation counseling intervention.

Contact information: