MASTER OF ARTS IN COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY
June 27th, 2008: AnnouncementGovernor Linda Lingle has Hawaii Senate Bill SB2159 HD1 into law today. This Bill indefinitely extends Hawaii's professional licensure provisions for Mental Health Counselors (MHCs) and also mandates health insurance coverage (vendorship) for services provided by MHCs.
This is a very important positive development for persons who are interested in pursuing a career in mental health services in Hawaii. It means that graduates of our program who successfully become licensed as MHCs will now have access to more well paid job opportunities, including private practice opportunities. This bill places MHCs on an equal footing with other master's level mental health care providers in Hawaii who also already have vendorship rights (licensed clinical social workers and marriage and family therapists). |
Program Description
The Master of Arts (M. A.) in Counseling Psychology (located within the UH Hilo Psychology Department) is a 60 semester hour program designed to provide multicultural, student-centered training in counseling psychology.
Counseling psychology as a psychological specialty aims at facilitating personal and interpersonal functioning across the life span with a focus on emotional, social, vocational, educational, health-related, developmental, and organizational concerns. Through the integration of theory, research, and practice, and with sensitivity to multicultural issues, this specialty encompasses a broad range of practices that help people improve their well-being, alleviate distress and maladjustment, resolve crises, and increase their ability to live more highly functioning lives. Counseling psychology is unique in its attention both to normal developmental issues and to problems associated with physical, emotional, and mental disorders.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Master of Arts program in counseling psychology is to provide multicultural, student-centered, graduate training in counseling psychology. The program is designed to train students to become knowledgeable, skillful, ethical counselors who will be able to help people in need of professional counseling services. For students who may wish to pursue a doctoral degree in psychology later, the program provides training in advanced statistics and research methodology. It also offers opportunities for students to gain research experience by participating in ongoing projects and/or by initiating their own research projects or a Master’s Thesis. The program assigns a high priority to meeting the educational and personal needs of its students and is based on a scientist-practitioner model.
The objectives of the counseling program are:
- To provide students with the knowledge and skills to
counsel clients from different ethnic, socio-economic, and
educational backgrounds.
- To provide students with a broad understanding of
general counseling theory and practice, within a
scientist-practitioner framework.
- To provide students with the knowledge of the social,
psychological, health, and economic problems that residents
of Hawai’i face, along with the professional skills to help
people cope with and manage these problems in the future.
- To offer research training opportunities to students who
are interested in pursuing a
doctoral degree in counseling psychology or a related field.
Licensure
The program curriculum meets the requirements for licensure as a Mental Health Counselor in the state of Hawai’i. See the Mental Health Counselor Webpage at the Hawai’i Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs for additional licensure requirements.
Practicum and Internship Opportunities
Here are some of the local institutions, agencies, and private practitioners who provide practica and internship placement sites for our students:
- Big Island HIV/AIDS Foundation
- Dr. Joe Bratton
- Care Hawaii
- Child and Family Services
- Dr. Bruce Hansen (private practice)
- Gay Barfield (private practice)
- Hamakua Health Center
- Hilo High School
- Hospice of Hilo
- Kamehameha Schools
- Kua O Ka La Public Charter School
- The Institute for Family Enrichment (TIFFE)
- University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Counseling Center
- Vet Center
- East Hawai‘i School District
- West Hawai‘i School District
Employments Opportunities for Graduates
Graduates of the program will be able to seek employment as professional counselors. Graduates who later obtain a doctoral degree in counseling or clinical psychology will be able to seek employment as professional psychologists. Employment prospects for professional counselors are good in Hawai’i and in many other areas of the United States. Currently a shortage of qualified counselors exists, and employment opportunities in this field are expected to grow at a faster than average rate over the coming years. Professional counselors may find employment in a wide variety of settings, including the following: community mental health clinics, public and private elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, correctional facilities, vocational rehabilitation centers, job training and career counseling centers, residential care facilities, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and agencies, private practice settings, mental hospitals and psychiatric wards, general medical hospitals and other healthcare facilities, employee assistance programs, child welfare and other family assistance agencies, and military counseling settings.
Links to More Information
Contact Us
If you have any questions about our program, we would like to hear from you. Please call the Psychology Department (+1 808-933-3315) or email one of our core faculty:
Bryan S. K. Kim, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Counseling Psychology Program Director
Chris Frueh, Ph.D., Professor, (on leave of absence, 2008-2009)
Steve Herman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Mailing address:
University of Hawai’i at Hilo
Psychology Department
200 West Kawili Street
Hilo, HI 96720
USA
The class of 2008 at graduation (May 2008)
From left to right: Tamia McKeague, Emi Ueki, Darissa Kekuawela, and Olga Archambeau (not pictured is Lovina Moveao).
The class of 2007
From left to right: Pansy LindoMoulds , Tiffany Freitas, Penelope Rodriguez, Virginia White, Karen Crowell, Christine Park, Laura Acevedo, Erica Godoy.