Degree Program Assessment Reports

The College of Education offers a program leading to the degree of Masters of Education in Counseling and Guidance in Rehabilitation Counseling to meet the needs of the State of Hawaii and the nation.

Counselors possess specific dispositions (i.e., respect, ethical, competence, conscientiousness, courage, compassion, sensitivity, flexibility, self-directedness, responsibility, critical awareness, justice-mindedness, leader in the field, change-agent, problem-solver, understanding of democratic principles, understanding and appreciation of diversity) as demonstrated in their behavior and relationships with others.

C.1    PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY   
Knowledge areas:
•    Rehabilitation counseling Scope of Practice
•    History and philosophy of rehabilitation
•    Legislation
•    Ethics
•    Professional credentialing, certification, licensure and accreditation
•    Informed consumer choice and consumer empowerment
•    Independent living
•    Assistive technology
•    Public policies
•    Advocacy
•    Systems knowledge of healthcare, education and rehabilitation
•    The ecological perspective

Outcomes as demonstrated by the ability to:

C.1.1        practice rehabilitation counseling in a legal and ethical manner, adhering to the Code of Professional Ethics and Scope of Practice for the profession;

C.1.2        integrate into one’s practice, the history and philosophy of rehabilitation as well as the laws affecting individuals with disabilities including findings, purposes, and policies in current legislation;

C.1.3        describe, in general, the organizational structure of the rehabilitation, education, and healthcare systems, including public, private-for-profit, and not-for-profit service settings;

C.1.4        apply in one’s practice, the laws and ethical standards affecting rehabilitation counseling in problem-solving and ethical decision-making;

C.1.5        integrate into practice an awareness of societal issues, trends, public policies, and    developments as they relate to rehabilitation;

C.1.6        create a partnership between consumer and counselor by collaborating in informed consumer review, choice, and personal responsibility in the rehabilitation process;

C.1.7        apply in one’s practice, the principles of disability-related legislation including the rights of persons with disabilities to independence, inclusion, choice and self-determination, empowerment, access, and respect for individual differences;

C.1.8        educate the public and consumers regarding the rights of people with disabilities under federal and state law;

C.1.9         articulate the differences in philosophy and the purposes of related counseling disciplines and allied health fields; and

C.1.10     explain differences among certification, licensure, and accreditation.


C.2  SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Knowledge areas:
•    Family development and dynamics
•    Psychological dynamics related to self-identity, self-advocacy, competency, adjustment, and attitude formation
•    Sociological dynamics related to self-identity, self-advocacy, competency, adjustment, and attitude formation
•    Multicultural awareness and implications for ethical practice
•    Diversity issues including cultural, disability, gender, sexual orientation, and aging issues
•    Current issues and trends in a diverse society
•    Personal professional development strategies for self-monitoring

Outcomes as demonstrated by the ability to:
C.2.1        practice rehabilitation counseling in a manner that reflects an understanding of psychosocial influences, cultural beliefs and values, and diversity issues that affect adjustment and attitudes of both individuals with disabilities and professional service providers;

C.2.2        utilize in one’s practice an understanding of family systems and the impact of the family on the rehabilitation process;

C.2.3        articulate an understanding of the dynamics, issues, and trends of the social system in which the individual lives;

C.2.4        practice in a manner that shows an understanding of the environmental and attitudinal barriers to individuals with disabilities;

C.2.5        understand individuals’ cultural, gender, sexual orientation, aging, and disability differences and integrate this knowledge into practice;

C.2.6        identify and articulate an understanding of the social, economic, and environmental forces that may present barriers to a consumer’s rehabilitation;

C.2.7        apply psychological and social theory to develop strategies for rehabilitation intervention;

C.2.8        develop strategies for self-awareness and self-development that will support sensitivity to diversity issues;

C.2.9        articulate an understanding of the role of ethnic/racial and other diversity characteristics such as spiritually and religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status in groups, family, and society;

C.2.10        continuously assess self-awareness and attitudinal aspects of rehabilitation counseling;

C.2.11        articulate current demographic characteristics and trends as well as their impact on rehabilitation service policy; and

C.2.12        identify and demonstrate an understanding of stereotypic views toward persons with disabilities and the negative effects of these views on successful completion of the rehabilitation process.

C.3  HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Knowledge areas:
•    Developmental theories across the life span
•    Physical development
•    Emotional development
•    Cognitive development
•    Behavioral development
•    Moral development
•    Theories of personality development
•    Human sexuality and disability
•    Spiritually
•    Transition issues related to family, school, employment, aging, and disability
•    Social and learning needs of individuals across the life span
•    Ethical and legal issues impacting individuals and families related to adjustment and transition
   
Outcomes as demonstrated by the ability to:

C.3.1    articulate a working knowledge of social, psychological, spiritual, and learning   needs of individuals at all developmental levels;

C.3.2    understand the concepts related to learning and personality development, gender and sexual identity, addictive behavior and psychopathology, and the application of these concepts in rehabilitation counseling practice;

C.3.3    assist the consumer in developing active transition strategies to successfully complete the rehabilitation process; and

C.3.4    develop approaches that will facilitate enhancement of the consumer’s personal development, decision-making abilities, acceptance of responsibility, and quality of life.

C.4  EMPLOYMENT AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Knowledge areas:

•    Career development
•    Disability benefits systems including workers’ compensation, long-term disability, and social security\\
•    Career counseling
•    Job analysis, work site modification and restructuring, including the application of appropriate technology
•    Transferable skill analysis
•    Computer-based assessment tools
•    Vocational planning and assessment
•    Job and employer development
•    Employer consultation
•    Business/corporate human resource concepts and terminology
•    Workplace culture and environment
•    Work conditioning/work hardening
•    Job placement strategies
•    Computer-based job matching systems
•    Follow-up/post employment services
•    Occupational information including labor market trends and the importance of meaningful employment with a career focus
•    Supported employment, job coaching, and natural supports
•    Ethical issues in employment

Outcomes as demonstrated by the ability to:

C.4.1        articulate and apply career development theories and the importance of work to consumers with whom one works;

C.4.2        conduct and utilize labor market analyses and apply labor market information to the needs of consumers in one’s caseload;

C.4.3        utilize career/occupational materials and labor market information with the consumer to accomplish vocational planning;

C.4.4        understand employer practices that affect the employment or return to work of individuals with disabilities and utilize that understanding in facilitating their successful employment;

C.4.5        explore occupational alternatives and develop career plans in collaboration with the consumer;

C.4.6        identify the prerequisite experiences, relevant training, and functional capacities needed for career goals of the consumer and facilitate the consumer’s understanding of these issues;

C.4.7        identify the consumer’s need for accommodation and facilitate the use of resources to meet those needs;

C.4.8        apply the techniques of job modification/restructuring and the use of assistive devices to facilitate consumer placement when appropriate;

C.4.9        assist employers to identify, modify, or eliminate architectural, procedural, and/or attitudinal barriers in facilitating the consumer’s successful job placement;

C.4.10        consult with employers regarding accessibility and issues related to ADA compliance;

C.4.11        evaluate work activities through the use of job and task analyses and utilize the evaluation in facilitating successful job placement for the consumer;

C.4.12        assess and resolve job adjustment problems on the part of the consumer through the provision of post-employment services;

C.4.13        develop job opportunities for consumers through employer contacts;

C.4.14        apply strategies for consumer job placement and job retention;

C.4.15        teach the consumer appropriate job seeking, job interviewing, and job retention skills;

C.4.16        establish follow-up and/or follow-along procedures to maximize an individual’s independent functioning through the provision of post-employment services to the consumer;

C.4.17        facilitate consumer involvement in determining vocational goals and capabilities related to the world of work;
C.4.18        review medical information with consumers to determine vocational implications of related functional limitations;

C.4.19        identify transferable skills by analyzing the consumer’s work history and functional assets and limitations and utilize these skills in assisting the consumer to achieve successful job placement;

C.4.20        assess the consumer’s readiness for gainful employment and assist the consumer in increasing this readiness;

C.4.21        provide prospective employers with appropriate information regarding consumer work skills and abilities;

C.4.22        discuss a consumer’s return to work options with the employer;

C.4.23        use computerized systems for consumer job placement assistance;

C.4.24        arrange for functional or skill remediation services that will result in successful consumer job placement;

C.4.25        identify and arrange for educational and training resources that can be utilized by consumers to meet job requirements; and

C.4.26        provide for work conditioning or work hardening strategies and resources that can be utilized by consumers in facilitating successful job placement.

C.5  COUNSELING AND CONSULTATION

Knowledge areas:

•    Counseling and personality theory
•    Mental health counseling
•    Interviewing and counseling skill development
•    Theories and models for consultation
•    Assistive technologies
•    Vocational consultation
•    Supervision theories, models, and techniques
•    Consumer empowerment and rights
•    Boundaries of confidentiality
•    Ethics in the counseling relationship
•    Multicultural issues in counseling
•    Gender issues in counseling
•    Conflict resolution strategies
•    Computer-based counseling tools
•    Internet resources for rehabilitation counseling

Outcomes as demonstrated by the ability to:

C.5.1        conduct individual counseling sessions with consumers;

C.5.2        develop and maintain a counseling relationship with consumers;

C.5.3        establish, in collaboration with the consumer, individual counseling goals and objectives;

C.5.4        assist the consumer with crisis resolution;

C.5.5        facilitate the consumer’s decision-making and personal responsibility in a manner consistent with the individual’s culture and beliefs;

C.5.6        recommend strategies to assist the consumer in solving identified problems that may impede the rehabilitation process;

C.5.7        explain the implications of assessment/evaluation results on planning and decision-making;

C.5.8        demonstrate consultation and supervisory skills on behalf of and with the consumer;

C.5.9        assist the consumer in developing acceptable work behavior;

C.5.10        adjust counseling approaches or styles to meet the needs of individual consumers;

C.5.11        terminate counseling relationships with consumers in a manner that enhances their ability to function independently;

C.5.12        recognize consumers who demonstrate psychological problems (e.g., depression, suicidal ideation) and refer when appropriate;

C.5.13        interpret diagnostic information (e.g., vocational and educational tests, records and medical data) to the consumer;

C.5.14        assist consumers in modifying their lifestyles to accommodate individual functional limitations; and

C.5.15        assist consumers to successfully deal with situations involving conflict resolution and behavior management.

C.6 GROUP WORK

Knowledge areas:

•    Group dynamics and counseling theory
•    Family dynamics and counseling theory
•    Interdisciplinary teamwork
•    Group leadership styles and techniques
•    Group methods, selection criteria, and evaluation strategies
•    Group skills development

Outcomes as demonstrated by the ability to:

C.6.1    articulate the principles of group dynamics with persons with disabilities including group process components, developmental stage theories, group members’ roles and behaviors, and therapeutic factors of group work;   

C.6.2    develop group leadership styles and approaches when working with persons with disabilities including characteristics of various types of group leaders and leadership styles;

C.6.3    facilitate the group process with the individual’s family/significant others, including advocates;

C.6.4    apply approaches used for other types of group work with persons with disabilities including skill groups, psycho-educational groups, and group counseling;

C.6.5    prepare standards for peer group leaders;

C.6.6    apply ethical and legal issues to the group counseling process;

C.6.7    integrate and apply racial/ethnic, cultural, and other diversity characteristics/issues when working with people with disabilities in groups;

C.6.8    apply theories of group counseling when working with persons with disabilities including commonalities, distinguishing characteristics, and pertinent research and literature; and

C.6.9    apply group counseling methods including group counselor orientation and behaviors, appropriate referral and selection criteria, and methods of evaluation and effectiveness.

C.7  ASSESSMENT

Knowledge areas:

•    Assessment resources and methods
•    Standardization
•    Measurement and statistical concepts
•    Selecting and administering the appropriate assessment method (e.g., standardized tests, situational assessment, place-access vs. access-place)
•    Obtaining, interpreting, and synthesizing assessment information
•    Conducting ecological assessment
•    Assistive technology
•    Ethical, legal, and cultural implications in assessment

Outcomes as demonstrated by the ability to:

C.7.1    determine an individual’s eligibility for rehabilitation services and/or programs;

C.7.2        facilitate consumer involvement in evaluating the feasibility of rehabilitation or independent living objectives;

C.7.3        utilize assessment information to determine appropriate services;

C.7.4        assess the unique strengths, resources, and experiences of an individual including career knowledge and interests;

C.7.5        evaluate the individual’s capabilities to engage in informed choice and to make decisions;

C.7.6        assess an individual’s vocational or independent living skills, aptitudes, interests, and preferences;

C.7.7        assess an individual’s need for rehabilitation engineering/technology services throughout the rehabilitation process;

C.7.8        assess the environment and make modifications for reasonable accommodations;

C.7.9        use behavioral observations to make inferences about work personality, characteristics, and adjustment;

C.7.10        integrate assessment data to describe consumers’ assets, limitations, and preferences for rehabilitation planning purposes;

C.7.11        interpret test and ecological assessment outcomes to consumers and others; and

C.7.12        objectively evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation services and outcomes.

C.8  RESEARCH AND PROGRAM EVALUATION

Knowledge areas:

•    Review of clinical rehabilitation literature
•    Library research for rehabilitation related current information
•    Basic statistics
•    Research methods
•    Outcome based research
•    Ethical, legal, and cultural issues related to research and evaluation

Outcomes as demonstrated by the ability to:

C.8.1        articulate current knowledge of the field;

C.8.2        analyze research articles in rehabilitation and related fields;

C.8.3        apply research literature to practice (e.g., to choose appropriate interventions, to plan assessments, to implement meaningful program evaluation, to perform outcome analysis, to conduct consumer satisfaction studies);

C.8.4        participate in agency or community research activities, studies, and projects, and  explain the importance of such participation to the development of the field;

C.8.5        use data to support professional opinion and testimony;

C.8.6        conduct a review of the rehabilitation literature on a given topic or case problem; and

C.8.7        apply knowledge or ethical, legal, and cultural issues in research and evaluation.

C.9  MEDICAL, FUNCTIONAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF DISABILITY

Knowledge areas:
•    The human body system
•    Medical terminology

•    Medical, functional, environmental and psychosocial aspects of
    Physical disabilities
    Psychiatric rehabilitation
    Substance abuse
    Cognitive disability
    Sensory disability
    Developmental disability
•    Assistive technology
•    Dual diagnosis and the workplace
•    The concept of functional capacity
•    Wellness and illness prevention concepts and strategies

Outcomes as demonstrated by the ability to:

C.9.1        explain basic medical aspects of the human body system and disabilities;

C.9.2        access resources for researching disability information;

C.9.3        explain functional capacity implications of medical and psychosocial information;

C.9.4        determine the need for assistive technology and the appropriate intervention resources;
C.9.5        apply working knowledge of the impact of disability on the individual, the family, and the environment;

C.9.6        support consumer empowerment and advocacy as it relates to medical treatment;

C.9.7        utilize existing or acquired information about the existence, onset, severity, progression, and expected duration of an individual’s disability; and

C.9.8        consult with medical professionals regarding functional capacities, prognosis, and treatment plans for consumers.

C.10  REHABILITATION SERVICES AND RESOURCES

Knowledge areas:
•    Case and caseload management
•    Vocational rehabilitation
•    Independent living
•    School to work transition services
•    Psychiatric rehabilitation practice
•    Substance abuse treatment and recovery
•    Disability management
•    Employer-based and disability case management practices
•    Design and development of transitional and return-to-work programs
•    Forensic rehabilitation and vocational expert practices
•    Managed care
•    Systems resource information including funding availability
•    Utilization of community-based rehabilitation and service coordination
•    Consumer advocacy and empowerment
•    Marketing rehabilitation services
•    Life care planning
•    Strategies to develop rapport/referral network
•    Case reporting
•    Professional advocacy
•    Clinical problem-solving skills
•    Case recording and documentation
•    Interdisciplinary consultation
•    Computer applications and technology for caseload

Outcomes as demonstrated by the ability to:

C.10.1        provide the information, education, training, equipment, counseling, and supports that people with disabilities need in order to make effective employment and life-related decisions;

C.10.2        evaluate the adequacy of existing information for rehabilitation planning;

C.10.3        integrate cultural, social, economic, disability-related, and environmental factors in rehabilitation planning;

C.10.4        plan and implement a comprehensive assessment including individual, ecological, and environmental issues (e.g., personality, interest, interpersonal skills, intelligence, and related functional capabilities, educational achievements, work experiences, vocational aptitudes, personal and social adjustment, transferable skills, employment opportunities, physical barriers, ergonomic evaluation, attitudinal factors);

C.10.5        develop jointly with the consumer, an appropriate rehabilitation plan that utilizes personal and public resources;

C.10.6        explain insurance claims processing and professional responsibilities in workers’ compensation and disability benefits systems;

C.10.7        identify and plan for the provision of independent living services with consumers;

C.10.8        establish working relationships and determine mutual responsibilities with other service providers involved with the individual and/or the family, or consumer’s advocate, including provision of consumer involvement and choice;

C.10.9        develop a knowledge base of community resources and refer individuals, when appropriate;

C.10.10    assist individuals in identifying areas of personal responsibility that will facilitate the rehabilitation process and maximize their vocational rehabilitation potential (e.g., potential fiscal resources to obtain needed services);
C.10.11    serve as a consultant to other community agencies to advocate for the integration and inclusion of individuals with disabilities within the community;

C.10.12    market the benefits and availability of rehabilitation services to potential consumers, employers, and the general public;

C.10.13    identify and plan for the appropriate use of assistive technology including computer-related resources;

C.10.14    educate prospective employers about the benefits of hiring persons with disabilities including providing technical assistance with regard to reasonable accommodations in conformance with disability-related legislation;

C.10.15    demonstrate the knowledge of treatment and rehabilitation approaches for substance abuse;

C.10.16    demonstrate the knowledge of treatment and rehabilitation approaches for consumers with psychiatric disabilities;

C.10.17    demonstrate knowledge of transition from school to work;

C.10.18    perform appropriate case documentation;

C.10.19    apply disability-related policy and legislation to daily rehabilitation practice; and

C.10.20    utilize resources and consult with other qualified professionals to assist in the effective delivery of service.