USU home to ranked rehabilitation counseling program
Ranked 15th in the nation with a faculty consisting of three professors, Utah State University’s Rehabilitation program is doing pretty well.
USU’s Rehabilitation Counselor Education program is one of three programs in the Rocky Mountain West and the only program in the state of Utah.
Rehabilitation counselors provide counseling services to individuals with cognitive, physical or psychiatric disabilities to help them reach their full potential. Because each person’s circumstances are so different each case requires a different approach.
“Rehabilitation counseling is not a cookie cutter approach, each case is individualized,” said Deb Bowen, a Utah Rehab Counselor.
Rehabilitation programs help individuals overcome their disabilities and be able to acquire jobs they might not have gotten otherwise. Unlike many social service programs that drain money from the economy the work done by rehabilitation counselors sustains itself and actually adds money to the economy, Bowen said.
“You are born a women. You are born an African-American. Disability is the only open minority group. People need to understand that disabilities aren’t scary and that chances are before you die you will get one,” said Julie Smart, RCP program director.
“Not enough people understand disabilities. When most people think of disabilities they think of schizophrenia or someone in a wheelchair, but disabilities can be things like depression or diabetes,” Bowen said.
Rehab counselors are trained to work with a wide range of disabilities including vision and orthopedic problems, deafness, mental retardation, mental illness and learning disabilities.
Currently there is a shortage of professional rehabilitation counselors, Smart said. As the population ages and people with disabilities lead longer life spans the need in this profession will only increase. Nearly 100 percent of USU’s RCE graduates are placed in a job prior to graduation, she said.
Many students are hired through their internships, Smart said, and unlike many internships, most RCE interns are paid for their work.
Federal training grants are available to students wishing to enter the rehabilitation master’s program. Rehabilitation Services Administration offers a program that pays tuition and provides a monthly stipend. Students pay back the money through service by consenting to work two years for every scholarship year. This program aids in the retention of rehabilitation counselors by ensuring that the graduates will continue in this field.
USU’s program consists of 28 on-campus students and 84 distance students. The RCE program accepts most undergraduate degrees and requires that a student meet the USU School of Graduate Study requirements.
“The program prepares you well,” Bowen said. “All of the classes are beneficial, unlike other programs, you never wonder why you have to take a class. I actually use all the information.”
The RCE program also offers a Social Sciences Breadth course to undergraduates. The class, Disability in the American Experience (REH 1010), teaches students how to adjust to disabilities whether they be through marriage or the birth of child. Students also learn about discrimination.
“Disability is very common, very natural, like a hurricane. We tend to avoid it, but it’s just nature,” Smart said.
The RCE department will be at the Career Fair Wednesday for those wanting more information.
-amcconkie@cc.usu.edu