Program Requirements
Rehabilitation Counseling
The concentration’s mission is to promote quality rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities by (1) preparing qualified rehabilitation professionals; (2) providing services to rehabilitation professionals and organizations; and (3) sponsoring rehabilitation-related research and training. This mission includes the following objectives: To teach students the basic philosophic tenets underlying rehabilitation process and practice, specifically that: (1) all people have inherent value, resiliency, and capability and must be treated with the empathy, respect and dignity they deserve; (2) all citizens should have access to and opportunities for full societal participation with individuals and in settings of their choice; (3) persons with disabilities should be equal partners throughout the rehabilitation process; (4) rehabilitation should focus on societal, systems, and/or setting changes as much as individual adjustment; (5) the rehabilitation process should promote hope, self-advocacy, resources and skills as well as social inclusion and support through public education and the community; and (6) rehabilitation students and professionals adhere to high quality, ethical practice and to the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors.
To provide practical knowledge and skills so that students become empathic, competent and ethical rehabilitation counselors in a wide variety of settings through the use of class and community experiences that acquaint students with rehabilitation philosophies, history, methods, and organizations; allow for sustained, direct instruction by individuals with disabilities, and offer varied, experiential and field-based learning in community rehabilitation settings.
To offer services, training and research to area rehabilitation agencies, consumer groups, and professional organizations through faculty and student service on local professional and consumer boards and committees, presenting at local and regional conferences, and providing local inservice training/consultations.
This program is designed to provide students with the essential competencies to provide rehabilitation counseling to a broad range of individuals with disabilities in a variety of settings, such as state vocational rehabilitation facilities, independent living centers, rehabilitation hospitals, employment assistance programs, private industry, the veteran’s administration, and private-for-profit rehabilitation companies. The rehabilitation counseling specialty holds accreditation from Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP).
Vocational Rehabilitation (54 credits)
The traditional rehabilitation counseling specialty requires a total of fifty-four credit hours of coursework. The specialty is intended to promote quality rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities through the education of rehabilitation professionals, providing services to rehabilitation organizations, and sponsorship of rehabilitation-related research and training. The graduate program’s primary goal is to help students acquire the basic foundation, knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to enter the profession of rehabilitation counseling and practice effectively and ethically as rehabilitation counselors.
The traditional rehabilitation counseling concentration focuses on the medical, psychological, vocational, and societal issues that surround people with disabilities and the practice of rehabilitation. Students are also offered practicum and internship experiences in community agencies that promote equity and empowerment of people with disabilities. Upon completion of their degree, students are eligible to take a national exam that qualifies them as certified rehabilitation counselors (CRC). Graduates become employed in public, private, and nonprofit rehabilitation agencies in Maine and across the country.
Students are eligible to receive the MHRT/Community certificate, the Employment Specialist certification and qualify to sit for the Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CADC) exam from the state of Maine during their graduate program of studies.
