The Counselling Psychology Program, in line with the mission of the University, studies, examines, and reflects on the methodology and grounds for knowledge in counselling psychology, especially with respect to its validity, applicability, and limits.
As a professional program with a mandate to educate counsellors, it emphasizes both training in techniques (skills) and knowledge for specific purposes determined by time and place rather than knowledge for its own sake. The faculty are encouraged to focus on the education of the whole person—that is, promoting the development of the student's intellectual, physical, and emotional potential. The program recognizes the multicultural dimensions of society and therefore provides leadership in understanding culturally based concerns in learning, human development, measurement and counselling.
Faculty are encouraged to view their roles as facilitators of learning rather than as providers of information and to strive for excellence in their research, teaching, and community and professional involvement. The program assumes major responsibility for the training of counsellors, counselling psychologists, and researchers in the field of counselling psychology. The program also contributes significantly to the preparation of teachers.
The mission, philosophy and values of the Program are represented in five specific program goals:
Goal 1. Graduates will demonstrate critical understanding of counselling theory, research, and practice and in the pursuit of a Master of Arts degree will demonstrate competence in planning, conducting, evaluating, and disseminating counselling psychology research.
Goal 2. Graduates will have mastery of theoretical and empirical knowledge in Counselling Psychology.
Goal 3. Graduates will acquire and demonstrate competency required for practice as counsellors in schools, community agencies, and higher education settings.
Goal 4. Graduates will understand and demonstrate ethical and professional conduct in counselling psychology.
Goal 5. Graduates will understand and demonstrate their knowledge of the role of diversity in all areas of counselling psychology research and practice.
The orientation of the Counselling Psychology Program at the University of British Columbia is based in a scientist-practitioner model of counsellor education and training. The following philosophy and values inform the mission of the Program:
1. An intellectually challenging education that takes advantage of our unique social and cultural make-up, geographical location, and research environment, and prepares students to become citizens of the twenty-first century through a program that is multicultural in scope, interactive in process, and strongly based in counselling psychology in content and approach;
2. The integration of science and practice in counselling psychology;
3. Development of new knowledge and the critical evaluation of knowledge claims in psychological theory and practice;
4. Enhancement of our research capacity and performance including the communication and transfer of our research findings and the understanding of the social and ethical issues raised by research;
5. Understanding and sensitivity to the diversity of our academic and client communities in terms of culture, gender, ability status, and other socio-cultural factors, including the expansion of the study of aboriginal culture as it relates to counselling psychology;
6. Valuing the educational dimension of counselling psychology theory and practice;
7. Promotion of preventive, remedial and psycho educational programs in counselling psychology;
8. Promotion of high levels of professionalism, citizenship, and ethical behaviour.
The program’s general objectives, philosophy, and values are consistent with the Univerisity of British Columbia’s long-standing commitment to academic and professional excellence.
