Counselor Education

The IPFW counselor education program is proud to announce that our Counselor Education program at IPFW has been awarded the 2012 “Innovative Counselor Education Program Award”!

We received this award based on our development of an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to counselor education along with the development of our IPFW Community Counseling Center satellite branch at East Allen County Schools. This clinic serves as a training site for our school counseling students as well as provides a needed resource that is not otherwise available to the students at their Alternative High School.

This was awarded by the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision at their bi-annual convention in Kansas City. The professional association is made up of counselor education programs from 13 states. This award is given yearly to honor an outstanding, innovative, and/or unique counseling or counselor education program at an institution in the NCACES Region.

Congratulations Julia Miller for winning the ISCA Ike Womack scholarship!

Program Information

Our curriculum is designed to meet the needs of working professionals, with evening classes and a pacing that ensures your degree completion in a three-year plan of study. You will be admitted into a “cohort” that takes all of their classes together, and also forms supportive friendships and assists in building strong professional relationships for the future.

The Counselor Education Program is comprised of two “tracks” or specializations, Couple and Family Counseling, and School Counseling. Each of these programs meets their respective educational requirements for state licensure. A unique feature of our Couple and Family Counseling specialization is that it meets the requirements for both the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) licenses.

History

The program began in 1979 as a school counselor licensing program approved by the Indiana Department of Education. In 1987 the Indiana University Board of Trustees enlarged this mission by approving a master’s degree in counseling for IPFW. The current program features two specialty areas: Couple and Family Counseling and School Counseling.

Accreditation

The IPFW is accredited by The North Central Association for Colleges and Schools. Our program is more specifically evaluated when the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education accredits the IPFW School of Education.

Program Philosophy

The Counselor Education Program at IPFW adheres to the scientist-practitioner model of training. Consistent with this approach is our goal of graduating students who have knowledge of counseling, who are competent in providing professional services, and who have the skills necessary to conduct research. Especially important to the program faculty is the commitment to mental health (vs. pathology) and the value attached to understanding the common developmental themes occurring throughout a person’s life. The diversity characterizing the faculty’s theoretical orientation is an advantage to the program. We provide creative students with a variety of theoretical models as well as different applied settings for gaining training experience.

Students are given strong encouragement to participate in professional organizations and create original projects. Each student will declare an area of specialization: Couple and Family Counseling or school counseling. By focusing research activities and applied practicum experiences in the student’s area of greatest interest, the three components--knowledge, practice, and research--become integrated.

Not only do faculty work closely with students in conducting projects and presentations at professional meetings, they also arrange direct observation and supervision of practica with clients. In working with clients, students adhere to the ethical standards of the American Counseling Association and the American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy. Mechanisms for student evaluations of practice include progress evaluations by faculty, the students’ portfolios of accomplishments, audio/videotapes, and reports from internship supervisors. Internship supervisors rate the participants’ clinical skills, and this feedback is available to students.

The majority of graduate students hold full-time employment and take classes in the late afternoon and evening. All students typically finish in three years. Enhanced by the combination of two universities (Indiana University and Purdue University), the IPFW curriculum educates students who will be sought by employers nationwide. We are proud of the state and national awards earned by IPFW students and faculty.

Course Information

Please visit the pages below for curriculum description:

• Couple and Family Counseling Curriculum
• School Counseling Curriculum
  

Admission

Successful counselors possess a genuine concern for people, an exceptional ability to relate and communicate, a high level of sensitivity, and patience. Persons who are challenged by ambiguity and diversity, who are curious, creative, and emotionally stable may find this specialty particularly rewarding.

The faculty of the IPFW Counselor Education Program adopted the basic criteria listed below as general guidelines for admission of applicants to its program. Applicants who do not meet these standards may present written evidence of information to justify differences, and it will be considered in determining admission. Program standards are competitive and not all applicants will be admitted. Students failing to maintain a full schedule of classes will reapply for admission; licenses may be pursued upon completion of the degree. IPFW follows a semester calendar with two summer sessions.

For the master’s degree, the same admissions criteria are used for school counseling and couple and family counseling.

Criteria for the M.S.Ed. include:

1. An undergraduate grade-point average of 3.2 or better overall (on a 4.0 scale).
2. Three references.
3. Vocational goals compatible with the selected subspecialty.

To Apply:

1. Download and print application form here: Application Form [PDF]
2. Return completed applications with $55.00 application fee to:
   

   Vicky Schmidt, Graduate Secretary
   Office: 250 Neff Hall, 2101 E. Coliseum Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
   E-mail: schmidt@ipfw.edu
   Phone: 260 481-6450
   (You may also obtain an application package and submit an application in person by contacting Vicky Schmidt with the above contact information.)

   Note: Application fee may be paid by check or money order made out to “IPFW”. Cash or credit card payments can only be used if paying in person at the Bursar’s office.

Completed Applications must include:

1. Application form, official transcript(s), three references, application fees, and copies of applicable licenses.
2. A current resume.
3. A goal statement summarizing professional and personal goals. It should be approximately two pages in length and include explicit statements regarding:
• Professional goals including preferred professional setting(s), examples of typical activities, and any specialized interests.
• Pertinent past experiences that contribute to the development of the professional goals cited.
• Any unique skills and/or characteristics that will aid in the applicant’s pursuit of the goals cited.

Admissions Process:

Application materials are reviewed both by the dean of the College of Education and Public Policy (for consideration of acceptance to graduate study) and by the counselor education faculty. Applications are reviewed as they become complete; personal interviews are requested by faculty. Students are admitted to the program once a year. Applications are due February 1 to begin the program in the Summer Semester II.

For more information about the Couple and Family Counseling program, please contact Dr. Benjamin Houltberg at 260-481-5492. For more information about the School Counseling program, please contact Dr. Kerrie Fineran at 260-481-4122.

Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne recognizes, affirms and celebrates the diversity in its campus, local, state and national communities. Each member of these communities represents varied and different cultures and attributes simultaneously, yet because of these differences, many have been systematically excluded from full, fair, and respected participation in higher education. Therefore, Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne seeks to demonstrate through its curriculum, support systems, and policies that it values these differences, creating and maintaining a campus environment that welcomes diverse characteristics, backgrounds, and experiences and identifying such diversity as a vital source of the intellectual, social and personal growth essential to a university education.

Student Resources

Program Resources

• Student Orientation Manual [PDF]
• 2011 Cohort - Couple and Family Counseling Course Assessments
• 2012 Cohort - Couple and Family Counseling Course Assessments
• 2013 Cohort - Couple and Family Counseling Course Assessments
• 2011 Cohort - School Counseling Course Assessments
• 2012 Cohort - School Counseling Course Assessments
• 2013 Cohort - School Counseling Course Assessments

Associations

American School Counselors Association: http://www.schoolcounselor.org/

American Counseling Association: http://www.counseling.org/

American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/

Association for Specialists in Group Work http://www.asgw.org/

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy: http://www.aamft.org/

National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc.: http://www.nbcc.org/

Drug/Alcohol

National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information: http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/

Topical

Brief Family Therapy Center: http://www.brief-therapy.org/

Surviving and Thriving in Life: http://www.thrivenet.com/

Griefnet site offers resources to help deal with loss and grief: http://rivendell.org/

Counseling services for grieving people: http://www.counselingforloss.com/

Autism Society of America: http://www.autism-society.org/

Bill O’Hanlon’s Possibility Land: http://brieftherapy.com/