Programs
Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCTM)
Faculty Contact: Jennipher Wiebold
The Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCTM) program is a 76 hour program co-sponsored by the Department of Blind and Low Vision Studies and the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology. It prepares graduates to provide a full range of vocational rehabilitation counseling services to individuals with cognitive, physical, psychiatric, and sensory disabilities.
Typically, rehabilitation counselors/teachers:
- provide training in specialized methods or adaptive techniques for communications, activities of daily living and recreation
- facilitate training and access to assistive technologies
- assist consumers with career development and choices
- foster acquisition of work-related skills
- modify jobs
- develop jobs
- facilitate placement into employment
RCTM graduates receive two Master of Arts degrees: Counselor Education: Rehabilitation Counseling (CERM) and Vision Rehabilitation Therapy (VRTM). The program is accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) and approved by the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the blind and visually impaired (AER).
Graduates are eligible to become certified rehabilitation counselors through the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) and certified vision rehabilitation therapists (CVRT) through the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP). Graduates are also eligible for Michigan Licensure as Professional Counselors (LPC).
Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching Program Mission & Objectives
Mission
It is the mission of the Western Michigan University Rehabilitation Counseling (CERM)/Teaching (RCTM) programs to promote quality rehabilitation services for, and with, individuals with disabilities through the education and preparation of qualified rehabilitation personnel; the provision of professional and student centered services to rehabilitation agencies, facilities and associations; and, the sponsorship of research related to employment and rehabilitation to advance the profession.
Objectives
- Prepare rehabilitation counselor (CERM)/teachers (RCTM) who subscribe to the basic philosophical tenets of rehabilitation, including the value and worth of all individuals, a belief in human dignity, the right of all individuals to live as independently as possible, to engage in gainful employment, and to have full participation in society.
- Prepare competent professionals in rehabilitation counseling (CERM)/teaching (RCTM) with skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for delivering rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities.
- Prepare rehabilitation counselor (CERM)/teachers (RCTM) who embrace professionalism by: a) adhering to the Codes of Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors and Teachers; b) engaging in activities that foster the advancement of the rehabilitation counseling (CERM)/teaching (RCTM) profession; and, c) updating/maintaining skills through life long learning and service to the rehabilitation profession.
- Prepare rehabilitation counselors (CERM) with expertise in blindness or low vision services (RCTM).
- Utilize experiential and innovative instructional strategies to maintain high quality personnel preparation programs in rehabilitation counseling (CERM)/teaching (RCTM).
- Facilitate a diverse learning environment through recruitment of representative populations within each cohort of students.
- Emphasize diversity and multicultural issues in CERM/RCTM program offerings.
- Engage in ongoing program evaluation and improvement to respond to the ever changing evolution of applicant, student, legislative, profession, employer, and consumer demands.
- Utilize a collaborative, constituent-based cooperative approach for CERM/RCTM program management which includes contributions of; students, faculty, department representatives, rehabilitation community representatives, and the CERM/RCTM Program Advisory Board.
- Promote the practice and profession of rehabilitation counseling (CERM)/Teaching (RCTM) by emphasizing the vocational aspects of rehabilitation service delivery within the context of human development.
- Meet the demand for qualified rehabilitation counseling (CERM)/Teaching (RCTM) personnel in public and private rehabilitation systems, with emphasis in systems serving individuals with blindness or low vision.
- Pursue internal and external student and research based funding to support personnel development and advancement of the profession.
- Facilitate student acquisition of a strong conceptual and working knowledge of the foundations and principles supporting rehabilitation counseling (CERM)/teaching (RCTM).
- Establish and maintain professional and student centered research/services with local, state, regional, and national rehabilitation entities.
- Maintain the high standard of professional education in rehabilitation counseling (CERM)/teaching (RCTM) as established by the CORE and ACVREP accreditation bodies in conjunction with promoting advances in the profession(s).
Curriculum and Requirements
Preparation includes the acquisition of specific skills in rehabilitation counseling, with a specialization in blindness or low vision.
Unique educational opportunities include:
- an innovative two-week immersion in blindness experiential course
- a state-of-the-art vision rehabilitation clinic, providing training and work with low vision aids
- supervised practicum placements in the WMU Center for Counseling and Psychological Services
- a state-of-the-art adaptive computer laboratory that is used to teach methods of computing to people with blindness or low vision and other disabilities
- a practicum experience in a mini adjustment program through the Michigan Commission for the Blind (MCB).
- availability of practicum and internship experiences at various agencies throughout the country
Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching Program (RCTM) Curriculum Requirements
1. Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching Program Core (32 cr.) Courses |
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- BLS 5770: Services for Persons Who are Blind or Have Other Disabilities (2 cr.)
- BLS 5840: Computer Technology in Rehabilitation (3 cr.)
- BLS 5880: Psychosocial Aspects of Disability (2cr.)
- BLS 5890: Medical and Functional Aspects of Disability (2 cr.)
- BLS 6010: Small ‘N’ Research: Design & Analysis (3 cr.)
- BLS 6100: Assisted Research (2 cr.)
- CECP 6020: Group Dynamics and Procedures (3 cr.)
- CECP 6030: Tests and Measurement (3 cr.)
- CECP 6040: Counseling Techniques (3 cr.)
- CECP 6050: Professional Issues and Ethics (3 cr.)
- CECP 6070: Multicultural Counseling and Psychology (3 cr.)
- CECP 6080: Counseling Across the Life Span (3 cr.)
2. Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching Program Concentration (44 cr.) Courses |
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- BLS 5860: Job Development and Placement (3 cr.)
- BLS 5900: Physiology and Function of the Eye (2 cr.)
- BLS 5910: Braille and Tactual Communication Systems (2 cr.)
- BLS 5930: Methods of Teaching Adaptive Communications (2 cr.)
- BLS 5970: Principles & Practices of Low Vision (2 cr.)
- BLS 6020: Gerontology in O&M and RT (2 cr.)
- BLS 6050: Practice in Low Vision (1 cr.)
- BLS 6640: Principles of Rehabilitation Teaching (3 cr.)
- BLS 6910: Practicum in Rehabilitation Teaching (3 cr.)
- FCS 6360: Teaching for Independent Living (4 cr.)
- BLS 7120: Professional Field Experience (2 cr.)
- CECP 5200: Foundations of Rehabilitation Counseling (3 cr.)
- CECP 6100: Career Development: Theory and Practice (3 cr.)
- CECP 6110: Theories of Counseling (3 cr.)
- CECP 6120: Practicum in Rehabilitation Counseling (4 cr.)
- CECP 6130: Field Practicum (2 cr.)
- CECP 6220: Psychoeducational Consultation (3 cr.)
RCT Course Sequence-Graphic Version
RCT Course Sequence-Large Print Text Version
Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCTM) Curriculum guides are available from the BLS and CECP department offices. Application for the Master’s of Arts degrees in Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCTM) are made through the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies.
Those seeking admission to the RCT program should request application information from the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies. Admission is offered in both fall and summer I semesters. BLVS Application and Admission page