Doctoral Curriculum
DOCTORAL CURRICULUM
Counselor Education – A distinct academic discipline that has its roots in educational and vocational guidance and counseling, human development, supervision, and clinical practice. The primary focus of counselor education programs is the training and preparation of professional counselors who are competent to practice, abide by the ethics of the Counseling profession, and hold strong professional counselor identities. At the doctoral level, Counselor Education programs may focus on the preparation and training of future academic professionals who will teach the curriculum of Counseling theory and practice and include specialized practice areas.
Doctoral programs in Counselor Education address professional roles in five areas: (1) Counseling, (2) Supervision, (3) Teaching, (4) Research and Scholarship, and (5) Leadership and Advocacy. These five areas represent the minimal knowledge required of doctoral graduates in counselor education. Therefore, Counselor Education programs must document where and in what manner each of the lettered standards is covered in the curriculum.
Counseling
Counseling involves the scholarly examination of counseling theories; advanced counseling skills that have a systemic, societal, and professional focus; Creation and evaluation of research-based practice; and a shift from doing to evaluating and modeling.
Supervision
Supervision is a distinct professional practice, separate from counseling, where a senior member of the profession (the supervisor) oversees the clinical work of a junior member (the supervisee). Supervision enhances the supervisee’s development and ensures client welfare. A specific supervision model should be used as a structural framework. Types of supervision include:
Group supervision: A tutorial and mentoring relationship between a member of the Counseling profession and more than two counseling students.
Individual supervision: A tutorial and mentoring relationship between a member of the Counseling profession and one Counseling student.
Live supervision: Direct observation of the Counseling session with in-vivo communication from the supervisor influencing the work of the supervisee during the session.
Triadic supervision: A tutorial and mentoring relationship between a member of the Counseling profession and two Counseling students.
Teaching
Teaching is the mastery of pedagogical practices and theories necessary to educate the next generation of professional counselors. It is moving beyond “teaching by intuition” to “teaching by evidence”, and not just learning what to teach but learning the science of how adults learn (andragogy).
Research & Scholarship
Research as the systematic, ethical, and culturally sustaining investigation into counseling processes, counselor education, and supervision. It requires mastery of both the “how” (technical skills) and the “why” (philosophical foundations). Scholarship is broader than research; it refers to the professional engagement, dissemination, and integration of knowledge. In Counselor Education, it includes the scholarship of discovery (new research), integration (synthesis), application (practice-based research), and teaching.
Leadership & Advocacy
Leadership is defined as the ability to influence, manage, and guide the counseling profession at institutional, local, state, and national levels. Advocacy is the intentional process of identifying and removing barriers to the well-being of clients, students, and the counseling profession itself. CACREP treats these two as a single, unified domain because, at the doctoral level, you cannot have one without the other.
Porscha B. Doyle, M. Ed., LPC-A 