2008 Woodie Awards
Mental health program gets recognized
N.Y. accredits
Felicia Krieg
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: News
Originally published: 2/21/08 at 4:07 PM EST
Last update: 2/21/08 at 4:05 PM EST
Plattsburgh State's graduate mental health counseling program was accredited last month by the state of New York.
Carol Bobby, executive director of the Council of Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), wrote in a letter to PSUC President John Ettling, "Programs receiving accreditation without conditions deserve to be commended for the work they completed throughout the accreditation process. This is indeed a worthy achievement. Congratulations!"
The year-long accreditation process includes a self-study done by the program seeking accreditation followed by a four-day visit by a member of the accrediting council. After this there is a two-month waiting period in which the accrediting council evaluates the program based on its "curriculum, education and experience of the faculty, the self-study, adherence to an ethical code and (the program's) affiliations with the community," said Stephen Saiz, chairperson of the counseler education department."Our self-study was so thorough and complete that we didn't need a visit," he said.
Plattsburgh State has had three of its graduate programs accredited since 1990: The school counselor program, the community counseling program and the student affairs professional practice program.
"We went through a lengthy self-study in 2004 for those other three programs," Saiz said. All of these programs, as well as the mental health counseling program, are accredited through 2012.
What are some of the things that set an accredited program apart from those that are not accredited? Saiz said, "An accredited program tends to have a more comprehensive curricula. They allow students to transfer between accredited programs. A student can go into a program knowing that they will get a comprehensive education and that's that attraction of accredited programs."
Graduate students in the mental health counseling program take courses with names like "Psychopathology and Mental Health Counseling" and "Clinical Practice in Mental Health Counseling." The students also complete two internships. The students can intern at the Center for Student Health and Psychological Services on the PSUC campus or other counseling businesses within community.
Saiz wanted to acknowledge Richard Schnell, mental health counseling director, who he said did "most of the work." Also, he said, a recently graduated advanced degree student, Sheri Beckwith-Trombly, was essential to getting PSUC's graduate program in mental health counseling accredited.
Carol Bobby, executive director of the Council of Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), wrote in a letter to PSUC President John Ettling, "Programs receiving accreditation without conditions deserve to be commended for the work they completed throughout the accreditation process. This is indeed a worthy achievement. Congratulations!"
The year-long accreditation process includes a self-study done by the program seeking accreditation followed by a four-day visit by a member of the accrediting council. After this there is a two-month waiting period in which the accrediting council evaluates the program based on its "curriculum, education and experience of the faculty, the self-study, adherence to an ethical code and (the program's) affiliations with the community," said Stephen Saiz, chairperson of the counseler education department."Our self-study was so thorough and complete that we didn't need a visit," he said.
Plattsburgh State has had three of its graduate programs accredited since 1990: The school counselor program, the community counseling program and the student affairs professional practice program.
"We went through a lengthy self-study in 2004 for those other three programs," Saiz said. All of these programs, as well as the mental health counseling program, are accredited through 2012.
What are some of the things that set an accredited program apart from those that are not accredited? Saiz said, "An accredited program tends to have a more comprehensive curricula. They allow students to transfer between accredited programs. A student can go into a program knowing that they will get a comprehensive education and that's that attraction of accredited programs."
Graduate students in the mental health counseling program take courses with names like "Psychopathology and Mental Health Counseling" and "Clinical Practice in Mental Health Counseling." The students also complete two internships. The students can intern at the Center for Student Health and Psychological Services on the PSUC campus or other counseling businesses within community.
Saiz wanted to acknowledge Richard Schnell, mental health counseling director, who he said did "most of the work." Also, he said, a recently graduated advanced degree student, Sheri Beckwith-Trombly, was essential to getting PSUC's graduate program in mental health counseling accredited.
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