For more than a year, RSU students studying Community Counseling have had the option to take their education to the next level.
Last year, RSU’s Community Counseling program received Master of Science accreditation, providing students with the extended education required to become professional counselors.
Along with the new accreditation also came the university’s first director of the Master in Community Counseling program, Dr. Michelle Taylor, according to whom, the fledgling program has made great strides.
“The first cohort (group of students going through the program together) was admitted in the fall of 2021, so those studying for their MSCC (Master of Science in Community Counseling) have just finished their first year and are now starting their second,” said Dr. Michelle Taylor, Director of Master’s in Community Counseling Program. “We’re a little unusual in that we’re what I think of as a professional degree program – in the sense that the program leads a person to a particular profession, much like in the same way you would think of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, etc., the counseling world is going that way as well.”
As one of the program’s pioneers, Dr. Taylor’s expertise in the subject is extensive.
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds a Doctor of Education in Occupational and Adult Education form Oklahoma State University and a Master of Human Relations with emphasis in Licensed Professional Counseling from the University of Oklahoma. She served as counselor for Adair Public Schools for 15 years. Her adjunct experience includes teaching in community counseling, human relations, and business administration programs for the University of Oklahoma, Langston University, and Northeastern State University.
Among the courses required for the MSCC are Counseling Theory, Clinical Psychopathology, Ethnicity and Culture in the Counseling Field, Counseling Theories and Applications, Evaluation Methods in Psychology, Life and Developmental Stages, and more.
This advanced degree readies students to sit for the National Counselor Exam and the Oklahoma Legal and Ethical Responsibilities Exam to become licensed counselors.
In developing the MSCC program, Dr. Taylor said she drew from the university’s degree requirements, the Oklahoma State Board of Health’s standards for the LPC, as well as from her own personal experience, and now, the program is at student capacity.
“We had more than 80 applications for our 24 spots the second year, and that was largely just from word of mouth – we’re maxed out,” she said. “We intentionally kept the cohort small because there’s so much individual instruction, so much role play, so much interaction that happens during the class.”
One of the conscious decisions made when establishing the program was to design it to better accommodate “working professionals.”
“Our courses don’t start until 4 p.m. Friday – there are no classes during the week,” she said. “Students can take a couple of classes on Friday evening, and then there are a couple of classes on Saturday. We have expectations that the students do lots of reading during the week and the rich interaction comes when we’re in person together, but these classes are very much designed for the schedules of working people.”
Due to the nature of the program, completing the MSCC requires an additional two years – or 60 hours – after earning a bachelor’s degree – longer than a typical 18 months required for some master’s degrees.
“This is a very intense, much higher-level course of study, involving psychology, sociology, research – so much more,” Dr. Taylor said, “so while completing the program may take longer, the commitment on the part of the student is more than worth it – for them, and for the lives they touch after graduation.
“There’s certainly very important mental health work being done by people who hold a bachelor’s degree – behavioral health, case managers, etc., but there’s a significant difference between a bachelor’s degree and the master’s degree – this really comes into play when treating and working with patients,” she said. “You’re dealing with serious issues, making a real direct impact, making big decisions on improving people’s lives.”
As great as the need for LPNs has always been, Dr. Taylor said their need has only increased exponentially in recent years.
“We’re coming out of a difficult time – especially with everything that’s happened in people’s lives since COVID,” she said. “All the crisis people have been going has led to an increase in substance abuse, alcohol abuse, unfortunately we saw a rise in domestic violence and people being suicidal – all we’ve been dealing with as a nation and a state has created a situation that only emphasizes the importance of mental health professionals.”
To be admitted into the program, applicants must have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0, hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university, provide academic transcripts, submit a resume or vitae, letters of recommendation, and letters of intent and/or a personal statement.
“We look very closely at the personal statements,” Dr. Taylor said. “For us, the ‘why’ someone wants to become a counselor is an important part of our decision making, when considering who to allow into the program. Sometimes, a person’s life was changed by a counselor, sometimes, their life was even saved by a counselor – this is a program that it’s important to enter for the right reasons.”
Ultimately, Dr. Taylor said she and other program instructors feel that this degree is one which positively impacts the lives of the students, but those whose lives they touch, long after graduation.
“Much of what we do isn’t easy work, it’s demanding work, it’s work that’s sometimes hard to leave at work, so it’s important for us to allow the right people into the program – the people who can handle some of the more intense parts of the job,” she said. “We do teach our counselors how to handle this, but there is an emotional investment required.
“That said, this is a very rewarding area of study – one that helps make many people whole again – some of them, for the first time,” she said. “This program does an exceptional job in preparing our students for the very challenging, very complex world of mental health. We’re giving them lots of avenues and lots of opportunities in a field that’s in great need of workers and counselors – that’s what I’m excited to produce.”
For more information about the MSCC program, contact the RSU Department of Psychology and Sociology at 918-343-7683.