Departmental News

Welcome From the Department Chairperson

On behalf of the faculty and administrative staff in the Department of Counseling and Human Services, I warmly want to welcome those of you who are new to your respective program, and I extend an enthusiastic "WELCOME BACK!" to current students! The Departmental faculty and administrative staff wish you a productive and growthful 2012. Please review our Departmental Calendar of Events for the Summer 2012 semester.

Please make it a habit to periodically check our announcements as there may be some upcoming postings regarding some time changes to a couple of classes.

Again, on behalf of the faculty and administrative staff in the Department of Counseling and Human Services, welcome back!

Dana Comstock, PhD
Chair, Department of Counseling and Human Services

Congratulations!

The Department would like to congratulate Masters students Krystal Parham Kosub and Yamel Sandoval, for successfully passing the MFT national licensing exam. We wish them luck as they graduate and pursue their LMFT-A licensure.

Two students in the Department of Counseling and Human Services recently received awards. The Department would like to congratulate these two students and encourage all students to enter grant, scholarship, and professional competitions. Upcoming competitions are posted on the department's Announcements page.

Stephanie Gabel, a Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral student, was awarded a NIH R25E 3-month pre-doctoral research fellowship with the Cancer Prevention Center at MD Anderson in Houston. Stephanie's research project is titled Research Immersion in Neurofeedback for Chemo-Induced Neuropathy & Composition of Further Questions for Research in Oncology and Behavioral Sciences. She will be working with St. Mary's alumnus, Dr. Sarah Prinsloo.

Emily Keller, a Counselor Education and Supervision doctoral student, was awarded an Honorable Mention by the American Counseling Association (ACA) Foundation for her entry in the 2011 Gerald and Marianne Corey Graduate Student Essay Competition. Emily was recognized at the ACA National Awards Ceremony in New Orleans, LA, in March.

Financial Assistance to Students

During the 2011-2012 academic year, the Department of Counseling and Human Services is awarding approximately $314,000 to doctoral students and $23,000 to masters students in assistantships and scholarships. These amounts do not include assistantships awarded to Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy students by other departments in the university.

General Departmental Information

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We offer accredited master's degrees in Community Counseling (under the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program) and Marriage and Family Therapy and accredited doctoral degrees in Counselor Education and Supervision and Marriage and Family Therapy. Students in our progressive doctoral programs may choose a concentration in any of the following areas:

• Marriage and Family Therapy
• Neurofeedback
• Play Therapy
• Rehabilitation Counseling
• Relational-Cultural Theory and Social Justice

For additional information, click on the following links to download brochures for our doctoral programs:

• Counselor Education and Supervision (pdf)
• Marriage and Family Therapy (pdf)
• To view a list of dissertations that have been completed over the past 9 years click here.

Accreditations

Our department has dual accreditation by both the COAMFTE and CACREP.

The Master of Arts and Doctorate of Philosophy in Marriage and Family Therapy are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE).

Our master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and our doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

Doctoral Level Assistantships and Financial Assistance

Our Department has several types of assistantships that are available to full-time doctoral students. These positions are filled once a year in spring or early summer. The availability of positions and application instructions are posted on our Announcements Page. For information on the various types of assistantships click on the following:

• Research Assistantships
• Administrative Assistantships
• Recruitment Assistant

All faculty have a research assistant, we have one recruiter position, and we have two Administrative Positions. Each administrative position involves a 35 hour work week over nine months with a salary of $25,000.00.

In addition to these positions, our Department offers academic scholarships to doctoral applicants with outstanding academic indexes (see our Graduate School Catalog for admission criteria). These awards are in the amount of $10,000.00. Students may apply these to their tuition or take a cash award. It is possible to get an academic scholarship and to be hired for one of our many student positions. We encourage all interested doctoral applicants to seriously consider our Departmental financial support when making the decision about where to obtain your degree.

Location

The Department of Counseling and Human Services is located at 251 W. Ligustrum, just a few blocks from the St. Mary's University campus (between Bandera Road and Woodlawn Avenue). If you are coming from the front of the campus on Camino Santa Maria, turn left onto Woodlawn Avenue, and then turn right onto W. Ligustrum. The Counselor Education and Family Life Center building will be on the left side of the street.