Student Handbook
The Master of Arts in Counseling program at EMU strives to achieve the highest standards of professional excellence in providing psychologically and spiritually grounded training for counselors. We seek to create a community atmosphere within the program, a community bold with creative ideas and open with honesty, partnering in the inner work counselor training requires.
Personal and Professional Development Activities
All students are strongly encouraged to undertake personal counseling work while enrolled in the program. EMU Counseling Services provides students with a certain number of free counseling services. The campus pastors are also available for counseling. EMU Career Services is another resource students may use for career counseling.
Program faculty and students do not provide personal counseling services to students in the program. Counseling program faculty can assist students in referral to professional counseling.
Counseling Student Association (CSA)
The CSA is the counseling student’s first experience in a peer professional counseling association. The CSA provides opportunities for students to organize as a counseling community for mutual support, professional development, and political voice. The CSA provides opportunity for students to be involved in class business, colloquia and forums, social events, and graduation planning. CSA works closely with faculty and administration in reviewing program goals and evaluating their implementation.
Admission to the Master of Arts in Counseling program grants membership in CSA. There are no requirements, although attendance and participation at meetings and events is encouraged.
Professional Development
Students are required to join a professional counseling association. The major professional organizations students are affiliated with are the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Virginia Counseling Association (VCA), the American School Counseling Association (ASCA), and the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC). A record of professional membership is indicated on the student’s rating sheet.
ACA is a professional membership organization representing nearly 60,000 counselors and human development specialists. Student membership is open to any graduate student enrolled more than half time. Students are required to obtained professional liability insurance prior to any fieldwork in the program, and students normally obtain this insurance through an insurance affiliate of ACA. As a student member of ACA, benefits include an annual subscription to the Journal of Counseling and Development and 18 issues of Counseling Today, ACA’s official newspaper. At the end of the first year of membership, student members are required to join at least one division or organizational affiliate. ACA applications are available at www.counseling.org. Within the ACA, at the state level, Virginia counselors are organized as the Virginia Counseling Association. The annual fall VCA conference is a significant conference for both school and community counselors. Pastoral counseling students are required to obtain AAPC membership, and to attend the regional AAPC conference.
Students are encouraged to take advantage of the multiple opportunities for personal and professional development. Tangible encouragement and support of selected seminars and conferences includes scheduling seminars as part of course content, working with the Counseling Student Association (CSA) to help arrange transportation to conferences, hosting seminars, and paying seminar fees to off-campus seminars. Significant conferences include the AAPC Atlantic Regional Conference, the Virginia Counseling Association fall conference, and the Virginia School Counseling Association conference. The Philhaven Teleconference, organized by Philhaven Hospital, a Mennonite affiliated mental hospital, is scheduled four times during each academic year. The program works with the CSA to arrange transportation to the annual meetings of the Virginia Counseling Association (VCA). Students are encouraged to attend and present at the annual Virginia Counseling Graduate Student Association (VCGSA) Conference. The Seminary hosts an annual School for Leadership Training each spring semester which offers lectures and workshops of interest to counselors.
In addition to events actively promoted or sponsored by the program, many other professional development opportunities are regularly posted on the departmental bulletin board. The bi-weekly Seminary chapel frequently hosts speakers of interest to counselors, as does the weekly series of undergraduate chapels.
