School counselors are key members of a school’s educational leadership team. They help to create a learning and social environment that nurtures students' academic success and personal growth.
Marymount University’s School Counseling program prepares effective professionals who are competent in a wide variety of clinical, consultative, and administrative roles at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
The program is intensive and hands-on, combining a foundation in counseling theory and research methodology with experiential learning through field experieinces and internships in area schools. This approach produces a professional who is well versed in both theory and practice, and who emerges from the program with valuable knowledge and preparedness in a stimulating, collegial classroom atmosphere.
Students who successfully complete the program are eligible for licensure as school counselors (grades PK-12) in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The School Counseling program is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
The conceptual framework for the School Counseling program has been developed using the standards and recommendations of the following sources:
- the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
- the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
- the ASCA National Model for School Counseling Programs and National Standards for School Counseling programs
- Ethical Standards for School Counselors developed by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA)
- licensure requirements for school counselors as outlined by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Education
- the Commonwealth of Virginia Standards for School Counseling Programs