Department of Counseling & Human Services

Counseling & Human Services

Department of Counseling & Human Services

About the Department
Academic Programs
Student Organizations

About the Department

The mission of the Department of Counseling and Human Services at UCCS is to provide excellence in the professional preparation of undergraduate, master's, and advanced degree-seeking students. Experienced faculty delivers high-quality professional education that leads to transformational change.

The philosophy behind our training programs emphasizes that counselors assist clients and students with life challenges through dynamic, holistic, developmentally appropriate, strength-based interventions which emphasize the creation of healthy coping skills.

Further, through psychoeducational interventions, counselors seek to prevent problems before they are created by helping clients and students foster effective communication, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills, as well as healthy and adaptive behavioral patterns.

Department Objectives
Section CACREP Core Area Description Primary Courses
1 Professional Counseling 
Orientation & Ethical 
Practice		 Students will develop a professional counselor identity in reflection of effective and ethical standards of practice, as well as adept dispositions aligned with self-awareness, flexibility, and demonstration of accurate empathy. COUN 5330
COUN 5010
COUN 5020
2 Social & Cultural 
Diversity		 Students will grow a comprehensive understanding of various cultures, implications for social justice among diverse communities, and strategies for demonstrating developmentally appropriate multicultural competence. COUN 5860
COUN 5020
COUN 5510
3 Human Growth & 
Development		 Students will gain an enriched understanding of human developmental theories, as well as strategies for promoting resilience and wellness among biological, environmental, and systemic barriers to development across the lifespan.  COUN 5040
COUN 5550
COUN 5860
4 Career Development Students will construct an understanding of theoretically driven approaches to assess interests, values, abilities, and aptitudes in relation to career decision-making, including practices of culturally appropriate instrument selection and communication of results.  COUN 5430
COUN 5330
COUN 5410
5 Counseling & Helping 
Relationships		 Students will learn and apply foundational and postmodern theories of counseling, personality development, case conceptualization, and diverse methods of treatment, as well as conveying basic and advanced microskills through an integrated and personally-informed approach to client care. COUN 5020
COUN 5010
COUN 5100
6 Group Counseling & 
Group Work		 Students will learn and incorporate theoretical foundations of psychoeducational and counseling group work, as well implement appropriate procedures for ethically screening, initiating, facilitating, and terminating group experiences. COUN 5100
COUN 5330
COUN 5130
7 Assessment & Testing Students will acquire knowledge of ethical assessment procedures for identifying and measuring presenting problems to assist in appropriate diagnosis, treatment planning, and/or change tracking among diverse clientele.  COUN 5410
COUN 5330 
COUN 5550
8 Research & Program 
Evaluation		 Students will demonstrate understanding of the purpose of empirical research in counseling, qualitative and quantitative research design, data analysis procedures, as well as show the ability to serve as effective consumers of research for ethical practice.  LEAD 5700
COUN 5410
COUN 5510 
9 Clinical Mental Health 
Counseling		 Students will gain knowledge of the practical function of diagnostic procedures, biopsychosocial conceptualizations, evidence-based treatment planning, and classifications/contraindications of commonly prescribed psychopharmacological medications in clinical counseling practice.  COUN 5950
COUN 5440
COUN 5120
COUN 5720
 
10 School Counseling Students will gain knowledge of systemic structures and data-informed applications of comprehensive school counseling programs, as well as social, cultural, familial, and individualized barriers that impact academic achievement in K-12 school settings.  COUN 5800
COUN 5810 
COUN 5120
COUN 5700

Undergraduate
Graduate

Undergraduate Programs

students sitting in a classroom

Human Services, BA
The Bachelor of Arts in Human Services emphasizes personal growth, theory-based practices, and experiential learning through fieldwork placement. The Human Services major provides both the academic and experiential background for the student seeking a career working with diverse populations in the varied and expanding field of Human Services.

Human Services, Minor
The Human Services minor emphasizes personal growth, theory-based practices, and experiential learning through fieldwork placement.

Undergraduate Certificate Programs:

Graduate Programs

student walking on campus

Counseling, MA - School Counseling
The school counselor program requires the completion of a 60-semester hour program. School Counselor students will complete the same foundational coursework as the Clinical Mental Health Counselor students and may be eligible for licensure as a Colorado Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

Counseling, MA - Clinical Mental Health
The Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) emphasis within the Department of Counseling and Human Services is designed to prepare graduate students to assume positions in the provision of professional counseling and consultation services involving the principles of psychotherapy.

Counseling, MA - Counseling & Leadership (Air Force Officer Command)
The Counseling and Leadership master's degree program is a one-year, comprehensive curriculum for developing selected Majors for the important responsibility of an air officer commanding or leading a cadet squadron at the US Air Force Academy.

Graduate Certificate & Licensure Programs:

 

Program Accreditation

Colorado Department of Education

The School Counseling program is authorized by the Colorado Department of Education in alignment with state licensing requirements.

Commitment to Personal Growth

The faculty members within the Department of Counseling and Human Services (DCHS) recognize the importance of human growth and personal development for all people throughout their lives. This includes counselors-in-training. A cornerstone of this program is our emphasis on the personal growth of our counselors-in-training.

The personality of the counselor and the capacity to effectively relate to and “join” with others in the counseling alliance are instrumental in delivering effective counseling interventions.

Therefore, the curriculum for programs includes significant experiential coursework designed to enhance the self-awareness, adaptability, and continuing personal growth of each student in the counseling program.

Students interested in our program must be committed to their personal growth as well as their professional and academic development.

Western Regional Graduate Program

Western Interstate Commission for High Education (WICHE)
The Department of Counseling & Human Services at UCCS is recognized by WICHE through their Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP). This program allows anyone from the 15 states in the Western region of the USA to receive special tuition rates. To learn more about the program, please visit the WICHE website.

Campus Connections

Campus Connections is a wellness and resiliency-oriented service-learning course that pairs UCCS students and youth from the community in mentor-mentee relationships.

Youth are referred through our El Paso County Community partners and are matched with a UCCS student who provides one-on-one therapeutic mentoring throughout the semester.