Goals and Objectives

The four Counseling Psychology program goals and related objectives are detailed below.

The first goal is to train scientist-practitioners in inquiry skills for use in advancing knowledge of psychology. Goal 1 is met through the following objectives:

• To attain knowledge of research designs and to develop quantitative inquiry skills.
• To develop the ability to think critically about theories, research methods, and research findings and their meanings. The critical thinking skills include analysis, evaluation, synthesis, integration, and application.
• To demonstrate research competence by formulating hypotheses, designing research,  and conducting original scientific inquiry.

• To attain a foundation of knowledge of psychological theories of counseling practice.
• To establish a coherent theoretical orientation to counseling psychology practice based on an integration of theory and contemporary research.
• To demonstrate proficiency in service delivery including psychological assessment, theoretical conceptualization, intervention, clinical decision-making, and reflection on practice.
  

• To attain knowledge and understanding of ethical, legal, and professional guidelines and standards, and ethical decision-making models in counseling psychology.
• To identify and think critically about ethical and professional dilemmas.
• To demonstrate ethical and professional behavior across all professional settings.
  

The fourth goal is to prepare scientist-practitioners who can provide competent services that are responsive to individual and cultural differences in a multicultural environment. Goal 4 is met through the following objectives:

• To attain a foundation of knowledge of multicultural theories and the psychosocial characteristics of various multicultural populations.
• To develop the ability to evaluate prevailing psychological theory and practice from a multicultural perspective. This ability includes personal awareness of and sensitivity to the impact of cultural and contextual influences, including the intersection of diversity dimensions, on the development, validation, and application of counseling psychology theory, technique, and assessment.
• To demonstrate competence in general and specific skills that facilitates cross-cultural relations in both counseling and professional settings.
  

Training goals are accomplished in an energetic atmosphere characterized by respectful and collaborative student-faculty interactions. Formal coursework attends to basic principles of psychological research and practice, and serves as the foundation for the development of critical thinking skills and the subsequent integration of theory, practice, and research in counseling and research practica. Students are exposed to a wide range of research and counseling activities and to a faculty of diverse theoretical persuasions. (For more specific information, see the faculty description section.) Faculty sometimes engage in inter-disciplinary research and collaborative projects with other institutions. Counseling practica occur in the Purdue Counseling and Guidance Center and in other campus and community settings (e.g., schools, community mental health centers, hospitals).