The mission of the Rehabilitation Counseling Program (RCP) is to provide students with a quality and well-balanced program of academic course work and supervised clinical field experience in rehabilitation settings. Special emphasis is placed on maintaining facilitative working relationships with the rehabilitation community. The program seeks to train professionals dedicated to improving the quality-of-life and vocational self-sufficiency of people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. A particular concern is directed toward recruiting and addressing the needs of traditionally underrepresented student and client populations. Through the pursuit of this mission, the Rehabilitation Counseling Program addresses the critical shortage of well-trained rehabilitation counselors in the State of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

Program Goals

1. Train qualified graduate-level rehabilitation counselors for serving people with disabilities in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

2. Maintain a well-balanced course of study that emphasizes theoretical, experiential, clinical, and research–supported aspects of the rehabilitation field.

3. Enable students to acquire knowledge and develop clinical skills, through coursework, practicum, and internship experiences, for working with a wide range of people with disabilities who are representative of diverse cultural, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds.

4. Maintain close working relationships with the local rehabilitation community (e.g. the State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation System, The Veterans Administration, psychiatric rehabilitation facilities, independent living centers, private rehabilitation agencies, university-based services to students with disabilities, drug and alcohol agencies).

5. Assist graduates in obtaining employment in the local rehabilitation counseling field.

6. Implement and maintain a comprehensive public relations campaign for recruitment of trainees, with special emphasis on applicants with disabilities and who represent ethnically diverse groups.

7. Maintain accreditations by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE).

8. Systematically and comprehensively implement and maintain a program to evaluate the Rehabilitation Counseling Program.