Current Counseling Student
Advisory Council Workgroup Minutes
April 4, 2014 2:00-3:00 pm
In attendance: Victoria Mexcur, Joe Ziemba, Kaitlin Wilson, Jennie Ramsey, & Sara Nelson
Submitted and Conducted by: Dr. Grace Mims
The current student advisory council workgroup were very excited about the
possibility of Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision. They asked many
questions regarding possible time line, requirements for admission, benefits, costs, and so
on. The students advised how important Graduate Assistantships would be for those
wanting to go full time and recommended securing GA positions as a priority for success
of Ph.D. All 5 of the students indicated they would apply to the doc program should it
be implemented within 2 years.
When asked about strengths of their training students talked about the intake
process! They believe that this first experience was one of intense world view reflection
(diversity vignettes), interpersonal interaction and challenge and offered opportunity to
connect with other students and get an orientation of the program. They also stated that it
felt as if faculty were very committed to the role of ‘gatekeepers’ for the professions and
they felt pride in this authentic admission process.
Students processed briefly all the new policies (Title IX, Background Checks,
CPCE, Professional Liability Insurance, etc.) and expressed support for these,
understanding the rationale but also concerned about the additional costs.
When asked about ways we could improve the program students talked about
wanting more experiential (e.g., role play, group discussions, faculty sharing,) related to
ethics training. They had just been introduced to ‘sexual attraction’ as normal as long as
NOT ACTED UPON. They wanted so much to explore this more thoroughly, in a safe
environment where they wouldn’t need be fearful of harsh judgment by peers and/or
faculty for not knowing all ethics and struggling with all the nuances that might be
encountered. They advocated strongly for a forum throughout their training for more
experiential activities related to ethics. They felt strongly that ethics is addressed in every
class which was great to hear but that the approach was ‘follow these rules’ (i.e., Don’t
have sex with a client, don’t violate confidentiality, don’t compromise client care, etc.)
They expressed a need for more examples from faculty of ethical challenges, more case
discussions, exploration of their fears/concerns related to making ethical mistakes, how to
establish safety during supervision to be able to address ethical behavior and take risks to
disclose ‘what is really going on’, what it might be like to be in an ethical dilemma, and
so on. First discussed were the newly implemented ACA code of ethics (2014).
We targeted changes to the association’s ethical stand on social media and H.4.f
in regards to education of clients about differences in communication across electronic
media. Participants were provided with a copy of the new ethical codes, and were
appreciative.
Finally, students expressed interest in helping the program in anyway needed.
They wished the department continued success, and offered support in the CACREP
process as needed and indicated they would complete the Graduate Exit Survey when that
becomes a reality for them. They also expressed desire to be connected to the program as
alumni.