The mission of the Counseling Program is to provide academic and clinical training to prepare students to function as knowledgeable, ethical, and effective counselors in a pluralistic society.

Program Objectives/Philosophy

The counselor education faculty of the East Tennessee State University believes:

• that the work of the professional counselor is to promote mental health, social and physical well-being, and development of the person, families, organizations, and community with whom the counselor interacts as a professional.
  
  
• that counseling is a unique, interactive relationship process which focuses on prevention, problem resolution, mental health, and development by using an understanding of individual, systemic, and social contexts.
  
  
• that it is important to aspire to create an atmosphere that promotes self-examination and self-determination.
  
  
• that counselors should continue their own growth, study and learning throughout their career.
  
  
• in the importance of a heightened awareness of a multicultural and diverse world and the impact of the dominant culture, the family, and individual behavior on the clients with whom we work, the students we are training, and ourselves.
  
  
• that, as counselor educators, we are committed to facilitate intellectual and emotional development, including critical and reflective thinking, in counseling students.