JOHNSON CITY – The Association for Counseling Education and Supervision (ACES) has recognized East Tennessee State University’s graduate program in counseling with the Robert Frank Outstanding Counselor Education Program Award.
According to ACES, this award honors a counselor education program that exemplifies the importance of excellence through standards and innovation. Excellence is shown through faculty members’ commitment and contributions; program commitment to standards as well as improvement and development; faculty members’ mentoring a clear, strong counselor and counselor educator identity; the program’s influence and relationship to students, the university and the surrounding community; and unique and innovative ways to provide education and supervision of counselors and counselor educators.
Each year, one award is presented to a master’s program, and another award is given to a doctoral program.
“Students at ETSU pursuing a degree in counseling are being trained in a nationally recognized program that has been honored by the profession’s premier organization,” said Dr. Rebekah Byrd, program coordinator and associate professor of Counseling and Human Services in the ETSU Clemmer College. “We continue to receive feedback from internship supervisors and employers on the exceptional clinical skills of our students and graduates, and we feel that it is our students who make us outstanding.”
One of the primary training sites for ETSU graduate students is the department’s Community Counseling Clinic, which reported over 920 sessions with adults and children during the 2018-19 year all free of charge.
ETSU’s counseling program prepares students to work in a variety of settings and offers concentrations in clinical mental health, college counseling/student affairs higher education, couples and family therapy and school counseling.