Ep. 125 - What is the Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling?

Discover how the Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling at CSUSB is transforming lives, careers, and communities. In this episode, Dr. Priyanka Yalamanchili and Dr. Stacie Robertson share how the program prepares students to support individuals  through counseling, advocacy, and employment empowerment. From breaking common misconceptions to highlighting career pathways in schools, government agencies, private practice, and beyond, this conversation shines a light on a growing, impactful field. This episode offers an inspiring look at a program that helps students turn compassion into action.

For more information, check out the Rehabilitation Counseling Program website!

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Transcript

Speaker 0:14

Well, hello and welcome back to the CSUSB Advising Podcast. This is Matt Markin, and on today's episode, we're learning more about the Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling. And to help us unpack this program, we have not one, but two amazing CSUSB faculty here to chat more about the program. So who wants to go first to introduce themselves?

Speaker 1 0:36

I'll go first. Hi, everyone. My name is Dr. Priyanka Yalamanchili, and I am an associate professor as well as the program coordinator for the rehabilitation counseling program here at CSUSB.

Speaker 2 0:49

Hi, I'm Dr. Stacie Robertson. I am a professor in the rehabilitation counseling program.

Speaker 0:56

Awesome. Well, welcome both. Very excited to have you both here to talk more about your amazing program. And I guess that maybe leads into the first question. Can you talk about what exactly is the master's in rehabilitation counseling at CSUSB and who is it designed for?

Speaker 1 1:13

So the master's in rehab counseling at uh CSUSB, it's a specialized program which is dedicated to the intersection of mental health, advocacy, and vocational empowerment. So what makes this program a vital pathway for aspiring counselors is that it's designed to prepare professionals to assist individuals with physical, mental, emotional, or developmental disabilities in achieving independence and high-quality employment. So to put it in layman terms, uh, we train graduate students to become career counselors and employment specialists for people with disabilities. So this program is specifically designed for undergraduates who, you know, from the fields of psychology, sociology, criminal justice, education, communication, um, audiology, speech therapy, anything that relates to human services, getting a master's in this program is a good career pathway. It's also for individuals who are passionate about advocating for people with disabilities, disability rights, and social justice. Another aspect of the master's in rehabilitation counseling is for uh professionals and career changers who are currently in the human services sector, but looking to um refine their knowledge in disability studies and how to work with people with disabilities. So we also offer a certificate in rehabilitation counseling. So that's for individuals who already have their masters and are in a human service sector. So yeah, multiple opportunities.

Speaker 2 2:56

I wanted to add, sometimes I talk about rehabilitation counseling, just it's it's much bigger than what I'm about to say, but the very simple aspect of it sometimes is uh it's the services that are provided after uh individual has used special education in high school, right? Um, if I've been in a special education classroom, or if your child's been in a special education classroom, you're gonna look for a rehabilitation counselor to help them transition from school to work. That helps people who I know understand special education know what it is that we also do, right? We're the very next step. It's much bigger than that. We work in all different kinds of places, but I think that kind of adds a bit to what Dr. Yellow Mantilli already said.

Speaker 3:34

Yeah, much appreciated. And this is more of a general question, not expected to go into every single class that a student's taking, but can you give us a kind of an idea of what students can expect to learn um in the coursework, in the program?

Speaker 1 3:48

Yeah. Um the coursework it blends uh clinical counseling skills with specialized uh rehabilitation and disability knowledge. So students can expect to learn um counseling techniques related to foundations of individual counseling skills as well as group counseling. And then we get into the specialized aspect of the field where you're learning about medical and psychosocial aspects of disability, which is basically understanding how various disabilities impact life and work across the lifespan, across the individual's lifespan. You're also looking at case management, where you are learning to navigate the legal and ethical landscape of public and private systems and how you provide resources for people with disabilities. You're also learning about vocational evaluation, so learning how to assess a client's strengths and match them with the career opportunities while taking into consideration the limitations uh that come with having a disability. Um, outside of that, you we also offer specific training and how to work with individuals with addictions as well as mental health issues. I think that covers most of the coursework, yeah.

Speaker 2 5:03

I think it covers most of the coursework as well.

Speaker 5:07

So is there anything that you feel makes this program at CSUSB distinctive compared to programs at other institutions?

Speaker 2 5:16

I am gonna start with how it's really similar though, and what it looks like in the state of California. The the programs for rehabilitation counseling are uh accredited, so we are all required to cover some of the very similar information. Um, we obviously have a different take on it because of who we are and where we're located, but it also should be known that there's not a lot of rehabilitation counseling programs in the state of California. There's one here, one in LA, one in San Diego, one in Fresno. Fresno.

Speaker 1 5:45

And CSU Sacramento. Okay.

Speaker 2 5:48

There's like five or six, right? There's not that many altogether. So it does help to look at it from a different perspective of location. I think from our faculty, what you can expect is a really good solid understanding of disability. A couple of our faculty have disabilities, so we can talk about it from a personalized perspective as well as an academic and professional perspective. Um, but we also represent a diverse population, right? We are very focused on diversity and issues of diversity. There's always conversations in classrooms of whether or not you should talk about diversity just in one class or should you embed it in all your classes. And I can say that we absolutely embed it into all of our classes so that it is something that we can connect our students with. So recognizing that who our students are at CSUSB, where we're looking at folks who are from underrepresented populations and students who are first year students, um, our our program focuses on assuring that they're getting the education information that they need so that they can help the population that's in the San Bernardino and Riverside area, which is highly unique.

Speaker 1 6:57

And to add uh to what Dr. Robertson mentioned is that the focus in the workforce is uh the focus that's growing is to create and develop an inclusive workforce and the mental health needs of an aging population. And that not only includes the general population of people with disabilities, but also includes veterans. It also includes uh transition age youth with disabilities. We talked about this a little earlier about uh having rehabilitation counselors work with youth with disabilities between the ages of 14 to 24 and transition them either into employment or post-secondary education or both, right? Um, then you also have the private practice side of the field where you work with um insurance companies as accommodation specialists, you can work within human resource departments as a disability management specialist, you can work within tech companies like Amazon, Tesla, Google as accommodations specialists. So it's not just a one-track career, you find careers in diverse environments where it's state agencies, federal organizations, nonprofits, private practice. And so the demand for counselors who understand both clinical needs as well as vocational barriers and how to apply accommodations based on the disability laws that are present within the United States is at an all-time high. So yeah, it's a very growing career and a career in demand.

Speaker 2 8:32

Before you do the next question, sorry, I think on that um I think that with that, it's important to kind of talk about it from the aspect of rehabilitation and the fact that we have the clinical and the disability perspective, because a lot of the other counseling programs, I went to other counseling programs, I have a counseling psychology degree. And in my counseling psychology degree, we didn't talk about disabilities, right? If we're looking at the fact that one in four people in the population has a disability, having that added knowledge is incredibly important, right? So I think that also distinguishes us from other counseling programs, not necessarily just from other re-up counseling programs.

Speaker 9:09

No, it's absolutely great information. And I'm I'm learning as well, hearing you both talk about this. And you know, you've mentioned uh, because you know, we get that career question a lot, and you've mentioned uh some of the settings and uh places that uh graduates might be able to work in. But I was hoping you could also maybe answer uh why do you feel like that this is a field that's especially important right now?

Speaker 2 9:32

I think it's especially important. It's some of the stuff that Dr. Yala Mantilli hinted out in the other one. We've got an aging population, right? Um, so and we're still looking at the some of the tail end of the baby boomers, which is one of the largest group demographics in our country, right? Um, who are aging, and with age comes various disabilities and various uh needs to either learn more independently, how to live more independently, or some folks, because of our economy, are even at 60 going into new jobs or trying new careers. So being able to figure out how to work around those kind of things. Um, it's important also because we look at it from a military aspect. Um, history of reacco-accounsing, my very quick side note, is that it was originated for folks who were in the military who were in some of the different wars who come back with disabilities, and the government wanted to make sure that we can get those people employed. So if we're looking at that as still part of our focus, uh and we're continuing to have various military incursions, I'm not sure what the right word for it is. You've got folks who are coming back from different events that are having uh disabilities that we then need to be able to work with. And they may not be able to continue in the military because of their disability, but they can continue to work. We can help them do that. Um, so we've got military issues, we've got higher uh population of folks that are aging. We are getting better at diagnosing some things like autism and some of the different disabilities in children and youth that we weren't able to diagnose as well. So being able to get any of the learning disabilities, any of those kind of things, we're getting better at diagnosing them. We're losing some of the stigma on getting diagnosed for those. So once you are diagnosed, you're better able to receive services. We're there for that too. So I think it's um it's changes in our society that are making it a little more, making it even more important as we grow throughout the years. Anything you want to add?

Speaker 1 11:20

The only thing that I would like to add is we are in through our program, we're training, as I mentioned, employment specialists, career specialists, disability specialists. And employment is often tied to one's identity and self-worth, right? It provides purpose. So rehabilitation counselors, they tend to operate on the philosophy that everyone has the right to work and contribute to their community. So it's so as rehabilitation counselors, we're not just finding jobs, we're helping clients find sustainable and meaningful careers that improve their quality of life. And this means you advocate for workplace accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. You uh learn how to advocate for your clients to understand healthcare, right? If they start earning, how does that affect their disability benefits? Um, you identify, okay, what kind of transferable skills does this individual have after a life-altering injury or be or someone who's born with a disability, how can they contribute to their community, to their workforce, right? And be part of society. So it's a lot of it is an intersection of work and dignity through our field.

Speaker 12:44

We've got a lot of great information thus far, but one of my favorite questions to ask faculty is about misconceptions. Uh, do you feel there's any misconceptions, whether it's a student or anyone else, that might they might have sometimes when they hear rehab counseling?

Speaker 2 13:01

I do. Even even when you Google it, everyone thinks it's simply addictions, right? It's always drug and alcohol rehab. We do so much more than that. So that that is one of the easiest misconceptions is that everyone assumes it's drug and alcohol rehabilitation. And that's it. Yeah, and occasionally they'll assume that it's uh incarceration rehabilitation. Um, but those two, and we do those things, but we do so much more than those things.

Speaker 1 13:24

And sometimes, yeah, when and because when we do um even through information sessions, right, when we say people with disabilities, everyone, the automatic assumption is it's only for physical disabilities. And then if they focus on rehabilitation, it's more drug and alcohol. But in reality, rehabilitation counselors they work extensively with individuals with uh neurodiversity, right? Mental health diagnosis, substance use disorders, congenital disabilities such as spinal bifida, right? You're also working with um invisible illnesses like uh chronic pain or multiple sclerosis. So it's just and I think that's where a lot of the other counseling programs tend to not look at mental health as a disability. So within our field, all of it falls under the umbrella term of disability. And another misconception is that just because employment is a goal, every everyone thinks that, oh, they won't be able to do counseling and it's just case management or it's just job placement. It's not the program, it emphasizes a holistic point of view where it's social, psychological, and personal independence of the client, and your counseling skills are intertwined when you're doing an in-take interview, when you're writing up a treatment plan or an education plan or an employment plan for your client, or you're doing crisis intervention. So it just combines everything.

Speaker 14:58

So let's say students listen to this and they're like, This really seems like a great program. I'm very interested. What is the application process like? What's the admission requirements?

Speaker 1 15:09

Um, admission requirements, you have to have a bachelor's degree with a 3.0 minimum GPA of 3.0. Now, if you now in the past, we've also had graduate students who've come back to get their second master's. So they also require to have a 3.0 um GPA. Uh typically, students are required to submit a personal statement, three letters of recommendations, and their transcripts. We recommend all undergraduate students if you'll or and anyone who's going to apply, if you are going to uh have like send in letter of recommendations, that's the first thing you need to do because people take time to write it so that we get it on time before the deadline. Um, so just a tip there start with the letter of recommendations, get them to you know write, and then move forward with the other aspects. And applications are submitted through Cal State Apply. So we uh admit students only in the fall semester. We are a cohorted program. So if you are admitted to the program fall 2026, so 2029, you graduate with that cohort. So that's what it means. And our priority deadlines are usually the mid-June. Yeah. So it's pretty straightforward the application and admission process.

Speaker 16:24

And is there anything that you in addition to anything that you've said about the application process or admission requirements or anything about the program that you feel you want students to know before they apply?

Speaker 1 16:35

Uh yes, we are a K-Crep accredited program. K-Crep is a national organization which accredits uh different counseling programs across the United States of America and some programs in Canada as well. Um, we are a 60-unit hybrid program, and what we mean by that is we do 51% of our classes in person, and the remaining is online. So it's sort of, and it depends on the instructor. So the way I run my classes is you know, one week is in-person where you come to campus, and then what the next week is via Zoom synchronous. We do not run any form of asynchronous classes, and uh students get two clinical experiences through this program. The first is practicum, and then the second is internship. It is academically rigorous and requires a lot of reading. So learn how to read your textbooks efficiently, and we'll teach you how to do that, and also requires emotional and ethical maturity to you know learn how to work with vulnerable populations.

Speaker 17:46

And let's say a student is interested in a program, but they're kind of on the fence, they're they're unsure. Any advice for that student or you know, any signs that this might be the right path uh for them?

Speaker 2 17:59

Yeah, Dr. Robertson. Any signs that this might be the right path for them? Um, I we have a couple, I know there's uh we have a couple of information sessions that kind of talk about it. We are also very reachable, and we have two um pre-admission advisors that anyone could speak to as well about the program and the process.

Speaker 1 18:19

This is what I have. Um, so this is what I see in my program information sessions. To understand if this is a right fit for you, look back to see if you have encountered an individual with a disability within your inner circle. You know, let's start there. Second is think about do you see yourself as a traditional counselor or do you see yourself as a rehabilitation counselor? Because a traditional counselor is sitting face to face and mostly uh coming from a more psychotherapeutic aspect of counseling, right? So you're doing the 50 minutes of counseling and you know, working through the individual's emotional health. Rehabilitation counseling is not only working through the individual's emotional health, they're working through their quality of life. So you're learning about, because now one of the newest populations that we as rehabilitation counselors are working with are uh the re-entry population, which is basically individuals who have been incarcerated and are re-entering society. So learning about justice-impacted individuals, learning about accommodations, learning about problem solving, right? Not just problem solving emotional health, but problem-solving financial health, problem solving employment, problem-solving barriers that they may experience. And in order to problem solve, you have to learn how to use your counseling skills. So it's not traditional counseling, it's a time-limited service, but you are looking at it from a life aspect. So if you're interested in working with all aspects of life and looking at your and you know, looking to see that your client is gaining employment, maintaining employment, improving their life, this field is for you. How do all aspects of the person's life allow them to le be independent and lead a more fulfilling, purposeful life?

Speaker 2 20:22

I love that answer. I think it is more hands-on than some of the other counseling settings. There are various opportunities, as um Dr. Yellow Matilli talked about in one of the other questions about how many places that we work, there are various opportunities for employment in this area. Um, and I always I always talk about it even with my students of why I love rehabilitation counseling, is because there are so many different options that I can do. If you decide you want to do straight vocational rehabilitation and help people get employment, you can do that. If you decide that you want to work with children, you can do that. Usually from 14. Yes, from 14 up, you can do that. Um if you want to work with folks who are a little elderly, you can do that. If you want to work with college students, you can do that. So uh it is more hands-on. There are a vast amount of places where you can work. And I do think that most of our students, I think I paused earlier in my answer, because I think that most of our students um do come in with some disability background. They either have some community, they have a disability, they've had a parent who's worked with people with disabilities and they've been around people with disabilities all their life. So um, if you have some knowledge of understanding of any type of disability, um it would probably be a good place for you, a good fit.

Speaker 21:36

And, you know, sometimes students, when they're looking at if a program is a right fit, sometimes you know, they're looking at, you know, I work or I have family responsibilities. Do you feel like your program is uh flexible for students in different types of scenarios or situations?

Speaker 1 21:54

Our program is for students who are working professionals, right? All of our classes. Classes are in the evenings. We start at 7 p.m. and at 9 45 p.m. As I mentioned, it is a hybrid format, so mix of in-person and online learning. So it helps in reducing the commuting burden. It's a cohorted model. So you move through the program with the same group of peers, providing, you know, so for you, it's for the students, it's providing a built-in support system. So it allows them to balance family and school. We're very structured, class timings don't change, right? They know in advance what classes they're taking, when they're taking. Classes are offered only once a semester, and you know, so once an academic year because it's a cohorted program. We have, we are, as uh so previously mentioned, there are numerous rehabilitation counseling programs, but in the state of California, we are still the only traditional rehabilitation counseling program. All the of the others are clinical rehabilitation counseling programs, so it moves a little bit more heavily to the mental health aspect. But we are traditional rehabilit counseling programs. We are very well integrated into in the inland empire community, which means San Bernardino County, Riverside County as well. Our students come from everywhere in the inland empire, everywhere. Homegrown students come here, get their education, go back, and are doing amazing work in the community. So, yes, it's for working professionals.

Speaker 2 23:31

I think most of our students have jobs. We have no restrictions on any of that. Most of our students are working in the daytime classes in the evening.

Speaker 23:38

Now, do you happen to have like a student success story or memorable moment that maybe captures what your program is all about?

Speaker 1 23:46

Yeah. One of our uh students, she graduated way back in 2018, and she has a double master's special education and even rehab counseling, and she's doing really great work within the San Bernardino Unified School District. Uh, she recently also um got certified as an Americans with disabilities um act um coordinator, ADA coordinator. So she uh is learning how to implement um the law for transition age youth with disabilities with whom she's working within the school system. So she's been a really great advocate for our program within the San Bernardino Unified School District and talking to them about how to provide continuation of services once special education services end, because that's where the big gap is at this point in time for uh youth with disabilities who are graduating high school. And it's like, okay, what do I do in adulthood? Where do I go? How do I do this? So she's doing really great work. I have a lot of students who are employed with the Department of Rehabilitation across the state of California. I have students who are working in Riverside Community College as uh disability counselors, Chafee College. Uh, we have students in LA, we have students working within veterans administration. I have some students who have done their service in public in state and federal agencies and now have their own private practices. So lots of success stories.

Speaker 2 25:34

I had just had one of our students come to my class to talk about his. He's he's trying to recruit other other, he's trying to recruit graduates to where he's working. So he finished our program in 2019-ish, I think. Um went to work for the Department of Vocational Department of Rehabilitation, um, doors. It's a state federal agency that helps folks with disabilities. So he's been out, what, six years? He is now a supervisor. So being able to go from our program to a counselor to a supervisor who's over in office is pretty great in that short of a time. So we have lots of success stories.

Speaker 26:11

Yeah, that is amazing to hear. So let's say uh if you want listeners to remember one thing about the masters in rehab counseling, what would that one thing be? Or two?

Speaker 1 26:23

My one thing, see, when I came across rehabilitation counseling, I um my biggest takeaway, and I still stand by it, is um it's not about fixing what is broken. It's basically rehabilitation counseling taught me how to unlock the potential in people and myself that was always there, right? So, but that meant you have to meet people where they are, and that meant you have to understand how does the law help you? What are the limitations? How can we work around the limitations in order to work around the limitations? How can technology support you? What accommodations are in place, right? Who are your who is the network? So, yeah, my biggest takeaway is it's not about fixing what is broken, but literally unlocking the potential that has always been there in people.

Speaker 2 27:22

I think the tenets in rehabilitation counseling, when we talk about advocacy and empowerment and unlocking the potential, I think those the tenets of those things work across so many settings, right? If I looked at administrative positions, being able to do that with my staff is important, right? Those are some of the things that and we teach those in our program. Um so I I think I think that is a really good takeaway. I also think for our program, I'm a very practical girl. If I'm getting a degree, I want to get it in, I want to get employment and I want that employment to increase my um net worth, right? Um our students work, our students get jobs and increases their net worth. The thing that I like about CSUSB as a whole is the focus on being able to change lives, individual lives, that also focuses on changing communities. Rehab counseling is top tier in that of making sure that as a degree, we're getting people an advancement so that they're able to change their communities, um, change their lives, change their families' lives, then change their communities. Um but it also helps with the bigger picture, right? Of making sure that San Bernardino, Inland Empire, all of this area is moving upwards. So I think that's important.

Speaker 28:37

Love it. So let's say CDO wants more information. What's the next step? Where can they go?

Speaker 1 28:43

Next step is uh visit our uh CSESB Rehab Counseling website. Um, you can also contact me, the program coordinator. Um, the best way to reach me is email. Um the fastest response you will get is email, so do not call me on my office number. Email is the best way. If um you don't want to meet with me, you can go meet with our advisors, Miss Olga or Mr. Arturo, and you can email them at coeinfo at csv.edu. And uh yeah, we also, if you are unable to make it to any of our program information sessions on our website, we have uh the recording of the program information sessions. So you can also watch that. And if you have any questions, as I mentioned, email me or academic, the graduate academic advisors.

Speaker 29:36

I've learned a lot just as an advisor from hearing about this program. And thank you both so much for sharing about uh rehab counseling, um, you know, the application process, admission requirements, misconceptions, career opportunities, what they're learning, all the great stuff about your program. Thank you both so much for being on the podcast today.

Speaker 2 29:56

Thank you.