General Introduction
Throughout time there have always been individuals who have counseled others. For our purposes, counseling refers to a profession whose primary purpose is to help individuals improve the overall quality of their lives, both intrapersonally as well as interpersonally. That is, counselors and therapists are professionally trained to teach clients how to effectively manage difficult areas of their lives, which may include difficulties first encountered in childhood, adolescence, and/or adulthood. Our counseling program offers three post-graduate degrees. In addition to a master of arts degree (M.A.) in counseling, we offer two specialist in education (Ed.S.) degrees: school psychology and educational psychology. Click here for an index with links to more specific information on our programs.

Counseling
Counselors are trained to work under appropriate supervision in a variety of settings including mental health centers/clinics, psychiatric hospitals, social service agencies, government bodies/agencies, and private practice settings. Counselors are often involved in such areas as intake assessment evaluations, crisis intervention, individual and/or group counseling, individual/group testing, and/or research. Such a degree may also be of interest to higher education counselors, residence hall supervisors, classroom teachers, administrators, and youth workers.

School Psychology
School psychologists are trained to assist students with various psychological, social, and behavioral needs as well as learning and motivational problems. In addition, school psychologists assist teachers and families with developing and/or providing optimal academic and/or psychosocial support systems for students who need such assistance. Thus, school psychologists attempt to focus their efforts on making the educational experience of students as positive, productive, and rewarding as possible.
School psychologists must be certified and/or licensed by the state in which they practice. They can also seek national certification by the National School Psychology Certification Board (NSPCB); however, not all states accept national certification.

Educational Psychology
One of the primary goals of an educational psychologist is to focus on how to make teaching and learning as effective as possible not only in the classroom but in other institutional settings as well. Educational psychologists consider many variables in the above process to include personal ability and motivation as well as cultural, ethnic, and socio-economic influences. Oftentimes, such persons are actively involved in research to examine more effective and productive ways to learn, remember, create, problem-solve, and apply information.

For more information on how to become a Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP), visit the Board of Behavioral Sciences Licensing Law and Regulations (BBS) website at the following websites:
http://www.bbs.ca.gov/law-reg.htm
http://www.bbs.ca.gov/art5.htm