Master of Science (M.S.) in Counseling
(Available only at the Pleasantville Campus)
General Information

The M.S. in counseling on the Pleasantville campus is a 36-credit program. Our goal is to help you to develop strong counseling skills. You may choose our general track or you can specialize in substance abuse or loss and grief counseling.

The program consists of a counseling core of 21 credits. This core provides students with a strong foundation of counseling theories and techniques.

The substance abuse track totals 15 credits, and allows students to focus on treatment of substance abusers. The need for well-trained substance abuse counselors is firmly established. Most graduates of the program have gone onto successful careers in the field.

The loss and grief track courses prepare students to work with the chronically and terminally ill, and with their families and survivors. This track includes specific courses in Loss Across Life Span, Death and Dying, and Grief Counseling. Grief counseling is fast becoming a very important aspect of psychotherapy and counseling.

The general counseling track features the core curriculum in counseling to which selected courses from the two specializations are added. Graduates who follow this curriculum will be prepared for advanced training and special-interest areas of applied counseling. This track provides a good background for further study at the doctoral level.

At the end of their course of study as part of the counseling core, all students take an integrating seminar of three credits. This capstone experience promotes students’ integration of theory and practice, and examines professional liabilities, ethics and practices in the counseling field.

In addition, all students engage in supervised experience (for no academic credit), beginning as early as the second semester of study.

A prerequisite for the M.S. in counseling is a bachelor’s degree in psychology, human relations, human services or a related field. If students have not completed courses in general, social, abnormal and experimental psychology, and research methods, they will be required to complete the following two courses prior to beginning the graduate program: General Psychology (PSY 104), and Social Psychology (PSY 304).

WB01539_.gif (682 bytes)  Curriculum Requirements

Students have the option of completing the program either on a full-time or part-time basis. Transfer credits are accepted, but candidates must fulfill the residency requirements of 30 credits at Pace University.
wpe09948.gif (51505 bytes) We integrate the understandings of cognitive-behavioral, existential-humanistic, and developmental counseling approaches into our teaching. Thus, we give our students the opportunity to develop a range of skills that will serve you in the variety of situations you will encounter professionally.

We offer small classes and individual attention. We have students from all over the United States and from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Many are international students. There is great generational diversity too, with students ranging in age from their twenties to their sixties! It is easy to see how this mix can make for a very rich and rewarding environment, especially in counseling.

An important feature of the program is our emphasis on hands-on skill development. Our students become active participants in their education through training groups, role-playing, the observation of video vignettes of counseling sessions, and taping of practice sessions.

Your studies can become an opportunity for growth and academic learning. You should find that this dimension will foster a high level of commitment to your studies. It will give you a deeper understanding of the counseling.

Rostyslaw W. Robak, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology and Chair
Director, Graduate Program in Counseling

 

WB01539_.gif (682 bytes)   Faculty

Rostyslaw W. Robak, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology,  is the Director of the Graduate Program in Counseling. He has over 25 years of counseling experience. He has worked in Daytop Village (drug rehabilitation program) in NY and several other clinical settings. He is the author of A primer for today’s substance abuse counselor (1991) and a new book (in press) on death and grief counseling. He has also published several articles in the areas of drug counseling, loss and bereavement, and grief counseling. His counseling is an integration of existential and cognitive approaches under the umbrella of self-perception theory.
e-mail: rrobak@pace.edu

 

Frances Delahanty, Ph.D. has taught at Pace for over 30 years. Her interests include: 1) Altered states of consciousness 2) Alternatives to violence 3) Personal and spiritual growth and Development 4) Interpersonal skills 5) Group Dynamics and Psychotherapy.
e-mail: fdelahanty@pace.edu

 

Alma McManus, Ph.D. has a lifespan developmental approach. She has 30 years of counseling experience. She is a part-time counselor at the RDC Center for Counseling and Human Development in White Plains where she does psychological testing and assessment for children and adults. Her research has been in the areas of college student development and multicultural counseling.
e-mail: amcmanus@pace.edu

 

Tom Nardi, Ph.D. is the director of the New York Center for Eclectic Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
e-mail: tnardi@pace.edu

 

Laura Zeppieri, MS., C.A.S.A.C. is a graduate of Pace’s M.S. program in counseling and is an assistant clinical supervisor at Greenburgh Alcoholism Treatment Services, working in the Children of Alcoholics and Addicts (COA) Support program.
e-mail: lzeppieri@pace.edu

 

Abigail Gleason, Ph.D. has an interest in loss and grief counseling and in minority mental health.
e-mail: lzeppieri@pace.edu

For more information about the M.S. in Counseling Program, contact:

Psychology Department
(Pleasantville Campus)
Telephone: 914-773-3791
e-mail: rrobak@pace.edu

 

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