StudyQA — Master: Psychology with emphasis in Counseling Psychology

Description Contents

The mission of the MA in Psychology with an emphasis in Counseling Psychology program is to provide its participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to become competent in counseling psychology through academic and experiential learning. The program aims at educating future psychologists who have sound knowledge of the theory and practice of counseling psychology, who are competent consumers and creative producers of social science research, who are competent in counseling practice, and who are ethical and sensitive to the cultures, values, and worlds of various clients. Viewing research and practice as interdependent and mutually supporting, the MA in Counseling Psychology is based on the scientist-practitioner training model.

The program is committed both (1) to preparing counseling psychologists for advanced doctoral studies in psychology and (2) to providing training and experience that prepare students for practice. The goal is to train psychologists who have a sound knowledge of the bases of counseling and psychotherapy. Adopting a multicultural perspective, the program also emphasizes the importance of multicultural competence in both research and practice.

outcome:

a) You become a Psychologist, b) You gain verbal skills that are needed for every profession, because communication is crucial is to all disciplines, c) You get the Propädeutikum certificate, which is the first important step to become a Psychotherapist in Austria (no extra cost!), d) You are ideally prepared for any PhD Programm.

The fact that the Propädeutikum is included in our MA Programm is particularly interesting for local students, who plan to become a Psychotherapist. The Propädeutikum costs money and with only a bit more you can it and on top of it earn a Master degree in Psychology, which of course can open many more doors for your professional career.

Entry requirements:

(1) A Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from another accredited university with a cumulative GPA of a 3.0 from the applicant's undergraduate degree granting institution.

Completion of course work in the following areas within the undergraduate education:

Introduction to Psychology or General Psychology
Statistics
Research Methods or Experimental Psychology

Recommended completion of coursework in the following areas:

Social Psychology
Biological Psychology, Neuropsychology, or Physiological Psychology
Personality Psychology
Human Development or Developmental Psychology
Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology

While completion of coursework in these areas is not an unconditional requirement, participants with completed coursework in these areas (or equivalent) will be given preference in the admissions process. Please contact the Admissions Office should you have questions regarding courses you need to complete prior to starting the Master program.

(2) If you have a Bachelor Degree other than in Psychology you may apply for a sequential Bachelor in Psychology at Webster Vienna Private University, which requires a completion of 16 courses in the Psychology major.

(3) For students coming from the Austrian higher education system, if your 1st Studienabschnitt in Psychology is completed, there is a possibility to convert the 1st Studienabschnitt to a Bachelor of Science (in Psychology) Degree.Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:

Explain the main approaches to counseling and psychotherapy and the role of the therapeutic relationship.
Describe important theories of human development and examine their significance to counseling psychology.
Discuss the major categories of psychological disorders and use this knowledge to assess and diagnose psychopathology.
Describe the mechanisms of action for a variety of psychopharmacological agents and evaluate the role of psychopharmacology in counseling psychology.
Describe the importance of professional ethics and demonstrate how ethical standards and legal requirements are relevant to the practice of counseling and psychotherapy.
Administer and interpret various widely-used psychological tests.
Construct the appropriate research design, collect data, and implement the necessary statistical techniques to answer research questions relevant to counseling psychology which adds to the discipline.
Demonstrate practical counseling skills that can be applied to individuals and groups to address a broad range of issues and settings.
Integrate theory, experience, behavioral observation and analysis to systematically enhance counseling knowledge and skills.
Evaluate the appropriateness of various counseling approaches to different cultures, values, and world-views of various clients and choose appropriate approaches.