Disability Training and Programme Conduciveness in Counselor Education: A Preliminary Assessment

Abstract

ABSTRACT Counselors from all speciality areas should be prepared to serve people with disabilities (PWDs). Thus, we examined how counselling students in CACREP accredited programmes evaluate their disability training and their programmes’ disability conduciveness, and how it differs by speciality area. Effects of discrimination, ableism, power, privilege, and oppression on the life of PWDs, disability multicultural counselling competencies, and environmental, attitudinal, and individual barriers for PWDs were the training areas with highest three mean scores, indicating greater student satisfaction. Specific skills for leading a group consists of PWDs, sexual and reproductive concerns of PWDs, and parenting by parents with disabilities had the lowest three mean scores, indicating lower level of satisfaction. Results highlighted the inadequacy in disability training for clinical mental health and school counselling programmes. For disability conduciveness, almost one-fourth of the participants reported their programmes not meeting any of the criteria.