RUSEL-TC Clinic

ROWAN UNIVERSITY SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING TELE-COUNSELING [RUSEL-TC] CLINIC

Rationale:

As a result of the pandemic and changes in education, schools and communities have seen an increase in mental health, substance abuse, and domestic abuse. There is an immediate concern to address the protective factors of social emotional wellbeing for students, educators, and parents. Schools are now being asked to move from being trauma informed to creating a culture centered in healing engagement. More specifically, school counselors are tasked with addressing students, teachers, staff, parents, and school communities’ social-emotional, and academic wellbeing, all while adjusting to new ways of coping and learning. The reality is that schools are unable to do it all. In an effort to extend those services and support school communities, the Counseling in Educational Settings program created the Rowan University Social Emotional Learning Tele-Counseling [RUSEL-TC] Clinic. It is important to note that has been approved by the university. RUSEL-TC is part of a larger university plan to assist in school community concerns. As more services become available we will keep you informed.

Who Are We?

Offered by the Counseling in Educational Session, through an antiracist framework, RUSEL-TC provides no/ low-cost support to promote social-emotional competencies for students, educators, and parents, across communities in New Jersey under the supervision of Drs. Kara Ieva & Huan-Tang Lu.

Consistent with the University’s mission and values on non-discrimination, RUSEL-TC provides services free from any type of discrimination and promotes equity and healthy identities.

Why Social Emotional Learning (SEL)?

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. (https://casel.org/what-is-sel)

Benefits of SEL

Research confirms SEL competencies can be taught, modeled, and practiced and lead to positive student outcomes that are important for success in school and in life.

Decades of research studies demonstrate the following benefits of SEL:  

• Improvement in students’ social and emotional skills, attitudes, relationships, academic performance, and perceptions of classroom and school climate 

• Decline in students’ anxiety, behavior problems, and substance use 

• Long-term improvements in students’ skills, attitudes, prosocial behavior, and academic performance

What Services We Offer?

The Rowan University Tele-Counseling Social Emotional Training Clinic (RU SEL-TC) offers

no/low-cost individual and group psychoeducation, counseling, and consultation services

to promote social-emotional competencies for students, teachers, and parents across New Jersey via a video-conferencing platform.

The RU SEL-TC is a clinical training facility for Master’s level counseling-in-training (Trainees) in the Counseling in Educational Settings program at Rowan University. Live clinical supervision

is provided by the Clinic Director and the program faculty who are certified school counselors and/or licensed professional counselors in New Jersey.

• Individual (Psychoeducational) Counseling: [students]
• Group counseling: [students, teachers, and families]
  • Topics vary depending on need.[Some examples: wellness, peer relations, organization, social development, work-life balance, parenting & remote learning]
• Consultation Services: SEL implementation [parents, and educators in PK-12 settings]
• Articulation: with informed consent, clinicians from RUSEL-TC can interact with school counselors to gain insight and provide progress back to schools and parents. This is a school, family, community partnership to support individual student success.

SEL Competencies We Focus On:

• Self-Awareness- The abilities to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts.This includes capacities to recognize one’s strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose.
• Self-Management- The abilities to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations. This includes the capacities to delay gratification, manage stress, and feel motivation and agency to accomplish personal and collective goals. 

• Social Awareness- The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts.This includes the capacities to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
• Relationship Skills- The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups. This includes the capacities to communicate clearly, listen actively, cooperate, work collaboratively to problem solve and negotiate conflict constructively, navigate settings with differing social and cultural demands and opportunities, provide leadership, and seek or offer help when needed. 

• Responsible Decision Making- The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations. This includes the capacities to consider ethical standards and safety concerns, and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being.

Please see the following Sub-Competencies endorsed by the New Jersey Department of Education.

How Do I Refer?

RUSEL-TC has specific approved partnerships with schools where counselors are able to direct refer. We also welcome school counselor, parent, and self-educator referrals.

Click here to fill out a Request for Services Form: https://bit.ly/RUSEL-TC ; and we will reach out to schedule an intake session; or

Click here to schedule an Intake Session  an https://calendly.com/ruseltc with one of our intake counselors"

Click here to complete the Informed Consent: https://bit.ly/RUSELinformedConsent

Contact info: RUSELclinic@rowan.edu

The clinic faculty in conjunction with the counselors commit to conducting semester evaluations on P-12 student progress, counselor progress, and overall clinic functioning

We operate under the code of ethics from the American School Counselor Association(ASCA) and the American Counseling Association (ACA) codes of ethics.