Helping Everyone Find Work

Finding a job in this economy is difficult. But for people with disabilities, it can seem nearly impossible. That’s why San Diego State University has created its Rehabilitation Counseling Program to give clients tools to achieve economic independence.

SDSU’s rehab counseling degree program is top 10 in the country.

The SDSU rehabilitation counseling master's degree program is one of the top 10 in the country.

While the overall unemployment rate in the country hovers around 10 percent, unemployment and underemployment for individuals with disabilities is at an alarming 70 percent.
“The overall population with disabilities is growing substantially with higher autism rates, psychiatric disabilities related to an aging population and an increasing number of wounded warriors returning home from war,” said Caren Sax, chair of San Diego State University’s Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education.

The department is home to the Rehabilitation Counseling Program (RPC), which trains students to help those with disabilities find meaningful work at a livable wage. A master’s level degree program, it is ranked among the top 10 in the nation, according to “America’s Best Graduate Schools 2012,” published by U.S. News & World Report.

Students in the RPC learn to work with people of all levels of ability — from individuals dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder to those with traumatic brain injuries. For Jesus de la Pena, who is enrolled in the program, it means more than a career, it means an opportunity to feel fulfilled in his work. As a veteran, he has seen friends return home from war battered and scarred, both physically and mentally.

“I can relate to the men and women who’ve served and serve them better,” said de la Pena, who has been in the Navy since 1990. “I will be able to help veterans understand what they have gone through, and give them the tools they need to get back into working society.”

Rehabilitation counselors also help people find structure, social interaction and a sense of identity, said Charles Degeneffe, a professor and coordinator of the counseling program. “That’s something that for veterans, in particular, can be hard to grasp once out of the military,” he believes.

Training veterans and others for new careers helps minimize the economic impact those with disabilities and health conditions have on the rest of the country.

“The work being done by rehabilitation counselors makes a difference to tax payers,” Degeneffe asserted. “If people with disabilities are working, then they won’t be reliant on public support.”

That’s why the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration awarded more than $2.5 million in grants last year to assist SDSU College of Education with bringing more professionals into the rehabilitation-counseling field.

It is estimated that there will be a need across the state for 500 new counselors within the next five years as persons with disabilities continue to have the highest unemployment rate of all underrepresented groups, according to the California Department of Rehabilitation.

Approximately 25 students graduate from SDSU’s program annually through its traditional, on-campus program, and an additional 20-25 complete the degree online.

-- Gina Jacobs

SDSU's Rehabilitation Counseling Program

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