REQUIREMENTS OF THIS 2 YEAR PROGRAM: (60 UNITS)

REQUIREMENTS OF THIS 3RD YEAR PROGRAM (30 UNITS)

This diploma is for those who have already completed the 60 units necessary for the 2-year Professional Counselor & Therapist Diploma and want to continue to advanced status as a consultant and/or are working on their doctorate. Candidates are required to select 30 additional units from the following list of electives.

ELECTIVES:

REQUIREMENTS:

Each Diploma requires Courses, Group Supervision & Professional Development of counseling experience. See details under specific diploma programs.

COMPONENTS OF THE PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA PROGRAMS (in addition to the required courses):

GROUPS FOR SUPERVISION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

EXPERIENCE AS A COUNSELOR, EXPERIENCE AS A COUNSELEE

MENTORING BY THE DEAN AND FACULTY, EVALUATION BY THE DEAN AND FACULTY

SUPERVISION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, GROUPS AND TELE-CONFERENCE

DESCRIPTION / AIM:

The aim of these small groups meeting with a senior faculty clinician is for students to both receive case management consultation and discuss professional development. The students' development as professional counselors and therapists is an important focus of the Refuah program. Students are encouraged and where feasible assisted in gaining clinical experience that they can bring for discussion to group supervision sessions. Credit: 4 Units per 8 session semester.

STRUCTURE:

Groups of 5 to 8 students generally meet for 1.5 - 2 hours per week for 8 weeks concurrent with the Diploma Courses. At least one group meets from 4.00-6.00 pm preceding the Diploma class. However, to further accommodate students' schedules, groups are arranged at other times upon request of 4 or more students. Even if a student has not yet developed a private practice or started an internship or practicum, participation in these groups can be very valuable for gaining a great deal of clinical experience. Group discussions focus on such issues as the establishment of comfortable, professional working relationships with clients and various other issues, such as financial issues, practice development, approaches and methods. Supervision can also be provided by phone, by special arrangement, either individually or in small groups by tele-conference.

EXPERIENCE AS A COUNSELOR:

INTERNSHIP / PRACTICUM:

Various opportunities are available for student participation in internship or practicum programs where the student can gain supervised experience in clinical settings. Refuah Institute's referral service refers clients to Diploma students who want referrals.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDENT'S COUNSELING PRACTICE:

Students are encouraged and assisted where feasible in developing a private practice in conjunction with their current life situation and work. Where appropriate, the Refuah Institute will assist the student by making client referrals.

EXPERIENCE AS A COUNSELEE:

All students in the Professional Counselor Diploma and Professional Youth Counselor Diploma Program are expected to experience a minimum of 4 sessions of individual counseling with a counselor or therapist of their choice. The requirement for the Counselor and Therapist Diploma is a total of 8 sessions. Students will benefit from this in several ways - learning about therapy by observing counseling with an expert, experiencing the perspective of the client, as well as having an opportunity to work on their own issues.

MENTORING BY THE DEAN AND FACULTY:

Faculty mentoring is provided personally by the Dean and by other faculty members as arranged by the Dean. Each student is invited and expected to schedule a meeting each quarter with the Dean to discuss their personal development and progress.

EVALUATION BY THE DEAN AND FACULTY:

Evaluation by Dean and faculty is based upon observation of the student in workshops, groups and in mentoring contacts. Term papers and other projects are also taken into consideration.

Faculty Appointments and Development

The Senior Faculty consists of experienced Rabbanim, counselors, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, consultants, supervisors, facilitators, educators, mentors and trainers notable for their teaching skills. Suitable senior faculty members will be appointed to the Rabbinic, Academic, and Professorial Advisory Board.

The REFUAH INSTITUTE considers the training and development of its faculty as one of its important obligations and functions. Advanced Diploma students may be offered the opportunity to develop their skills as Facilitators, Supervisors, and Junior Faculty, as Teaching Assistants and Instructors.

Those interested in joining our Junior or Senior Faculty should request and submit the "Application for Faculty Appointment Form" available from the REFUAH INSTITUTE office at (02) 571-5112. The Dean welcomes recommendations & inquiries and appreciates all applications.

Professional Board Certification

BY THE ASSOCIATION BNEI-TORAH COUNSELORS AND THERAPISTS

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEMBERS OF THE CERTIFYING BOARD ARE PROFESSOR GERALD CAPLAN, MD, RABBI EMANUEL FELDMAN, PHD, RABBI JOSEPH HALBFINGER, PHD, RABBI ZEV LEFF, RABBI MORDECAI REICH, PHD, PROFESSOR JOSHUA RITCHIE, MD, CHARLOTTE SAUNDERS, MSW, BCD.

Eligible to apply for CERTIFICATION BY THE ASSOCIATION OF BNEI-TORAH COUNSELORS AND THERAPISTS are those who have successfully completed the 2 year PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR AND THERAPIST DIPLOMA consisting of the COUNSELING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT COURSE (4 Units) plus 32 Units of Courses/workshops and 6 terms (24) Units of GROUP SUPERVISION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT that comprises a total of more than 1,000 hours of training and supervised experience. (includes 300+ hours of supervision and supervised experience).

THE PROFESSIONAL BOARD OF EXAMINERS OF THE ASSOCIATION will review the candidates' credentials documentation of supervised experience and recommendations from their Rabbaim, teachers and supervisors, employing organizations and clients, evaluate the students by evaluating a written case summary and audiotape of a counseling session with a client, a written essay exam and personal interview/s and oral examination of the candidates. THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS will then recommend to the BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE ASSOCIATION OF BNEI-TORAH COUNSELORS AND THERAPISTS those candidates who they deem fit to be certified by the Board. CERTIFICATION BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES and acceptance as a member in the ASSOCIATION BNEI-TORAH COUNSELORS AND THERAPISTS will be granted to the successful candidates and they will then be entitled to identify themselves as A CERTIFIED BNEI-TORAH COUNSELOR AND THERAPIST (CBCT) and as a FELLOW OF THE ASSOCIATION OF BNEI-TORAH COUNSELORS AND THERAPISTS (FABCT). Members will be required to maintain their membership status by continuing education and ongoing supervision of their clinical practice.

University Degrees

The Refuah Institute is not a degree-granting university. However, our students can work on and obtain university degrees from American universities by distance learning. Most English speaking universities will grant credit for Units earned at the Refuah Institute, examples have been NYU and Heed University in the USA and Regents College in London. Heed University has recognized the REFUAH INSTITUTE'S DIPLOMA PROGRAMS' course work as satisfying the requirements for advanced degrees. Several of our Diploma students have earned, and others are in the process of earning Masters or Doctoral degrees from California Coast University, while other Diploma students are in the process of earning their graduate degrees from Heed University.

Students in our programs can use their unit credits towards Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees. For assistance in choosing a suitable degree program, potential students can apply to the REFUAH INSTITUTE and discuss their plans with the Dean or members of the staff. Acceptance to a university, status upon acceptance, transfer of credits, recognition of previous degrees and life experience credit are determined by the universities upon the student's application to the University of his/her choice. We can advise and assist the student with any University Distance Learning Program that might best suit the student's needs.

UNIVERSITY DEGREE PROGRAM COSTS

The tuition and fees for the university degree programs by distance learning are determined by, and paid directly to the university of the student's choice. The Refuah Institute office can provide you with information regarding university programs and their costs and can assist you in contacting these programs.

Heed University has a special scholarship fund for Refuah Institute Diploma students enrolling in their Degree Programs.

Tuition, Fees & Scholarships

COURSES

TUITION FOR A 2 UNIT COURSE: $ 400, ($ 250 with a scholarship)

TUITION FOR A 4 UNIT COURSE: $ 780, ($ 480 with a scholarship)

GROUPS FOR SUPERVISION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

TUITION FOR GROUP SUPERVISION, 4 UNITS: $ 400, ($ 250 with a scholarship)

PAYMENTS AND REFUND POLICY:

Extended payment arrangements are available. All payments, or commitments to a payment schedule must be made at the time of enrollment, before beginning the course or program. The Refuah Institute will return/refund to a student who leaves the program the tuition paid for courses not begun, with the exception of the registration fee. Diplomas and Certificates are only issued when the student has completed all academic and financial commitments.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Various scholarship programs exist. Scholarships are granted upon application to those in need of financial assistance based upon availability. Those requiring scholarship assistance are advised to apply early. Some partial work-scholarships may sometimes be available to select students as per special arrangement with the Dean.

Some of our students have been able to help us find donors for our scholarship fund. Donations to the REFUAH INSTITUTE and to the Refuah Institute Scholarship Fund are USA tax-deductible charitable contributions. The REFUAH INSTITUTE is recognized by the United States IRS as a religious educational non-profit organization qualifying under section [501 (c)(3)] as tax-exempt. The REFUAH INSTITUTE'S IRS ID Number is 13-3760104.

Scholarships are available for the many students in need of financial assistance thanks to generous donations to the Refuah Institute Scholarship Fund by the Tzemach Fund, the New Tudor Fund, the Bernstein Memorial Fund, Moshe Feldman, Dr. Moshe Rothkopf Eye Care Center, Aba & Pamela Claman, and the IDT Charitable Fund.