The Master's degree course Counseling and Social Law has the following to offer
- a well-founded practice-oriented scientific education
- Counseling competencies in the four basic orientations of social intervention theories, systematic-solution-oriented, psychoanalytical and person-centered)
- Evaluation methods for the internal and external evaluation of counseling services
- An integration of legal and psychosocial counseling methods
- Individual teaching counseling outside of institutions of higher education
- The acquisition of practical supervision and coaching competencies
- A possibility to complete a doctorate after graduating
The degree course
The standard period of study is six semesters (or 120 credits in accordance with ECTS). The degree course is modularly structures and includes 12 modules.
The teaching takes place during the performance of the tasks. During the semester every fourteen days on Thursdays and Fridays including three-day long block events from Thursday until Saturday usually at the beginning and at the end of the semester.
The overall workload is 3600 hours.
The degree course includes a total of 765 hours lectures (51 hours per week during the semester). 75 hours group work, as well as 2760 hours self-study (including 20 hours individual teacher counseling in an individual setting over the entire period of studies plus 100 hours study-accompanying practice.
After the third semester, an extensive specialization in two areas is possible. This way the different work areas of the participants in the specialized fields are considered.
1. Focus Counseling / Law / Case Management
The focus Counseling / Law / Case Management qualifies on a scientific level for tasks in psychosocial counseling in connection with legal questions. You develop differentiated counseling competencies, you can carry out crisis interventions and develop your own counseling style from various counseling methods.
The degree course Psychosocial Counseling and Law (M.A.) consists of 12 modules. You can find detailed information about the modules regarding the degree course here:
Module manual M.A. Psychosocial Counseling and Law
[Translate to EN:]
㤠3 Zulassungsvoraussetzungen
(1) Voraussetzungen für die Zulassung zum Studium sind
a. ein abgeschlossenes Hochschulstudium an einer staatlich anerkannten Hochschule aus den Bereichen des Gesundheits-, Sozial- oder Pflegewesens mit einer Regelstudienzeit von mindestens sechs Semestern bzw. mit mindestens 180 ECTS-Punkten (Credit Points) und
b. 300 Stunden Beratungserfahrungen im Bereich der psychosozialen und / oder rechtlichen Beratung. Diese Beratungserfahrung kann während oder außerhalb des vorangegangenen Hochschulstudiums erworben worden sein. Die Beratungserfahrung kann im Rahmen einer Berufstätigkeit, eines Praktikums und / oder einer ehrenamtlichen Tätigkeit erworben worden sein.
(2) Hochschulabsolventinnen und Hochschulabsolventen einer staatlichen Hochschule mit einer Regelstudienzeit von mindestens sechs Semestern bzw. mit mindestens 180 ECTS-Punkten (Credit Points) aus anderen als in Absatz 1 Buchstabe a genannten Bereichen müssen Beratungserfahrung im Bereich der psychosozialen und / oder rechtlichen Beratung von mindestens 2.500 Stunden nachweisen.
(3) Zum Nachweis der Zulassungsvoraussetzung nach Absatz 1 Buchstabe b bzw. nach Absatz 2 ist eine Bestätigung der entsprechenden Beratungsstelle bzw. Institution vorzulegen.“
Goal of the application-oriented master's degree course, which is accredited since 2002, is to ensure qualification and quality standards for a scientifically founded psychosocial counseling in connection with legal knowledge.G77 Mediation-related competencies and crisis intervention are integral parts of the counseling understanding. The professionalization of counseling shall be supported by research competence and the use of scientifically tested and supported theories and procedures.
The integrative counseling approach is for the counseling of persons and groups in their life and work environment, as well as in their developmental tasks. On the one hand it is attempted to improve the offers of demanding counseling units for people in particularly difficult situations and work situations in the sense of a consumer and client protection and on the other hand, meet the demand for expert leadership and teaching competencies.
The master's degree course takes into consideration that the professional counseling occupations in the Federal Republic of Germany underlie the legal regulations, which statutorily regulate counseling. At the same time the socio-political importance of counseling is underlined and critically questioned with social phenomena. The expansion of the social state lead to the fact that social relations have become more and more statutorily regulated. In social politics and social work the statutory regulation process has become irreversible it its core. The consequence is that due to the different counseling offers more differentiated legal claims of clients must be considered.
In order to reach that goal, the students must be able to theoretically substantiate a problem in the field of counseling including psychotherapeutic perspectives, as well as psychosocial and legal aspects independently and connect it with a professional choice of counseling methods. During the studies social law, psychosocial counseling and intervention methods are conveyed together.
Basic counseling competencies are developed from the four basic orientations of social intervention theories (behavior-oriented, systematically-solution-oriented, psychoanalytical and person-centered). The broad spectrum of these methods shall serve the diversity of the problems of the clients and the work fields and provide the students with the chance to develop their own counseling style and an individual profile.
With the academic degree 'M.A. Psychosocial Counseling and Law' you can work in the following fields among others:
- Partnership, family and life counseling
- separation and divorce counseling / family mediation
- Education counseling
- guardian ad litem / child's advocate
- debt counseling
- Intercultural counseling
- unemployment and employment counseling
- Counseling of older people (particularly care counseling and supervision counseling)
- alcohol and addiction counseling
- counseling of people with disabilities
- counseling in the work-world (i.e. supervision, mediation and coaching)
- case management
The master's degree course is designed so that the already mentioned work fields can be extended by foci in counseling, mediation and crisis intervention.
