What Does a Doctoral Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling Bring to Speech-Language Pathology Programs?
In this paper, I will describe the potential contributions of interdisciplinary studies combining speech-language pathology and rehabilitation counseling in the preparation of future speech-language pathologists (SLPs). I will provide a brief introduction to the field of rehabilitation counseling and consider it from an SLP’s perspective. Next, I will describe some of my own personal experiences as they pertain to the intersecting cultures of work and disability and how these experiences influenced my practice as a master’s level SLP eventually leading to my decision to pursue a doctoral degree in rehabilitation counseling. I will describe the impact of this line of interdisciplinary study on my research and teaching. Finally, I will present some arguments about why concepts relevant to rehabilitation counseling are important to the mindset of SLPs.