Chaminade University of Honolulu

Master of Science in Counseling Psychology

Kyle John Atabay ’93, MSCP ’97

How did your education at Chaminade contribute to your professional success?

I enrolled at Chaminade after completing my A.A. degree at Kapiʻolani Community College. I had already decided to go into counseling so completing my B.S. was simply a means to achieving the result of completing my M.S.C.P. I had a choice of focus areas once in the M.S.C.P. program, and I teetered between Human Services counseling and School Counseling, but soon realized that school counseling was my calling. I was fortunate to have secured a school counseling position with the D.O.E. prior to completing my master’s degree, but they made it clear that I would need to complete the degree to keep the position. In total, I completed a 28.5-year career in formal school systems.

Can you recall a specific moment or experience during your time that had a significant impact on you, either academically or socially?

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Chaminade—so much so that I decided to continue my experience there by taking a role in the Admissions Office after I finished my bachelor’s degree. My early years as a graduate student were coupled with being an employee of the University. I recall preparing for my interview and making the choice to wear a suit—my very first “real job” kind of interview. I guess the suit worked because I was offered the position, and had the opportunity to share my own Chaminade experience with potential students around the country as well as Guam, Saipan and Micronesia. This experience taught me the importance of first impressions. As I moved into my career in education, I sat through many interviews—panel style—just as I had in that first interview with Chaminade. Later in my career, as a school administrator, I found myself a regular member of many more interview selection committees.

How did your Chaminade education shape your perspective and personal growth?

After I graduated from Damien Memorial High School, I wanted to venture into the world of college by attending U.H. Mānoa. However, because I was so used to the small school setting, U.H. proved to be a little overwhelming. After a little break from school, I continued at the then-brand-new Kapiʻolani Community College at Diamond Head where I thrived in the small campus environment. Having to move on after completing my A.A., Chaminade seemed like the natural choice. I was also somewhat of an untraditional student since I had taken a little break. Chaminade provided a great community in which I could grow intellectually and professionally. I have fond memories of the students with whom I attended classes, as well as the professors of the courses that I took. 

How have you continued to invest in your professional development since graduating?

After completing my master’s degree, I began my profession as a school counselor for the state as well as independent schools. Being a school counselor sets you up perfectly for school administration, and I eventually went that route. I am happy to say that in 2011, I decided to return to U.H. Mānoa’s College of Education where I completed a three-year doctoral program in Professional Educational Practice. Working in education automatically provides you the opportunity to continuously grow in your development as an educator, and I took every advantage of those opportunities. I have to say that building a strong professional network is just as important, and the internet and social media surely have fed into building that network. 

How has your education influenced your personal goals and achievements?

Graduating from a Catholic high school and university instilled great values, and being able to simultaneously grow spiritually has had a tremendous impact on my personal goals and achievements. Catholic school education teaches you how to be a good student and having that firm intellectual foundation helped to provide more opportunities, particularly in one’s chosen career. Many here in Hawaiʻi choose private school with the hopes that it will help move you forward, and I can confidently vouch for that. The importance of education was promoted at home and continued in all the schools that I attended. My education had a great influence on both my personal goals and achievements.

New Online School Counseling Program for Neighbor Islanders

Say you’ve just graduated on one of the neighbor islands with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. You want to get a master’s degree next, so you can become a school counselor and make a positive difference to your community’s students and their families—but there’s no appropriate master’s program on your island. Chaminade University is the only Hawai‘i university that offers a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology (MSCP) program with a concentration in School Counseling. You’d have to quit your job and relocate to O‘ahu for two-and-a-half years.

Or rather, that would have been your only choice last year.

Starting this spring semester, exclusively for neighbor island students, Chaminade will offer an online version of its Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology (MSCP) with the School Counseling concentration. It solves two problems—not only that of neighbor island student demand but also the state’s need for more trained school counselors throughout Hawai‘i.

Dr. Darren Iwamoto, clinical director of School Counseling in Chaminade’s School of Education and Behavioral Sciences, says neighbor island students have always been interested in the MSCP program, and it’s always been hard for the school to meet that need because administrators assumed they needed to teach it in person. Pre-COVID-19, they had started working on a plan to send instructors to Maui and Hawai‘i Island to offer the MSCP program there.

But then came the pandemic, and with it, of course, remote learning. Iwamoto says the university discovered something surprising.

“Our faculty found they can be just as effective at teaching using Zoom and other kinds of video conferencing,” he says. He said they found online education still provided personalized learning and allowed students to connect with one another. “Our instructors found that even when they couldn’t teach in person, they were successfully getting that human interaction over video. It was working.”

The department conducted a needs assessment to see if there was current demand for the MSCP program among neighbor island students, and it came back positive. So they decided to start an online program specifically for neighbor island students.

While the School Counseling focus starts this spring, Chaminade will begin offering online versions of the other two Counseling Psychology concentrations, Mental Health and Marriage and Family, in the fall. Once all three concentrations are offered this fall, they will be available to students located anywhere.

“At that point, we’ll be running a complete MSCP online program alongside the in-person program,” says Iwamoto. “So students won’t have to fly to O‘ahu. Although they can participate in the in-person commencement.”

The online, 60-credit-hour, cohorted School Counseling program is taught in four 10-week terms per year. The year-round program, geared toward working professionals, can be completed in 30 months.

Upon completing the program, students not only receive a master’s in counseling psychology but are also eligible for a provisional K-12 counseling license and to be hired as a school counselor. “Because they’re trained in school counseling in general, they will also have the skillset and knowledge to work as a counselor in our private and charter schools,” says Iwamoto.

He says that while school counselors have always been crucial, that need has been even more significant since the COVID-19 pandemic began a year ago. He says stress, anxiety, and mood challenges, which were already high, have increased with COVID.

“What we’re finding is that the lack of social connection has probably played the biggest role in altering people’s moods,” he says. “That’s where counselors can really help, especially in regards to social-emotional learning and helping students, especially the younger ones, learn how to regulate their emotions better.”

As the school developed its MS in Counseling Psychology program, it carefully considered the university’s Marianist values, including the importance of providing an integral quality education. The program was specifically designed with an “integral quality education” in mind by ensuring it educates the whole person. It does this by not only focusing on academics. “We also educate them in terms of their personal and social development, and spiritually, in terms of getting them in tune with who they are and their value systems, ethics, and morals,” says Iwamoto.

“When students go on to become school counselors, they pass those same values on to the community,” he says. “They support students and their families and make a positive difference in their lives.”

The program also meets the Chaminade value of educating for adaptation and change. “That’s really what all this is about,” says Iwamoto. “Educating students to improve on their social-emotional skills is actually educating them for adaptation and change, for that ability to adapt and be flexible. That’s really been a theme with COVID, and so that’s what we’re promoting.”

The Master of Science in Counseling Psychology program is part of Chaminade’s School of Education and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Dale Fryxell, Dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences, says there’s long been a need for more trained school counselors, who play such an essential role in helping students, on the neighbor islands. “This program will really help our neighbor island students get the training they need to help students in their own communities with mental health and other issues.”

“School counselors really do help mold the future by emphasizing the importance of education and promoting students’ success,” agrees Dr. Lynn Babington, Chaminade University president.

“We’re so glad to be able to take the MSCP school counseling program online,” she says. “There’s a need on the neighbor islands, and when more of our neighbor island students become licensed school counseling professionals, they will truly be able to make a powerful difference in students’ lives.”

Learn More About the MSCP Program
Apply to the MSCP Program

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HINow Segment about MSCP in School Counseling Online Program >>

Chaminade Launches Online MSCP in School Counseling Program for Neighbor Island Cohort

Chaminade University is pleased to announce the launch of a new fully online School Counseling graduate cohort program for Neighbor Island students, with the first classes scheduled to begin in April.

A group of elementary school girls of different ethnicity are indoors in their school library. They are sitting together at a table and reading together.

This first-of-its-kind program in Hawaii is designed to meet a significant need for licensed school counselors at public schools across the Neighbor Islands. Participants will attend classes remotely and be able to take advantage of a robust system of supports, mentorship and career development resources.

Dr. Dale Fryxell, dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Chaminade, said the inaugural cohort will be open to approximately 20 students. Participants will be able to earn their Master of Science in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in School Counseling in as few as 30 months.

Chaminade offers the only School Counseling program in Hawaii and has identified outreach to the Neighbor Islands as a priority. Fryxell said the newly-launched cohort is geared toward Neighbor Island residents, including current educators in the public or private school system, who can “live and work in their communities and understand the unique situations families and kids face in those areas.”

“There’s such a great need for licensed school counselors on the Neighbor Islands.”

Dr. Darren Iwamoto, clinical director of Chaminade’s School Counseling program, said the pandemic helped the university illustrate how quality clinical courses can be offered remotely. He added that the cohort program will feature a combination of synchronous and asynchronous online learning, offering working professionals the flexibility they need while also ensuring clinical discussions are possible.

“We are excited about this new program,” Iwamoto said. “Our professors have embraced the technology required to deliver the School Counseling degree to Neighbor Island students fully online, giving them all the rigor of the in-person program without having to come to Oahu.”

Chaminade’s School Counseling program offers a clear academic pathway to Hawaii licensure for graduate students, preparing them for counseling in educational environments with a strong focus on holistic approaches, exceptional children and working with a diversity of community stakeholders.

The School Counseling program is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation and features an emphasis on hands-on learning in addition to a strong core of knowledge.

Iwamoto said that in the future Chaminade hopes to also offer the online cohort to students elsewhere in the Pacific, including American Samoa and Guam. the School is looking at the feasibility of launching separate online cohorts in Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling.

“We are starting with School Counseling because of the immediate need and the ability to reach students with a stated interest in pursuing licensure,” Fryxell said. “But we foresee further growth in our online Counseling Psychology offerings. Initiatives like this are crucial to helping our Neighbor Island communities meet the demand for mental health services, especially at this time.”

For more information on the School Counseling program or to apply, click here.

Chaminade Adjunct Receives Compassion Award

On August 18, 2020 Chaminade Adjunct Rev. Dr. Gary C. Augustin was awarded a Ho’omenemene (Compassion) Award by the Samaritan Counseling Center Hawaii. The Ho’omenemene Awards are presented every other year to individuals and organizations that exemplify the benefits of interfaith advocacy and promote hope and healing within Hawaii communities. Augustin was one of two individuals recognized for his compassion and service.

“The service, passion, and compassion of our Ho’omenemene honorees is truly inspiring,” said Rev. Dr. George Clifford, President of the Board of Directors of the Samaritan Counseling Center Hawaii. “They have worked tirelessly to enhance the quality of life of others by nurturing peace, community resilience, and social justice.”

Augustin is an adjunct professor in the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Chaminade University and also serves on the advisory board for the Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology Marriage and Family Therapy program. He is a therapist with Samaritan Counseling Center Hawaii and specializes in pastoral counseling and critical incident stress management. He is also an ordained minister and works as a military family and life counselor.  In 2017, after Hurricane Maria, he deployed as a volunteer to Puerto Rico with the Hawaii Disaster Medical Assistance Team, and he deployed again to Saipan in 2018 after Typhoon Yutu.

“We are thrilled that Augustin was one of this year’s recipients,” says Dr. Dale Fryxell, dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Chaminade University. “He is a tremendous and selfless individual who regularly dedicates himself to serving others. This award is very much deserved.”

Welcoming our Master of Science in Counseling Psychology Students

Incoming graduate students in Chaminade’s counseling psychology program gathered in October to develop personalized road maps for how they’ll pursue their degrees – and go onto successful careers.

Master of Science in Counseling Psychology students and faculty pose for a group picture during new student orientation

It was the first time the program has held an orientation for new graduate students. Organizers of the October 5 event say it was aimed at answering students’ questions, inspiring them as they learn more about the professional pathways they’re setting out on, and ensuring they feel supported and welcomed.

The orientation also gave faculty and staff a chance to introduce themselves to new students.

Some 27 students attended the event, coming from across the three concentrations offered in Chaminade’s Master of Science in Counseling Psychology: Marriage and Family Counseling; Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling. The orientation touched on the program’s overall goals along with the core competencies required in each of the program’s three focus areas.

Dr. Dale Fryxell, School of Education and Behavioral Sciences dean, was on hand at the half-day orientation along with Counseling Psychology Program Director Dr. Robert Santee, and a number of full-time and adjunct faculty. Time was also set aside for new and current students to network.

Students rounded out the orientation by breaking up into groups and meeting with their advisers. Attendees also got valuable information on student organizations and internship opportunities. And before the event wrapped up, attendees all gathered around for – what else? – a group picture!

Chaminade Alumna Named Hawaii School Counselor of the Year

Raemie Pagaduan ’06 found her calling during an internship at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School while she was getting her master’s at Chaminade.

Raemie Pagaduan '07 and family

“What drew me to school counseling was being able to be an advocate for students, being that voice for some students who might not have one,” Pagaduan said.

The Master of Science in Counseling Psychology alumna began her career at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School 13 years ago as a 7-12th grade counselor and is now the school’s college and career counselor. 

Pagaduan’s passion for counseling, commitment to helping students thrive and her instrumental role in Nanakuli High and Intermediate School’s Early College program made her an ideal candidate for the 2019 Hawaii School Counselor of the Year, awarded by the Hawaii School Counselor Association.

Since Pagaduan started counseling at Nanakuli, the number of students participating in Early College has increased from one percent in 2010 to 18 percent in 2018. The rate of student enrollment at a four-year college has been the highest in more than a decade, at 24 percent.

The Early College program, which allows high school students to take college classes on their campus for high school and college credit, has been an important initiative to Pagaduan because many of her students will be the first in their families to attend college.

“I am a very strong proponent of putting minorities in places of power so that they can affect change,” Pagaduan said. “I think [getting an education] opens doors.”

The Chaminade alumna found out she won the award at an assembly held before the school year ended in front of all her students and the principal who nominated her. She said the students’ reaction, their clapping and cheering, was the best part and that she is humbled to receive this recognition. In January, Pagaduan will travel to Washington, D.C. to be recognized by the American School Counselor Association.

“[Nanakuli is] such a great place and that’s where you really see change and that’s where you really understand what hope is when you’re working with these amazing, amazing students,” Pagaduan said. “I just want to highlight Nanakuli and the people of Nanakuli who’ve taught me so much and made me the counselor that I am.”

The Master’s of Science in Counseling Psychology (MSCP) program is part of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences. The program includes three concentrations: School Counseling, Mental Health Counseling, and Marriage and Family Counseling. MSCP prepares graduates for careers in community and school settings. Graduates assist children, youth and adults in adapting to various educational, family, organizational and societal demands. The program includes the foundational use of standards established by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) and Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).