The Behavioral Health in Schools and Communities (BHSC) specialization advocates improving access to and quality of care for families and children and youth with developmental, social-emotional, and behavioral difficulties.
A BHSC specialization is appropriate for students interested in consultative and direct provision of behavioral health services, developmental services for children with disabilities, and program administration; BHSC specialists also emphasize policy-focused work, education, and advocacy.
Students learn about emotional and behavioral disorders, evidence-based interventions and treatments for individuals and groups, program development, and use of resources and data to answer identified questions and provide necessary services. Upon completion of the program, students in this specialization meet all of the evidence-based coursework requirements for the PA Behavior Specialist License.
Students may elect to also pursue the Applied Behavior Analysis certificate (BCBA) with some additional planning and coursework.
The BHSC specialization is not a clinically-focused curriculum; therefore, it does not prepare students to apply for professional psychology or counseling licensure or to work as professional, licensed counselors, therapists, school psychologists, or school counselors, either in public or private practice settings.