| Course | CEFS 500 Orientation to Counselors Professional Identity and Function (CEFS500) |
|---|---|
| Credit hours | 3 |
| Program | MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling |
| Length | 8 Module/Weeks, online |
| Weeks with written work | 6 of 8 |
| Samples on this site | 5 week sample papers |
| Sources | Liberty's 2026-2027 catalog and the published CEFS 500 course guide |
| Updated | October 2026 |
What CEFS 500 covers
The two forums fall in Modules/Weeks 1 and 8, each a 350-to-400-word thread with one scholarly source and a single 150-to-200-word reply with its own source; the identity, impairment and wellness papers come in Modules/Weeks 2, 6 and 7.
Video blogs on credentials, counseling skills and social justice fall in Modules/Weeks 3 to 5, with a credential worksheet and a scavenger hunt through the program handbook in Module/Week 3 and two short quizzes in most modules.
This course introduces students to concepts regarding the professional functioning of licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists, including history, roles, professional organizations, standards, and credentialing. Current issues in the practice of counseling and marriage and family therapy in a variety of professional settings are explored. Students are also introduced to program policies, graduate level writing and APA style.
CEFS 500 week by week, with the sample for each
| Week | Written work in the course guide | Points | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | DB Forum 1 (Course Requirements Checklist, background check and Quizzes 1 and 2 also due) | 75 | Read the Week 1 sample |
| Week 2 | Counselor Identity Paper (Quizzes 3 and 4 also due) | 100 | Read the Week 2 sample |
| Week 3 | Counselor Credential Video Blog, Credential Worksheet and Handbook Scavenger Hunt | 200 | Ask for this week free |
| Week 4 | Professional Counseling Skills Video Blog only | No written paper this week | |
| Week 5 | Social Justice Video Blog only | No written paper this week | |
| Week 6 | Counselor Impairment Paper (Quizzes 11 and 12 also due) | 100 | Read the Week 6 sample |
| Week 7 | Wellness Assessment and Plan Paper (Quiz 13 also due) | 100 | Read the Week 7 sample |
| Week 8 | DB Forum 2 (Quiz 14 and orientation verification also due) | 75 | Read the Week 8 sample |
Where CEFS 500 papers lose points
CEFS 500 work slips when forum posts run past their word ceilings, when the identity paper becomes either an autobiography or a history with no person in it, when impairment is confused with ordinary stress, and when wellness plans ignore the assessment results they are meant to follow.
Using a CEFS 500 sample well
The samples draw on Clinton and Ohlschlager, Granello and Young, Mellin and colleagues, Kaplan and colleagues, Gale and Austin, Woo and colleagues, Myers and colleagues, the ACA Code of Ethics, Figley, Lawson, O'Connor and colleagues, Myers and Sweeney, Stamm, Cohen and colleagues and Bartels and Naslund.
CEFS 500 questions, answered
What textbooks does CEFS 500 use?
Clinton and Ohlschlager's Competent Christian Counseling, Volume One (2002), and a Liberty custom edition of Granello and Young's Counseling Today (2019).
How long are CEFS 500 forum posts?
Threads run 350 to 400 words with at least one scholarly source, and the single reply runs 150 to 200 words with its own source.
Which CEFS 500 papers are about counselor wellness?
The Counselor Impairment Paper in Module/Week 6, three to four pages with a personal plan, and the Wellness Assessment and Plan Paper in Module/Week 7, four to eight pages.
Ask for a custom CEFS 500 sample
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