According to U.S. News, mental health counseling is in the Top 10 Best Social Services Jobs and the 100 Best Jobs in the nation.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that mental health counselor positions will grow by 23% through 2026.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), in excess of 43 million American adults battle mental illness problems annually. As you gain the skills to become a clinical mental health counselor, your clients will find comfort in the compassion and applicable knowledge you provide. Foster your experience by supporting a variety of unique clients striving for stability and mental wellness.
Potential career paths include:
- Licensed professional counselor
- Licensed professional clinical counselor
- Licensed clinical mental health counselor
Program Outcomes
Our online Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling will help you build hands-on experience in counseling and prepare for licensure.
Knowledge: Become versed in the history, roles, ethical standards, professional credentialing, advocacy, and responsibilities of the counseling profession. Develop skills in individual and group counseling, as well as crisis intervention and prevention.
Research: Critically evaluate research relevant to the practice of counseling, develop measurable outcomes for interventions, and analyze and use data to improve the efficacy of programs.
Practice: Build multicultural competencies in diversity, equity, advocacy, and opportunity. Understand and develop the skills that may affect the personal, social and intellectual functioning of individuals and behavioral traits to improve decision making.
Teamwork: Study with like-minded adults as you develop your counseling style and ethos. Learn to enhance team collaboration within institutions and communities.
Our dedicated curriculum and internship placement support will prepare you to meet all the requirements of a licensed professional counselor.
Master's Degree Programs in Mental Health Counseling
These programs train students to help prevent illness, promote over-all wellness, manage illness and disabilities and minimize physical handicaps as much as possible. Classes combine core nursing research with advanced practice nursing courses and specialty rehabilitation nursing courses. Examples of each include:
- Principles of rehabilitation nursing
- Advanced practice nursing
- Nursing research
- Health policy and leadership nursing
- Leadership in rehabilitation nursing
- Advanced rehabilitation theory
Our program is flexible. It can be tailored to meet your specific professional goals.
Admission to Graduate Standing - Conditionally Classified
It may be possible for applicants who have minimal deficiencies in the prerequisite requirements detailed above, but who are otherwise highly qualified, to be admitted with conditionally classified graduate standing. Provisions must be made for removal of deficiencies prior to the granting of classified standing. For further information, consult the graduate program adviser.
Tuition and Fees
The tuition and fees are for the 2019-2020 academic year effective as of Fall Term 2019 (September 2019). The total tuition cost is $45,000 per year. Tuition and fees are subject to annual revision, announced each Summer Term for the Fall Term. Further details about tuition may be found in the Tuition and Fees.
More about this program
- Master’s in Mental Health Counseling
- Courses in this department
- 54 Credit Hours Required
Mission
The mission of the Mental Health Counseling master’s degree program at Michael University is to provide exceptional academic and clinical fieldwork experience that emphasizes the core competencies of clinical mental health counseling with complementary training in behavioral medicine, health psychology, and neuroscience. Our program offers theoretical, experiential, clinical, and evidence-based activities related to clinical mental health counseling with adults, adolescents, and children on the Medical Campus as well as in community settings.
Prerequisites
Acceptance and matriculation into the MHC program is required prior to enrollment in any MHC courses.
Program Requirements
The completion of fifty-four (54) credit hours of study, distributed as follows:
| Course ID |
Name of Course |
Credits |
| M/COU 500 |
The Counseling Profession: Orientation, Identity and Ethics |
3 |
| M/COU 501 |
Theories of Counseling |
3 |
| M/COU 502 |
Assessment and Evaluation in Counseling (3 Hours) |
3 |
| M/COU 503 |
Career Counseling |
3 |
| M/COU 504 |
Substance Use Disorders and Process Addictions |
3 |
| M/COU 505 |
Diagnosis of Emotional and Mental Disorders |
3 |
| M/COU 506 |
Group Counseling |
3 |
| M/COU 507 |
Professional Issues, Ethics, and Laws in Clinical Mental Health Counseling |
3 |
| M/COU 508 |
Crisis Trauma Grief Counseling |
3 |
| M/COU 509 |
Clinical Mental Health Counseling Practicum |
3 |
| M/COU 510 |
Clinical Mental Health Counseling Internship |
6 |
| M/COU 511 |
Advanced Internship in Mental Health Counseling |
6 |
| M/COU 512 |
Research Methods and program Evaluation |
3 |
|
Required Masters Thesis (9 Credit Hours) |
|
| M/RES 720 |
*Master’s Thesis I |
3 |
| M/RES 720A |
*Master’s Thesis II |
3 |
| M/RES 721 |
*Master’s Thesis III |
3 |
|
Total Credits |
54 |
*Additional information is available for Master’s Thesis Guidelines.
Note: Students may transfer credits from Certificate/Diploma Program(s) with department approval.
Certification Options
In addition to the 54 required academic credits, students must also complete at least a 100-hour practicum and two 600-hour internships during the program (some states require additional hours for licensure). In those states where additional practicum and/or internship hours or coursework is required, Michael University will work with students to obtain the additional hours and will make electives available to fulfill additional course requirements wherever possible.
Michael University does not guarantee that the completion of this program will result in state licensure or certification: In addition to successfully completing the educational requirements, students will need to meet other state licensure requirements. Students are responsible for understanding if a background check is required to apply for licensure and for determining if their own circumstances pose any barriers to licensure.
It is a student’s responsibility to understand the specific requirements of the state in which they intend to apply for licensure and be aware of any changes to those requirements.
Accreditation
Michael University Agreements: Articulation Agreement between Michael University and Havana University, Cuba dated August 2006. Articulation Agreement between Michael University and Higher Technical University “Jose Antonino Echevarria”, dated August 30th, 2006. Articulation Agreement between Michael University and the Ministry of Higher Education, Cuba dated September 7th, 2006, which is a revised version of the first agreement dated May 5th, 2003.
