Clinical Mental Health Counseling (Online)

Practicum introduces students to work in the field with a minimum of 100 hours of service at a clinical site, including a minimum of 40 hours working directly with clients. You learn the policy of the agency and the roles of the mental health counselor. You spend approximately 7 to 10 hours a week in practicum for at least one semester. Before beginning, practicum students must pass a candidacy review assessing their readiness to begin supervised fieldwork.

Following practicum, there are two internship semesters (three if students live in states with higher licensure requirements). These may continue at the same site as the practicum or take place at a new site. You spend approximately 20 hours a week at your clinical site and provide approximately 300 hours of service each semester, with a minimum of 120 hours of direct service to clients during each of these internship semesters. State requirements for pre-degree internship hours vary. Review your state requirements for more information.

There are many possible positions at community agencies, residential facilities, college counseling centers, and city/state social service agencies. The Clinical Director and the Practicum and Internship Coordinator will assist you in the process of matching your interests with potential sites in the community. Students are responsible for securing their own internship and for transportation to and from the site.

• Ethical Practice: Students will demonstrate principles and standards of professional ethics in counseling and ethical decision-making informed by social justice.
• Social And Cultural Diversity: Identify strategies needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede access, equity, well-being, and success for clients.
• Human Growth and Development: Students will demonstrate knowledge of lifespan development and the capacity to integrate knowledge of developmental theory into practice.
• Career Development: Identify career development strategies that incorporate a focus on social justice and advocacy.
• Counseling and Helping Relationships: Demonstrate an understanding of theories of counseling and development of case conceptualizations and treatment plans that are underpinned by social justice
• Group Counseling and Group Work: Integrate into their practice of MHC the awareness of the influence of social and cultural contexts on groups
• Assessment and Testing: Students will demonstrate a broad understanding of different types of assessments, the selection and use of assessment tools, client assessment and diagnosis, trauma assessment, and the assessment of self-inflicted harm and danger to others.
• Research and Program Evaluation: Demonstrate and apply their professional identity as a clinical mental health counselor through an individual philosophy of practice grounded in critical analysis and research and interpretation.
• Clinical Mental Health Counseling Specialty Area: Clinical Mental Health Counseling students will demonstrate an understanding of foundational knowledge, demonstration of competence in clinical mental health practice, knowledge of social justice issues, and a focus on wellness.
• Professional Dispositions: From admission through exit, students will demonstrate the attitudes, characteristics, and behaviors defined by the program as characteristic of exemplar counseling professionals.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a strong need for mental health counselors. Counseling is projected as one of the faster growing mental health professions — increasing over the next 7-10 years.

Graduates of the CMHC Program will have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to function as a professional clinical mental health counselor. They will be prepared for employment in a variety of settings and able to meet certification and licensure standards as mental health counselors through education in a CACREP-accredited program.