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Mission Statement
The CMHC program is committed to providing a quality counselor education to students in preparation for a professional counseling practice that serves the mental health needs of an ever-changing multicultural world.
The program is dedicated to establishing a professional formative process in the context of cultural diversity and the challenges of the 21st century. The formative process highlights the humanistic perspective, utilizing the tenets of mindfulness to cultivate compassion, self-care, resilience, empathy, and awareness of self and others.
Program Vision
Program Purpose
Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s CMHC program seeks to prepare students to be effective counselors in a diverse world and profession. Counseling is a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals. Consistent with the values of the counseling profession, the CMHC program seeks to infuse multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills throughout the curriculum. The program is structured to ensure that students will develop a professional identity as a mental health counselor and will master the knowledge and counseling skills needed to practice effectively. Students are trained for careers in community mental health and human service agencies, educational institutions, private practices, as well as government, business and industrial settings.
CMHC Program Goals, Objectives and Competencies
The following Program Goals, Objectives, and Competencies demonstrate our mission and vision and are aligned with the American Counseling Association (ACA) and CACREP standards for professional practice (for further details on CACREP standards see Section VI of this handbook.
CMHC Program Objectives for Goal # 1
Students who graduate from the CMHC Program will demonstrate foundational knowledge and skills in Core Counseling Subject Areas:
Competencies Expected for these Objectives:
Objectives for Goal #2
Theories of Counseling
Human Development
Tools, Techniques, and Strategies of Counseling I
Tools, Techniques, and Strategies of Counseling
Ethics and Practices of Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Diagnosis and Treatment of Psychopathology
Group Counseling
Counseling for Career Development
Family Counseling
Counseling Diverse Populations
Appraisal Techniques
Methods of Research and Program Evaluation
Addictions Counseling
Seminar: Consultation for Counselors
Seminar: Supervision for Counselors
Psychopharmacology for Counselors
Practicum
Internship
Internship II
MHC 7905, MHC 9001, MHC 9002: Community Site
The practicum and internship field experiences are supervised by experienced professionals at the field sites in conjunction with the CMHC program faculty.
Advanced Seminar: Counseling Children & Adolescents
Advanced Seminar: Evidence Based Family Treatment
Advanced Seminar: Cognitive-Behavioral Counseling
Motivational Interviewing
The total number of credits required for the Master of Science degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is 60 in the required and elective courses identified above. Upon admission to the program, each student is assigned an academic advisor who guides and assists the student with the varied demands of the program, including curricular decisions.
Qualifications for the Master of Science Degree
To qualify for the Master of Science degree, a student must complete the prescribed 60 credit hours (including practicum and internship) with at least a 3.0 grade point average (GPA)*. The program is designed such that all course work, practicum, and internship can be completed within three years of starting the program, but must be completed within five years. Re-application to the program is required if the program is not completed within a five-year period. Students are expected to demonstrate competencies in the eight core areas required by CACREP and the NBCC. The CMHC program requires completion of a comprehensive examination as part of the graduation requirements. Students are evaluated throughout the program in three major areas:
a. Effectiveness in close interpersonal relationships.
b. Ability to establish facilitative relationships with many different kinds of people.
c. Flexibility and openness to feedback and learning.
d. Amenability to clinical supervision during the Practicum and Internship process;
e. Self-awareness, openness to self-examination, and commitment to personal growth.
f. Appropriate attitudes.
3. Ethical Behavior: Each student is expected to demonstrate awareness of and concern for the ethical standards of mental health and all other disciplines within the counseling field. Ethical behavior will be monitored and assessed in several venues throughout the student’s academic career, including:
a. In the classroom, as evidenced by ethical conduct in issues concerning peer relationships and works scholarship; and
b. In the community, as evidenced by ethical conduct at Practicum and Internship agency placements, including adherence to the employment policies of said agencies.
*University requires a 3.0 GPA for good academic standing in graduate programs and to qualify for Masters degrees. For the CMHC Program, there is a minimum grade requirement of "B" in all respective courses; therefore, cumulative GPA may exceed the University standard.
This information applies to students who enter this degree program during the 2024-2025 Academic Year. If you entered this degree program before the Fall 2023 semester, please refer to the academic catalog for the year you began your degree program.
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