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Clinical Mental Health Counseling Courses

Curriculum Details

  • 20 courses
  • 60 credits
  • 700 practicum & internship hours
  • 15-week terms, seven-week quads

The master’s in clinical mental health counseling courses provide a solid foundation in theory alongside hands-on experience that prepares you to sit for licensure. Graduate in just two years prepared to make a difference in the lives of patients.

Throughout your online courses, you’ll feel connected to your North Park family while still benefiting from a flexible online learning format. While much of this online master’s program is asynchronous, you will attend synchronous online meetings during your practicum and internship courses, as well as several other courses. Complete the Request for Information form to learn more.

Core Courses

Credits

Examines the major philosophical bases of counseling theory, including psychodynamic, humanistic/existential, cognitive behavioral, person-centered, and systemic approaches. Develops theoretically focused case conceptualizations and treatment plans for diverse client populations.
Introduces the principles, procedures, and techniques of the intentional interviewing that occurs in professional counselor-client interactions. Through experiential exercises, students learn specific interviewing skills, the goals, and stages of interviewing, as well as strategies for therapeutic change. Explores the importance of nonverbal behaviors, values, working alliance, the role of emotions and cognitions, as well as cultural factors in counselor-client communication.
Explores the history and professional identity of clinical mental health counselors. Attention is given to the role of counselors in collaboration and consultation with other professional disciplines. Principles of advocacy, prevention, and social justice are emphasized. Consideration is given to the development of a personal model of counseling.
Introduces the general principles of etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders. Explores the use of pharmacological interventions used in the treatment of mental health disorders. Emphasis is placed on the mental status assessment and diagnostic classification systems.
Overview of the dynamics related to the group counseling process. Emphasis on counseling theories as applied in group work; the phases of group development; therapeutic factors in group work and group work with diverse populations. This course includes 10 hours of group participation experience.
Examines the varied ways in which culture and identity impact mental health and the clinical counseling process. Specific exploration of counseling dynamics related to race, ethnicity, gender, disability, religious belief, immigration status, class background, and sexual identity.
An overview of ethical principles and standards for counseling practice. Examines legislation and regulatory processes relevant to professional counseling, ethical decision-making processes, and the application of the professional code of ethics.
Focuses on the statistical principles, research designs, methods, techniques, and tools used in performing and interpreting research in counseling. Including the ability to evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses in research design and application of counseling research to clinical practice. Explores program evaluation and the use of program outcome measures.
Provides an advanced overview of the various stages of the human growth cycle and multiple theories of development, such as physical, personality, social, cognitive, moral and faith identity. Emphasis is on how these developmental processes interact with presenting issues in the clinical context for diverse populations.
Explores the vital role that faith, spirituality, and religion play in an individual’s life. Topics include faith development theories, assessing the spiritual worldview of the client, the implicit and explicit integration of spirituality into the counseling process, ethical issues of addressing spirituality in counseling, collaboration with clergy during the counseling process, and the potential role of religious beliefs in psychopathology.
Explores individual assessment theories and methods of appraisal. Includes an overview of statistical concepts related to test standardization, administration, interpretation, and intervention planning. Engages the use of a variety of assessment tools for examining personality, abilities, interests, and mental wellness.
Provides in-depth opportunities to deepen and expand multicultural counseling skills for working with diverse belief systems and populations. Focus will be on the pedagogy of the oppressed, decolonizing therapy approaches, social justice perspectives, and advocacy action planning.
Examines the chemical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of drug use, abuse and dependency, and broader effects on the family and community. Focuses on counseling skills in the areas of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment intervention.
This course focuses upon current theory and research related to traumatic events and their survivors. Attention will be given to the special skills and dynamics involved in counseling survivors of trauma. The course will place emphasis upon the role of spirituality in the recovery process.
Explores the lifelong processes that lead to work values, occupational choices, career path, decision-making style, and integration of self- and career-identity with patterns of work adjustment. The course is designed around the concepts of career development and includes an overview of the major career development theories.
Focuses on family systems theory and its applications, treatment planning and intervention approaches for working with families, and specific problems that impede family function.
Explores counseling services for children and adolescents including diagnosis, case conceptualization, and intervention skills. It focuses on the acquisition of theoretical, applied, and collaborative techniques required to understand and help children and adolescents’ function effectively within their social and emotional worlds.

Introduces students to professional counseling practice. Students apply counseling theory and techniques in practicum placements and must complete 100 hours of supervised counseling practice. Faculty approval is required prior to registration. This is a pass/fail course.

Focuses on the development of counseling skills through direct supervised clinical practice. Students will complete 300 hours of supervised internship experience. Faculty approval is required prior to registration. This is a pass/fail course.

A continuation of Internship I, focuses on the development of professional counseling practice through supervised clinical hours. Students will complete 300 hours of supervised internship experience. Faculty approval is required prior to registration. This is a pass/fail course.

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