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Master of Arts in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

The 60-hour clinical mental health counseling master’s degree prepares you for the National Counselor Examination and careers in community, clinical and mental health settings. Once you pass the NCE, you may apply for licensure in Illinois and many other states.

Preparing You For Success

You learn how to counsel diverse groups of clients to promote positive growth and development. Courses in the CACREP-accredited program enable you to practice while you learn, as each one includes hands-on experiences. During practicums and internships, you spend 750 hours in supervised settings tailored to your career interests.

By the time you graduate, your experiences include:

  • The same academic core as the professional school counseling degree
  • Flexibility to take courses in a specialty area of your choice
  • Internships and practicums at places such as OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, UnityPoint Health-Methodist, Children’s Hospital of Illinois, Children’s Home in Peoria and Bradley’s Counseling Research and Training Clinic
  • Networking and professional mentoring through Chi Sigma Iota honor society
  • Scholarship opportunities for professional educators

Making Your Mark

The degree provides new opportunities to help people as a counselor in clinical mental health, substance abuse, rehabilitation, crisis, grief, marriage and family, or military veterans’ settings. Recent graduates are working in a variety of clinical mental health settings, hospitals and private practice. Graduates are also teaching in counseling programs after completing doctorates in counselor education.

Graduate Program Requirements

Graduate Core - 6 hrs.

  • ENC 604: Research Methodology and Applications -  3 hrs.
  • ENC 606: Interpersonal Behavior and Organizational Leadership - 3 hrs.

Program Core - 45 hrs.

  • ENC 530: Loss and Grief Counseling - 1 hr.
  • ENC 540: Human Growth and Development - 3 hrs.
  • ENC 551: Substance Abuse Counseling - 2 hrs.
  • ENC 586: Counseling Diverse Populations - 3 hrs.
  • ENC 620: Introduction to Counseling: Professional Orientation - 2 hrs.
  • ENC 621: Career and Life Planning Across the Lifespan - 3 hrs.
  • ENC 622: Counseling: Ethics and the Law - 1 hr.
  • ENC 623: Pre-Practicum in Counseling - 3 hrs.
  • ENC 624: Theories and Techniques of Counseling - 3 hrs.
  • ENC 625: Principles of Group Counseling - 3 hrs.
  • ENC 630: Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Disorders - 3 hrs.
  • ENC 631: Crisis Intervention Counseling - 1 hr.
  • ENC 632: Psychopharmacology in Counseling - 1 hr.
  • ENC 640: Clinical Supervision - 2 hrs.
  • ENC 641: Assessment in Counseling - 3 hrs.
  • ENC 654: Consultation in Helping Professions - 2 hrs.
  • ENC 661: Couples and Family Counseling - 3 hrs.
  • ENC 690: Practicum - 2 hrs.
  • ENC 691: Internship I - 1 hr.
  • ENC 692: Internship II - 3 hrs.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Specialty Area Course Work - 9 hrs.

  • Required - 4 hrs.
    • ENC 651: Clinical Mental Health Counseling - 3 hrs.
    • ENC 663: Counseling and Dynamics of Aging - 1 hr.
  • Electives - 5 hrs.
    • Tailored to your needs
Counseling Handbook Program Outcomes