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Program Fast Facts
- Engage in a flexible program that teaches core competencies, counseling in practice, ethical, legal, and professional foundations to serve diverse cultures and communities.
- Guided by Catholic values with an emphasis on human dignity, Walsh provides you with 1:1 faculty guidance to prepare you to become a licensed counselor ready to serve.
- The Clinical Mental Health Counseling specialization focuses on the skills required to become a licensed practitioner, including lifespan development, addictions counseling, counseling in diverse communities and interviewing skills.
* Please note: While the program’s coursework does not require any on-campus visits, students in the program attend their internships and practicum in person.
Experience 1:1 guidance from our dedicated and experienced faculty as you develop the core skills needed to excel as a licensed counselor and make a positive impact in your community.
Choose from five convenient starts per year and complete your coursework 100% online, with no on-campus visits required.
- 20 courses / 60 credits
- 100 Practicum hours / 600 Internship hours completed in your community
- 20 terms / just over 3 years to complete
- 8-week terms
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
- Cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale preferred (No GRE required with a 3.0 GPA)
- Completion of online application and supporting materials
In-person practicums and internships are a key component of the program. They provide intensive counseling experiences, allowing students to work within their community with individual and group supervision.
Walsh is committed to your academic success and as such, provides field experience support resources at no additional cost. Our field experience team works with you directly to help guide you through the process, providing you with the tools and strategies needed to help secure an approved internship and practicum sites in your area. In addition, we assign you a dedicated Student Support Advisor who assists and guides you in your educational journey from enrollment to graduation.
The cost per credit hour is $775 for this program, with 60 credits required for this program. We also award aid based on need, and our Financial Aid Office is committed to working with you
To calculate tuition for your degree program or to discuss your financial aid options, schedule an appointment.
Be the Support Others Need
With a CACREP-accredited curriculum, Walsh University offers the best of both worlds. Our Master of Arts in Counseling and Human Development program prepares knowledgeable, compassionate professionals for a career supporting those in need. Best of all, you can complete the entire program in your own community, no campus visits required.
- Applications are currently being accepted for next intake
Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program Curriculum
Below is a sample list of courses you will take while enrolled in the online Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. After finishing 60 credit hours of coursework, you will complete 100 practicum hours and 600 internship hours within your community..
Join the growing, compassionate workforce striving to heal our world. Careers in counseling are growing faster than the national average. Specifically, substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors are among the top 20 fastest growing occupations in the US.*
- Projected 10-year job growth for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is 25.2%.
- There were 85,566 Mental Health Counseling job postings in 2020.
- There are 784,000 counselors employed nationally.
*U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Online Counseling Programs:
Internship/Practicum Site and Support
Walsh is committed to your academic success and as such, provides field experience support resources at no additional cost. Our field experience team works with you directly to help guide you through the field experience process, providing you with the tools and strategies needed to help secure an approved internship and practicum sites in your area. In addition, we assign you a dedicated Student Support Advisor who assists and guides you in your educational journey from enrollment to graduation.
Orientation to the counseling profession through an examination of the history and philosophy of the counseling profession; professional roles of counselors; professional counseling organizations; and legal, ethical, and professional issues in professional counseling. Introduction to stages and strategies in the counseling process. Development of attending skills, basic and advanced counseling skills, as well as an introduction to case conceptualization skills. Includes an intensive laboratory focused on developing interviewing skills and mastering counseling procedures.
Overview of human development processes and stages. Analysis of predictable conflicts and crises associated with progression throughout lifespan, as well as the impact of cultural and environmental factors upon development. Overview of developmental theories (physical, psychosexual, cognitive, emotional, and social development) that describe development from conception to death. Concentration upon applying theoretical concepts to counseling various populations across lifespan.
This course provides an exploration of social and cultural diversity in counseling, including diverse racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural heritages and sexual identities and socioeconomic statuses. It includes a study of historical and current issues of equality as applied to socially marginalized groups; personal reflection on the impact of one’s own attitudes, beliefs, worldview, and racial and cultural identity on the counseling process; strategies for employing culturally competent counseling in individual, group, and family modalities, including specific behavioral skills and application of various theories of racial and cultural identity development; the role of the counselor as an advocate for members of marginalized groups and for the pursuit of social justice; and ethical and legal obligations of counselors in dealing with social and cultural diversity.
Provides an overview of addictive disorders and addictions counseling. Discusses the neurobiological, genetic, psychological, developmental, behavioral, and sociocultural perspectives on the etiology, development and recovery processes associated with substance use disorders. Explores assessment, diagnosis, intervention strategies, determination of appropriate level of care, and specific treatment modalities and counseling approaches for substance use disorders listed in the DSM-5. Discusses the impact of addictions on families, the self-help movement, relapse prevention approaches and the prevention of addictive disorders. Considers treatment issues with diverse cultural groups. Provides an overview of special ethical issues involved in addictions counseling.
This course provides an orientation to the professional specialty of clinical mental health counseling, including professional roles, identity and functions, the history and philosophy of the profession, scope of practice, ethical and professional practice issues (such as managed care), credentialing, and clinical supervision, models, and processes. The course explores models and programs used in the prevention and treatment of mental health across diverse populations, and the design of mental health service delivery systems across levels of care. The course investigates the organizational (including emergency management systems), financing, public policy and regulatory processes of mental health service delivery systems. Advocacy for mental health service needs across diverse populations and for the advancement of the profession will be considered. Prerequisites: BSC 560, CHD 602, CHD 603, CHD 610, CHD 624, CHD 730, CHD 740.
