Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC)
The MA degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is a 60 credit hour program designed to meet the educational requirements for licensure as a professional counselor. The CMHC curriculum follows a year-round sequence of required courses. All courses follow 7-week accelerated format, with the exception of semester-long Practicum and internship courses. The program is designed to be completed in as little as two years. The MA program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling builds upon the broader North Park identity of cultural diversity and active integration of an inclusively defined Christian perspective. Students will learn the skills and knowledge required to function as a professional counselor. The program follows a generalist model of counselor education in which students are broadly trained to function as competent counselors in a broad range of settings. Within this generalist model, students have the opportunity to define specific areas of specialization through internship site selection. Potential areas of specialization include couples counseling, family counseling, addiction treatment, and career counseling.
CMHC Program Mission Statement
North Park University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program provides comprehensive academic and clinical training in professional counseling, equipping students to be ethically skilled counselors serving culturally and spiritually diverse communities. The CMHC program prepares counselors for lives of significance and service throughout their professional careers.
CMHC Program Learning Outcomes
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Differentiate the professional identity of Clinical Mental Health Counselors from other mental health practitioners.
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Analyze the principles of ethical decision making in the practice of professional counseling.
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Demonstrate multicultural theory, social justice principles, and advocacy in the practice of counseling.
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Apply models of multicultural human development to clinical practice across the lifespan.
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Relate career development models to clinical practice with diverse populations.
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Compare and contrast relevant theories of counseling practice in appropriate counseling and consultation skills with diverse populations.
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Apply group work theories, methods, and skills to clinical practice.
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Describe appropriate assessment and appraisal tools within counseling practice.
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Implement research in clinical practice and program evaluation to inform their counseling practice.
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Deliver clinical mental health services which attend to the developmental, multicultural, relational, and spiritual concerns of clients.
CMHC Program Admission and Matriculation Criteria
Requirements for admission to the CMHC program:
Criteria for Provisional Admission:
Students with a undergraduate cumulative GPA below 3.0 may be admitted on a provisional basis if, after an interview with a counselor education faculty member, students are found to have potential for successful completion of the program. Students must meet all other admission requirements, including the required recommendation forms and approval of the program director. Provisional admission requires students to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in the first semester of graduate study. Failure to achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in the first semester is subject to dismissal from the program.
Graduation Requirements for the CMHC program include:
CMHC Program Academic Policy
At the end of each semester SPS will evaluate the academic status of each student. As soon as grades have posted, students’ cumulative and term grade point averages in the CMHC program will be reviewed. All work attempted and graded at North Park is included in the grade point average calculation, even grades of DW and I which carry the same impact as a grade of F.
North Park University graduate students must have a 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) to remain in good standing. Students with a cumulative grade point average below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. A letter will be sent from the School Dean that outlines the terms for returning to good academic standing. These terms may include the requirement to repeat certain courses or bring up the overall grade point average within a specified time. If the student is unable to meet these terms, that student will be subject to dismissal from the program.
Additionally, students must obtain a grade of C or better to receive credit towards their degree for any CMHC course. A grade below C will require a retake of the course. Students will immediately be placed on academic probation if they accumulate two grades of C or below at any time during the program. As noted above, a student shall be placed on academic probation when a cumulative grade point average falls below 3.0. North Park University graduate students must have a 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) or above to graduate from the program.
Undergraduates Enrolling in CMHC Program Courses
Requirements for Eligibility include:
- 3.0 cumulative GPA, junior or senior standing, previously completed four psychology courses with grades of B or higher: Introduction to Psychology, Research Methods, and two other psychology courses.
- An email recommendation, which confirms the student meets the academic criteria, from their academic advisor sent to the graduate program director.
- Successful completion of an interview with the graduate program director.
If these criteria are met the graduate program director will approve the student’s application for enrollment in the CMHC courses.
Students may take up to two courses at the graduate level during their undergraduate experience. The course is entered into the transcript exactly as it is taken, i.e., COUN XXXX. When registering for these courses, students must indicate if they should be counted as undergraduate credit or graduate credit on the form required by the registrar. If the student intends to pursue a graduate degree in CMHC they should register for these courses as graduate credit. They must consult their advisor on the process for waiving the credits in their undergraduate degree.
For example, a senior counseling psychology major may elect to take two graduate courses. If taken as undergraduate credit these courses could be counted as electives or substitute for required courses (at the discretion of their advisor) contributing towards overall credits needed for their undergraduate degree. Or they may elect to take these courses as graduate level credit and courses earning grades of C or higher can be counted towards the credits needed for the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. In this case the student and advisor would work to waive the associated credits in the student’s bachelor's degree.
Students interested in pursuing the Master of Arts after completing the bachelor’s degree will need to complete the following elements of the graduate application process:
- Submit an application
- Submit two letters of recommendation through the online application portal
- Complete an interview with program faculty
- Receive an admissions decision
This option is ideal for undergraduate students who are interested in graduate school and would like to experience graduate coursework prior to beginning a full graduate program. Those students who elect to take graduate coursework at North Park can also seamlessly transfer those courses into the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program upon finishing their Bachelor of Arts degrees.
Non-degree seeking students in SPS Graduate Programs
Non-Degree Seeking Student Applicants:
Individuals may choose to enroll as non-degree-seeking students as part of their continuing education, personal interest, or as an introduction before completing a full application.
Non-degree seeking students may complete a maximum of 12 semester credit hours, at which point they must be accepted into the SPS Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate degree program to enroll in further courses.
Prerequisite:
The prerequisite for entrance to courses in the CMHC program is a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
To Apply:
1. Complete the non-degree seeking student form through the Registrar’s office.
2. Request official academic transcripts from each undergraduate, graduate, and professional institution you have attended. Schools should send official transcripts directly to the School of Professional Studies at North Park University electronically to sps@northpark.edu.
3. Approval of Program Director needed to finalize registration.
Note that permission from the Program Director as a non-degree seeking student does not guarantee entrance into the CMHC program. Student will need to be admitted through the formal admissions process.
Important: Non-degree seeking students are not part of any degree program and are ineligible for financial aid.
Degree Requirements for M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Required semester hours: 60 sh
Core Courses
Optional Advanced Training Courses in Addiction Studies (COUN 5800, COUN 5810, COUN 5820):
Students enrolled in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program can add three advanced training courses in addiction studies to their degree plan and specialize in this area within their internship site selection. Students will then be prepared and eligible to take the Illinois Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) examination which leads to CADC certification through the state of Illinois. The three additional courses are: COUN 5800 Special Populations in Substance Use (3 sh); COUN 5810 Psychopharmacology (3 sh); COUN 5820 Advanced Addiction Treatment (3 sh).
(Effective Spring 2024, all CMHC courses transition to the new prefix COUN)
COUN 5010 Counseling Theory
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.
COUN 5020 Counseling Techniques
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.
COUN 5025 Foundations of Clinical Mental Health Counseling
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.
COUN 5085 Research Skills for the Disciplines
Research for the Disciplines introduces students to a variety of strategies for conducting quality academic research at the graduate level. In addition, it reinforces appropriate academic integrity etiquette, including proper citation and formatting for integrating outside sources into a student’s own writing or other projects requiring research. This zero credit, Pass/Fail course is a requirement for all COUN students in the School of Professional Studies and will run in conjunction with COUN 5010: Counseling Theories or COUN 5210 Social and Cultural Foundations, in the student first semester. A passing grade for COUN 5085 is the pre-requisite for COUN 5970: Internship I.
COUN 5110 Psychopathology and Maladaptive Behavior
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.
COUN 5120 Group Dynamics
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.
COUN 5210 Social and Cultural Foundations
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.
COUN 5220 Professional, Legal, and Ethical Responsibilities in Counseling
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.
COUN 5310 Research and Evaluation
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.
COUN 5320 Human Growth and Development
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.
COUN 5410 Integrating Spiritual and Religious Issues in Counseling
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.
COUN 5420 Appraisal of Individuals
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.
COUN 5510 Advanced Multicultural Counseling Techniques
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.
COUN 5520 Substance Use Disorders
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.
COUN 5540 Trauma and Healing
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.
COUN 5610 Career Development
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.
COUN 5620 Family Dynamics
Focuses on family systems theory and its applications, treatment planning and intervention approaches for working with families, and specific problems that impede family function.
COUN 5640 Child and Adolescent Counseling
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.
COUN 5680 Human Sexuality
Provides a broad understanding of sexuality and its biological, psychological, and sociological aspects. Different theoretical and therapeutic perspectives regarding sexuality are explained. The course is designed to offer a deeper knowledge of sexuality and sexual behavior.
COUN 5800 Special Populations in Substance Use
This course introduces students to multicultural aspects of chemical dependency. Multiculturalism is an important concept to examine in relation to addictions counseling as our clients’ age, race, gender identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, or disability status can impact the course of addiction or treatment. In this course, students will examine cultural influences as they converge with the substance use and co-occurring disorders. Developing cultural competence in addictions counseling is emphasized. Process addictions (e.g., gambling) also will be examined through a multicultural lens.
COUN 5810 Psychopharmacology
Psychopharmacology provides counseling students with the fundamentals of psychopharmacological medications and abused substances in order to better serve the mental health needs of their clientele. Counselors frequently provide interventions for clients who are being medicated for psychiatric or psychological use, and/or substance abuse. As such, counselors must have adequate knowledge with regards to psychopharmacological medications, their applications, and their typical adverse drug reactions. Counselors also need to possess adequate knowledge on drugs and substances that may be abused, and the physical effects of substance abuse. This course is intended for counseling graduate students.
COUN 5820 Advanced Addiction Treatment
The Advanced Addiction Treatment course is designed to specifically address treatment approaches utilized while working with the addicted population. In this course, students will continue building their expertise of addictions’ treatment by studying specific treatment approaches found to have had positive outcomes with the addicted population.
COUN 5960 Practicum
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.
COUN 5970 Internship I
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.
COUN 5971 Internship II
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.
COUN 5975 Extended Internship
Provides clinical supervision to students who are engaging in clinical counseling and have already taken Internship I and II. This supervision course is designed to offer continued supervision for students who need ongoing supervision to complete their required clinical hours. This is a Pass/Fail course.
COUN 5910 Current Topics in Counseling
Offers an in-depth exploration of specific topics within the field of counseling.