Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling - Online
Online USA
DURATION
3 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
19 Aug 2024
TUITION FEES
USD 615 / per credit *
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning
* part-time | full-time: USD 595 per credit
Introduction
Empower Others to Create Positive Change by Earning a Licensure-Track Master’s in Counseling Online
Liberty University’s Master of Arts (MA) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree online is designed to equip you with the specialized training you need to gain state licensure and become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).**
An LPC is a licensed mental health professional who is trained to work with individuals, families, and groups in treating mental health and behavioral problems. By earning this online counseling degree, you can enhance your understanding of human psychology through field-tested techniques and learn best practices for promoting the mental health and holistic wellness of clients in diverse communities.
Our master’s in counseling degree online can help you become an ethical, well-trained mental health counselor with the knowledge, values, and skills you need to empower others to make positive changes in their lives. Completing Liberty University’s counseling degree online prepares you for counseling practice through rigorous academic courses, dynamic interaction with mentors and faculty, and a carefully structured practicum and internship process.
*Some exclusions apply. Please refer to our exclusions page for more information.
**Liberty maintains strict compliance with all licensure requirements for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Why Choose Liberty’s Online Master’s in Mental Health Counseling?
Do you want to empower others to conquer their challenges and become healthy and productive? Liberty University’s online clinical mental health counseling degree can help prepare you for a rewarding career as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Learn evidence-based, field-tested skills from professors who not only have years of real-world counseling experience but who are also committed to mentoring their students.
Counseling is a unique calling that requires a special kind of person. As a counselor, you’ll seek to help people overcome challenges that can seem insurmountable. At times, you will serve as a place of solace for your clients – a beacon of hope in a world that can seem ruthless, endless, and devoid of meaning.
The clients you serve may have just come stateside from a long tour in the Middle East, from an impoverished area, or from the highest echelons of society. Indeed, mental health challenges don’t discriminate – they affect people from all walks of life. Your clients may be broken, disheartened, depressed, or angry. They may also appear to be high on life – but on the inside, masquerading deep shut away feelings of insecurity, mental duress, and regret.
Fortunately for your future clients – and for you – people do not have to face their challenges alone. Just as your clients will depend on you, you can depend on Liberty University to help equip you with the skills, knowledge, experience, and credentials needed to offer hope to the hopeless and refuge to the restless.
At Liberty, our professors can be a tremendous asset to you. You’ll have the opportunity to meet with some of them personally during your visits to Liberty’s beautiful campus, located in Central Virginia, for 2 on-campus intensives. You’ll also observe professional counselors in their own practices during your counseling practicum and start honing your counseling skills throughout a 2-semester internship.
Once you complete your master’s degree in counseling online and pass your state licensure exam, you’ll be equipped to pursue a fulfilling professional counseling career. You may be able to pursue roles in many areas such as healthcare, community agencies, education, social services, or private practice. Liberty University’s online master’s in professional counseling degree provides you with a flexible, effective pathway to licensure – while preparing you for a rewarding career.
What Will You Study in Our Master’s in Counseling Online?
Our master’s in clinical mental health counseling degree online provides a foundational series of courses designed to cover the most essential studies in human behavior. These courses are designed to train you in ethical and legal issues in counseling, multicultural counseling, theories in counseling, and many other areas of study for evidence-based best practices. To meet private counseling practice requirements and become a licensed clinical counselor, your online counseling classes meet specific advanced counseling content areas. Our program is designed to help you receive the hands-on training you need.
Our online LPC degree focuses these critical knowledge areas into group counseling, psychopathology, and other important assessment and practical skill areas. With these skills, you can become equipped for another part of the degree program: your practicum and internship requirements.
The practicum and internship requirements embedded into our LPC online program allow you to gain valuable, real-world experience under the supervision of a professional counselor. At Liberty, we believe in the value of real-world experience because it allows you to see, experience, and learn things that may not be fully covered in a textbook or a lecture.
These courses are designed to give you the necessary skills and knowledge to be an effective mental health caregiver in your chosen field. By pursuing our clinical counseling degree online, you can earn a career-enhancing credential and confidently pursue careers in the helping professions.
CACREP Accreditation
Our online mental health counseling degree is also CACREP-accredited. You may be wondering what this means for your degree and why CACREP accreditation is important.
Here are a few reasons why:
The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is the nation’s foremost accrediting group for determining the quality and rigor of a graduate-level counseling program.
- In order to earn CACREP accreditation, a graduate program must be evaluated by CACREP and found to meet or exceed national academic standards set by the counseling profession. Liberty’s MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling online degree fits that bill
- CACREP accreditation also ensures that a degree program can help prepare you for licensure. Though licensure requirements may vary by state, earning a CACREP-accredited MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling can help you pursue a career as a licensed mental health professional
- Though it may be possible to pursue a career as a licensed mental health professional without a CACREP-accredited graduate degree, CACREP is largely accepted as the standard that employers in counseling professions require. Becoming a professional counselor is much simpler with a CACREP-approved degree under your belt
If you’re looking for a CACREP-accredited mental health counseling degree online that allows you to prepare for a career as a licensed professional counselor and gain valuable skills from the comfort of home, look no further than Liberty’s master’s in clinical mental health counseling.
Admissions
Curriculum
First Year
First Semester
- COUC 500: Orientation to Counselor Professional Identity and Function
- COUC 501: Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling
- COUC 502: Human Growth and Development
- COUC 504: Multicultural Counseling
Second Semester
- COUC 505: Counseling Techniques and the Helping Relationship
- COUC 506: Integration of Spirituality and Counseling
- COUC 510: Theories of Counseling
- COUC 515: Research and Program Evaluation
Second Year
First Semester
- COUC 512: Group Counseling
- COUC 521: Assessment Techniques in Counseling
- COUC 522: Career Development and Counseling
- COUC 546: Psychopathology
Second Semester
- COUC 601: Theories of Family Systems
- COUC 667: Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Planning
- COUC 691: Substance Abuse: Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention
- COUC 692: Counseling Practicum
Third Year
First Semester
- COUC 604: Crisis Counseling
- CEFS 670: Comprehensive Exam - CPCE
- CEFS 671: Comprehensive Exam - Integration
- COUC 693: Counseling Internship I
Second Semester
- COUC 694: Counseling Internship II
- Elective
Rankings
Ranked in the Top 10% of Niche.com’s Best Online Schools in America.
Scholarships and Funding
Liberty University Scholarships for Online College Students are Making College More Affordable
Liberty’s scholarship offers are designed to help online college students gain financial support through academic or other achievements and memberships. Each scholarship has unique requirements and deadlines. It is essential to keep these deadlines in mind as you apply for scholarships online to allow enough time for processing. Explore our various scholarships for online students below.
Review the Liberty scholarship packages below, and apply to all that you are eligible for. The earlier you act, the more scholarship opportunities you will have to choose from.
- Liberty University Online (LUO) Scholarships
- Missions Programs & Scholarships
- General Scholarship Rule (GSR)
Internal Scholarships for Liberty University’s Online College Students
Liberty University is dedicated to helping you find the best ways to pay for your online education. One way we do this is by offering scholarships specifically designed for our online students. The LU Scholarship team strives to help you pay for your online degree by guiding you through our options.
As a nonprofit institution, Liberty University will never charge you high college tuition fees to make a profit. We are dedicated to giving you valuable tools to help reach your future goals. That’s why Liberty University offers undergraduate and graduate scholarship opportunities.
While many other online colleges have raised tuition, Liberty has been able to keep costs low as a nonprofit university. The majority of tuition at Liberty University for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs has not increased in 9 years. Our low cost of tuition, available grants and loans, and scholarships can help you reach your education goals with fewer costs. As an online college student, you will have many options to complete your degree with no upfront, out-of-pocket expenses.
We look forward to helping you pursue online education through our online scholarship offers!
Liberty University Online (LUO) Scholarships
- Canadian Student Discount
- Children of Fallen Heroes
- First Responders Discount
- Heroes Fund Scholarship
- International Mission Board (IMB)
- Liberty Advantage
- Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV)
- Southern Baptist Seminary Scholarships
- West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists (WVCSB)
- Word of Life Employees
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
- Addictions and recovery counselor
- Community counselor
- Ministry-based counselor
- Private practice counselor
English Language Requirements
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