{"id":7,"date":"2025-06-09T16:20:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T16:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/master-of-arts-clinical-counseling-psychology\/?page_id=7"},"modified":"2026-01-09T20:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T20:00:07","slug":"master-of-arts-in-clinical-and-counseling-psychology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/master-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling\/","title":{"rendered":"Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Program Overview<\/h3>

The Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University is designed to prepare students for careers as licensed professional counselors (LPC) and mental health clinicians. The program combines rigorous academic coursework with supervised practicum and internship experiences. It emphasizes evidence-based practices, ethical counseling, and cultural competence, with an initial concentration in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Graduates will meet the academic requirements for licensure in New Jersey and eligibility to take the National Counselor Examination (NCE). The curriculum is designed in alignment with Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards and will be eligible to apply for accreditation candidacy in Fall 2026.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling At-a-Glance<\/h3>

Course Format:<\/strong> Online
Program Duration:<\/strong> 2-3 years (depending on full-time or part-time study)
Credits:<\/strong> 60 credits with supervised practicums<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Curriculum Overview<\/b><\/h3>\nThe 60-credit curriculum covers eight CACREP core competencies which include:<\/span>\n
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  • Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice<\/li>\n \t
  • Social and Cultural Diversity<\/li>\n \t
  • Human Growth and Development<\/li>\n \t
  • Career Development<\/li>\n \t
  • Helping Relationships<\/li>\n \t
  • Group Work<\/li>\n \t
  • Assessment<\/li>\n \t
  • Research and Program Evaluation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\nThe program emphasizes practical skills through role-playing, case studies, and mandatory group therapy participation, ensuring readiness for real-world clinical challenges. Unique courses like Perspectives on Counselor Formation integrate Ignatian spirituality with professional identity development. The program also offers career-ready advantages, including preparation for licensure exams, conference funding opportunities and partnerships with local agencies for fieldwork placements.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    What Questions Will Be Explored?<\/h3>
    • How can Ignatian\/Jesuit values impact self-understanding and personal formation for counselors?<\/li>
    • What can you learn from the history and philosophy of mental health counseling to apply to today\u2019s patience?<\/li>
    • Where can you apply leadership skills, communication and conflict resolution during group therapy?<\/li>
    • Using the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics, how do you handle issues around confidentiality, informed consent and conflicts of interest?<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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      Why a Graduate Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University?<\/h3>

      Inspired by our Jesuit identity, our focus is educating the whole person – keeping us grounded and focused on the individual. There are many opportunities for students to share their talents, collaborate and grow as the kind of leader who has a strong moral and ethical compass. It\u2019s a great tradition – and an impressive network – to belong to: For nearly 500 years, a Jesuit education has produced distinguished leaders and change-makers in every sector and all over the world.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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      Our. M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Graduates<\/b><\/h3>

      Our Graduates are prepared for high-growth roles in community mental health agencies, hospitals, schools and private practice, addressing urgent needs like post-pandemic anxiety and depression. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 19% growth rate for mental health counselors through 2033. They will be eligible for positions such as:<\/p>

      • Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)<\/li>
      • Clinical Mental Health Counselor<\/li>
      • Substance Abuse Counselor<\/li>
      • Crisis Intervention Specialist<\/li><\/ul>

        Graduates of this program may also pursue doctoral studies or leadership roles in nonprofit organizations, leveraging their training in advocacy and equity-driven care.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Program Overview The Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University is designed to prepare students for careers as licensed professional counselors (LPC) and mental health clinicians. The program combines rigorous academic coursework with supervised practicum and internship experiences. It emphasizes evidence-based practices, ethical counseling, and cultural competence, with an initial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1293,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/master-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/master-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/master-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/master-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1293"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/master-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/master-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/master-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions\/60"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/academics\/graduate-programs\/master-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}