MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

The clinical mental health counseling program at Valparaiso University serves as an ethical and professional point of entry for individuals from diverse populations interested in acquiring the requisite skills associated with becoming a licensed professional counselor. The CMHC program emphasizes the development of professional identity, awareness of cultural diversity and spirituality, and basic counselor competencies. It is the mission of the clinical mental health counseling program faculty to prepare counselors who will ethically promote the well-being of individuals, families, mental health organizations, and communities located in metropolitan, rural, and global settings.

The CACREP Accredited program in clinical mental health counseling is particularly appropriate for persons who plan to seek licensure in the state of Indiana (or states with similar statutes) as a clinical mental health counselor. In fact, professional licensure in Indiana and many other states exist only at this 60-credit level. Students expecting to use the master of arts to meet requirements for certification or licensure will need to carefully plan their program of study to meet applicable requirements. The clinical mental health counseling program is designed to provide advanced education and professional training in:

• Human development
• Appraisal
• Biological and learned bases of behavior
• Research and program evaluation
• Social and cultural foundations of counseling
• Professional roles and ethics
• Counseling theory and practice
• Mental health counseling foundations
• Group processes
• Contextual dimensions of counseling
• Lifestyle and career development
• Practical/clinical skills for counseling

Objective 1: Professional Identity

Students will develop personal identification with and commitment to a professional counseling identity grounded in ethics and guided by best practices. Students will demonstrate their professional identity, emphasizing leadership and service, by becoming active in appropriate professional counseling organizations. Additionally, graduates are prepared to meet all academic licensure requirements within the state of Indiana. The growth of professional identity is developed through the successful completion of program curricula as well as through student projects such as professional goals/self-reflection papers and presentations on agencies.

Objective 2: Awareness of Cultural Diversity and Spirituality

Students will acquire an awareness of themselves and others through learning and incorporating cognitive, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the self and will utilize clinical skills that are consistent with the respectful and cultural dictates of clients. Further, students will have the skills to demonstrate their self-awareness through the assessment of personal strengths and challenges related to working with diverse client populations. These skills will be introduced and practiced within a variety of learning opportunities both in the classroom and the community.

Objective 3: Counselor Competencies

Students will demonstrate skills aligned with the counseling profession in a counseling context as they relate to clinical skills, converting counseling knowledge/theories into best professional practice, advocacy, and social justice. Students will develop counselor competencies as evidenced through scholarship and knowledge as shown through multiple projects at determined milestones throughout the program. Students will demonstrate the successful acquisition of these competencies through completion of the student practica and internships that include case presentations and faculty review of taped sessions.