Master of Arts in Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling — Online

3.5 Years to Complete

3 Start Dates Per Year

20 Focused Courses

25% Job Growth1

Start your journey today!

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Change Lives for the Better with Expert Skills

Transform Your Career with a Faith-Based Education Built on Purpose

Advance your knowledge and fulfill your desire to help others achieve and maintain positive mental health and overall wellness. Develop the skills to support individuals as they navigate through life’s challenges. Our Lady of the Lake University’s Master of Arts in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling specialization prepares you for a career in the mental health field delivering the skills, techniques, and strategies to help you make a difference in the lives of others. Our program is designed to meet the academic requirements for counseling licensure in most states. Seize an educational opportunity offering multiple benefits – faculty expertise, no entrance exams, small class sizes, and a flexible online format.

Learn how to develop professional counseling skills and helping relationships with individuals, families, and groups from diverse backgrounds that will empower the accomplishment of mental health, relationship, education, career, and overall wellness goals. Graduates are prepared to take the professional licensing exam for most states.*

Start your educational journey at Our Lady of the Lake University where you’ll become part of a close-knit community that fosters your academic, spiritual, personal, and professional growth to prepare you for success and service. Become part of the next generation of leaders with a convenient online format that presents unique, hands-on learning experiences.

A U.S. News & World Report ‘Best in the West’ University

Preparation for the LPC Exam

Close-to-Home Practicum and Internships

Lively discussion groups, interaction with peers from 40+ states

Specialized Online Coursework Plus Hands-On Experience

Within a convenient online format, you’ll master counseling theories, ethics, interventions, and diagnosis, completing 60 credit hours to develop the competencies needed to become a professional counselor. Learn how to conduct effective assessments, communicate results, and utilize culturally appropriate counseling with clinical internship and practicum experiences led by faculty experts and industry professionals.

Highlighted Courses:

Professional Orientation and Ethics

Be introduced to the history and development of the counseling profession, including its professional standards, codes of ethics, credentials, professional organizations, areas of specialization, and program evaluation. You’ll also review the counselor’s consultative role and identity in multidisciplinary teams and advocacy.

Interventions with Abnormal Behaviors

Review mental health service delivery modalities within the continuum of care such as inpatient, outpatient, partial treatment, and aftercare. You’ll explore evidence-based strategies and interventions, including psychopharmacological approaches indicated in the treatment of mental disorders.

Counseling Internship I

Apply and integrate principles and techniques at an approved, supervised site. You’ll build on the skills you developed in the practicum and gain a more in-depth understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the clinical counselor. You must complete a total of 600 hours in your internship.

Couple and Family Counseling

Explore theoretical foundations and skill development for counseling couples and families while providing key concepts, techniques, strengths-based approaches, therapeutic process, and consultation skills with families and parents.

Meet the Rising Need for Skilled Counselors

Four in 10 Americans have seen a counselor at some point in their lives.2 With millions of people in the U.S. affected by a mental illness and one in 20 adults experiencing a serious mental illness each year,3 mental health professionals are needed now more than ever. OLLU’s Clinical Mental Health Specialization sets you up for success in private practice, inpatient or outpatient agencies, government and non-government facilities, or community organizations.

Top 10 Careers for Counselors

  1. Mental Health Counselor
  2. Clinical Case Manager
  3. Substance Abuse Counselor
  4. Behavioral Disorder Counselor
  5. College Counselor
  6. Religious Counselor
  7. Behavior Analyst
  8. Correctional Counselor
  9. Therapist
  10. Vocational Case Manager

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Sources and Disclaimer

  1. “Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors: Occupational Outlook Handbook.” BLS. Retrieved on July 1, 2021 from https://www.bls.gov/.
  2. “Americans Feel Good About Counseling.” Barna. Retrieved on July 8, 2021 from https://www.barna.com/.
  3. “Mental Health By the Numbers.” National Alliance on Mental Illness. Retrieved on July 8, 2021 from https://www.nami.org/.

*Applicants seeking licensure or certification as counselors are encouraged to review all applicable eligibility requirements related to the respective credential they are seeking per their state of residence. In Texas, that would be the Texas occupations code HB 1508.