Secondary Education & School Leadership | Programs | M.A. Urban Education
Mental Health Counseling Concentration
Mental Health Counseling (Classes are offered at the main campus and satellite campuses)
This program is designed for students interested in mental health counseling. Teacher certification is not required, applicable or available. Refer to the Graduate School for application deadlines for fall, spring and summer admissions.
Program Overview
A master’s degree in counseling from Norfolk State University’s Mental Health Counseling Program is intended to prepare individuals for employment as counselors in clinical mental health counseling or college counseling settings. The program provides master’s level students with the necessary information and skills required to carry out duties unique to the counseling profession.
The master’s program secondary education and school leadership accepted its first master’s level students in 1997. The program currently adheres to the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs guidelines with anticipation of full accreditation by the CACREP 2023 deadline.
The program leading to the master’s degree with a concentration in mental health counseling consists of a minimum of 60 semester credits beyond an undergraduate degree, including a clinical practicum and an internship. If the counseling program changes the curriculum while students are completing the program, students may choose to follow their original curriculum contained in the handbook and graduate catalog from the year that the student (began the program) matriculated or the student may change to follow the new curriculum as outlined in the latest handbook and graduate catalog. The curriculum may not be combined, a choice of handbook and catalog is required, and students may not switch programs once a counseling track has been selected. All students are required to follow any non-curriculum policy changes implemented.
Norfolk State University’s Mental Health Counseling Program is designed to professionally train and prepare professional counselors in the specialty of clinical mental health counseling. The Mental Health Counseling Program prepares students for careers in the following community agencies:
- community service boards
- substance abuse centers
- group homes
- residential facilities
- social service agencies
- juvenile detention centers
- rehabilitation facilities
- court service units
- prevention programs
- public/private community agencies
Licensure Requirements:
While requirements for licensure vary by state, program participants must complete all (60-credit CACREP) coursework, two-part internship experiences (600hrs). Post-graduation to become fully licensed program completers must pass the National Counseling Exam (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam (NCMHE) and complete an additional 2000 to 4000 post-graduate supervised hours depending on the state to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Program completers seeking additional state-specific qualifications may need to research the Licensed Professional Counseling requirements for that state.
Job Outlook and Salary:
· The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects an 18% job growth for Mental Health Counselors from 2022 to 2032 [BLS Mental Health Counselors ON Bureau of Labor Statistics (.gov) bls.gov]. This is faster than average growth for all occupations.
· The nationwide median annual salary for Mental Health Counselors is $49,700.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Program Objectives
The program has specific objectives, which are as follows:
- Evaluate multicultural and ethical issues, as well as the impact of ability levels, stereotyping, family, socioeconomic status, gender, and sexual identity, and their effects on student achievement.
- Demonstrate knowledge and awareness of multiethnic, multicultural and pluralistic society trends and issues through application of multicultural competencies and theories in applied learning situations throughout various counseling settings
- Describe development- including biosocial, cognitive, cultural, and psychosocial –as an ongoing set of processes, involving both continuity and change.
- Develop an awareness and understanding of the different career models, theories, and resources available to counselors.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the counseling process and treatment including basic helping and interviewing skills that entails an understanding of essential interview so that the student is able to develop solid clinical skills, design intervention strategies, evaluate client outcome and treatment strategies.
- Explore the group process by examining theories and research related to group counseling, integration of group counseling concepts in counseling programs for clients.
- Utilize assessment results to for the purposes of diagnosing and effective diagnostic intervention planning with legal and ethical considerations associated with assessment selection, administration, and interpretation.
- Candidates will demonstrate competency in conducting research through application of research principles.
- Graduate counselor candidates with the knowledge, skills, and disposition to be consummate professional counselors.
- Recruit all students to create a supportive and intellectually curious learning community.
- Use the process of decision-making to specific clinical situations, which takes into consideration ethical and legal standards, and review the advocacy processes needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede access and success for clients dealing with agencies in the community.
The program has been developed utilizing a learning-outcomes base that requires candidates to master specified knowledge, skills, and abilities. The program is life-skills oriented and candidates are committed to the development of the highest educational and quality of life potential of all their clients. Candidates are expected to maintain a high level of competence, ethics, and integrity while exercising objective professional judgment in the practice of their profession.
In order to prepare effective counselors to work in community agencies, course work and related counseling field experiences emphasize human growth and development; counseling theory and techniques for individuals and groups; career development with components in educational and occupational information; standardized testing in the areas of aptitude, interest, achievement, and career; professional rights and responsibilities; research and evaluation techniques, and organization and administration of counseling programs.
Curriculum