COUNSELING, CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH, M.ED.

CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING

Specialization leading to a Education, M.Ed. degree.

Sixty credit hours leading to a degree in mental health counseling.

INTRODUCTION

The main goal of the program is to prepare counselors for roles in community agencies. Graduates who successfully meet educational requirements are eligible to take the National Counselor Examination (NCE). After successfully passing the examination, graduates are awarded the Professional Counselor (PC) license until they have acquired two years of supervised experience in counseling, obtained after the award of the master’s degree. After successful completion of this supervised experience and passing the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Exam (NCMHCE), they are awarded the Professional Clinical Counselor license (PCC). The program emphasizes a clinical orientation, focusing on theory and skills in counseling (individual, group, and family), assessment, human behavior and development, diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders, intervention methods, lifestyle and career development, legal and ethical responsibilities, and service-delivery systems.

CLINICAL AND FIELD-BASED EXPERIENCE

There are two separate clinical, field-based courses. The first is CNS 680 - Clinical Mental Health Counseling Practicum. This is a one-semester course requiring 100 hours of clinical field experience. Counseling Practicum is offered in the fall and spring semesters. The second clinical, field-based experience is the two-part Internship in Agency Counseling (CNS 686 and CNS 687). This is an intensive, two-consecutive-semester learning experience of supervised counseling in two settings; one is at the Counseling and Academic Success Clinic at CSU and the other at a community-based agency.

ELIGIBILITY FOR COUNSELING PRACTICUM (CNS 680)

Students plan their programs so they can apply for practicum two semesters in advance of the term in which they wish to take it. Applications are available in the CASAL Department office, Julka Hall 275. In addition to the application, there is a mandatory practicum-orientation meeting. Applicants for practicum will be notified of the meeting date and time after they turn in their practicum applications to their advisors. To be eligible to register for practicum, students must have passed the following courses: CNS 517, CNS 523, CNS 620, CNS 622.

ELIGIBILITY FOR AGENCY COUNSELING INTERNSHIP (CNS 686 AND CNS 687)

Students plan their programs so they can apply for internship two semesters in advance of the term in which they wish to take it. Applications are available in the CASAL Department office, Julka Hall 275. In addition to successful completion of the practicum (CNS 680) CNS 623, CNS 529, CNS 706 and all practicum prerequisites.

PROGRAM ADMISSION ELIGIBILITY

Applicants who meet the initial requirements (GPA over 2.75, GRE or MAT, two letters of recommendation) are granted conditional admission to the program. After they successfully pass CNS 523 and CNS 620 they are fully admitted into the program as degree-seeking. Students who do not meet the initial requirements are eligible to enroll in the courses open to non-degree seeking students. Those courses are CNS 504, CNS 505, EDB 601, CNS 524 and ALD 603. 

It is strongly recommended that students enroll in CNS 523 and CNS 620 in their first semester. These courses are used to evaluate student’s attainment of critical benchmarks including interpersonal competence and content knowledge, both of which are requirements for the advanced coursework and field placements (Practicum and Internship). Students who do not successfully complete 523 or 620 are entitled to a concerned conference with the instructor as well as CSU Judicial Affairs. Outcomes of concerned conferences include probation with conditions, remediation, career and/or individual counseling services, or program withdrawal.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

(60 credits) 

RESEARCH IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

• EDB 601 - Research in Education and Human Services

CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

• CNS 504 - Cultural & Social Foundations in Counseling
• CNS 517 - Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling

CULTURAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

• ALD 603 - Lifespan Development

SCREENING COURSES

• CNS 620 - Laboratory in Counseling Techniques –first course to be taken after acceptance into the Counseling Program
• CNS 523 - Small Group Laboratory
• CNS 622 - Individual Counseling: Theory & Process

AGENCY PRACTICE

• CNS 529 - Clinical Mental Health Counseling

GROUP PROCESS

• CNS 623 - Group Process and Practice

• Note: Active involvement in a personal growth group is usually a required part of this course.

ASSESSMENT

• CNS 505 - Appraisal Counseling

AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

• CNS 701 - Assessment for Counselors
• CNS 702 - Individual Intelligence Testing
• CNS 703 - Personality Assessment for Counselors

INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION OF MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISORDERS

• CNS 650 - Case Conceptualization and Treatment

PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND PERSONALITY

• CNS 712 - Theories of Personality & Counseling

DIAGNOSIS OF MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISORDERS

• CNS 706 - Psychopathology and Diagnosis for Counselors

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

• CNS 524 - Career Development & Information Services

TREATMENT OF MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISORDERS

• CNS 709 - Psychopharmacology for Counselors

CLINICAL AND FIELD-BASED EXPERIENCE

• CNS 680 - Clinical Mental Health Counseling Practicum
• CNS 686 - Internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
• CNS 687 - Advanced Internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

ELECTIVE CREDITS

The remaining six credits are elective. Students pursuing PCC licensure in Ohio should fulfill these elective credits with courses from the clinical course-work offerings in counseling. These are listed on the department Web site at http://www.csuohio.edu/cehs/casal/casal.

For further information about the Counselor Education Program, contact the Department of CASAL at (216) 687-4613 or go to the department Web site at http://www.csuohio.edu/cehs/casal/casal.