Mental Health Counseling

Mental Health Counseling equips a student to work in any area of counseling outside of public schools. Students graduate being license eligible, which means they can sit for the exam for the professional credential “Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Effective July 1, 2009, the M.A. in Mental Health Counseling will be a 61 hour program which includes a substantial field experience.

Handbook

The Mental Health Counseling Handbook is available in pdf.

Curriculum

MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING

Candidates for the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Mental Health Counseling must complete the following  courses (61 semester hours).  This program is not designed to allow students to meet North Carolina School Counselor licensure requirements.   This will allow students to be eligible to become licensed professional counselors in North Carolina.

Course Requirements           

  1. EDUC 623:  Research Design and Methodology  (3)
  2. EDUC 624:  Counseling Theories and Techniques  (3)
  3. EDUC 626:  Professional Orientation and Ethics in Counseling(3)
  4. EDUC 638:  Assessment in Counseling (3)
  5. EDUC 641:  Life-span Development (3)
  6. EDUC 644:  Career Counseling (3)
  7. EDUC 645:  Counseling Skills (3)
  8. EDUC 646:  Group Counseling (3)
  9. EDUC 664:  Abnormal Psychology (3)
  10. EDUC 685:  Spirituality, Religion, and Diversity in the Helping Professions (3)
  11. EDUC 690:  Practicum in Counseling (3)
  12. EDUC 695:  Internship in Counseling (6 )                                                              
  13. PSYCH 526:   Drug Treatment of Psychological Disorders (1)
  14. EDUC 544:   Family Therapy (3)
  15. EDUC 683:   Substance Abuse Seminar (3)
  16. EDUC 684:   Crisis Intervention Seminar (3)
  17. EDUC 677:   Cognitive Behavior Therapy (3)
  18. EDUC 679:   Child Psychopathology (3)
  19. EDUC 680:   Addiction and The Family (3)
  20. EDUC 687:   Clinical Supervision (3)
  21. EDUC 689:   Special Topics in Counseling – This course is not required of most students and is only utilized in rare instances for Independent Study and especially for those individuals who completed PSYCH 526 as an undergraduate and as a graduate student must must complete a different one hour course.

TOTAL  61 hours

Students who wish to add School Counselor licensure to the M.A. in Mental Health Counseling must first complete the M.A. program (48 hours), then take the following courses:

  1. EDUC 620:    Survey of Educational Psychology (3)**
  2. EDUC 631:   Curriculum Management (3)*
  3. EDUC 636:   Counseling in the Schools  (3)
  4. EDUC 663:   Exceptional Children (3)
  5. EDUC 695:   Internship in Counseling (6)***

* EDUC 620 and EDUC 631 are not required of students who hold a current NC teaching license.

  • Education 636 is a prerequisite to Education 695.
  • An internship (EDUC 695) is required of all counseling programs.  An additional internship must be completed in a public school setting, if an M.A. student wants to add on school licensure.

Students should confer with advisors in the selection of courses. 

Note 1: It is recommended that students take Education 626 as the first course in the program; if this cannot be arranged, it should be taken as early as possible.

Note 2: Prerequisites for Education 690:  Education 626, Education 645, Education 646, and Education 636 (School counseling track). Education 690 is a prerequisite for Education 695.

Note 3: Counselor education students must apply for the practicum or internship by March 15 for fall placement or October 15 for spring placement. Students are required to find their own practicum or internship placement, which must be approved by the Counselor Education Field Experience Coordinator.  If in the School Counseling Program, a student must have completed 30 academic hours prior to applying for EDUC 695, Practicum in Counseling.  If a student is in the M.A. Program (61 hours), they must have completed 36 hours before applying for EDUC 695.

Note 4: Students planning for a practicum or internship placement MUST consult with the Counselor Education Field Experience Coordinator for counselor education before investigating a practicum or internship placement.

Note 5: Practicum and internship students are required to have professional liability insurance BEFORE beginning the practicum or internship.

Note 6:  Any counselor education student who was a graduate of Campbell University’s UG psychology program and took PSYC 526 as part of that undergraduate curriculum may not take PSYC 526 as a graduate student.  For these students, the counselor education program will offer a one-hour, “Special Topics in Counseling” course, EDUC 689.

JOINT M.A./M.Div. PROGRAM

A student may apply for the Joint M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Master of Divinity degree (M.A./M.Div.)

He/She must be formerly accepted into the Graduate School in Education and Campbell University’s Divinity School. Completion of both degree tracts allows for the awarding of the M.A./M.Div. degrees.  Contact Dr. Ron Kendrick at kendrick@campbell.edu for more information.