Mar 29, 2024  
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.S.


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Admission Requirements

Applicants must possess an undergraduate or graduate degree from a regionally accredited institution. The applicant should follow instructions for General Requirements for Admission to Graduate Study as shown above.

A cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least a 2.75 or better on a 4.0 scale is required for admissions.  The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program is designed to prepare counselors/therapists for work in the filed of mental health and requires a full academic year of field experience 9internship) in a mental health setting.  It requires extensive field experience.  the Master of Science Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is a fifty-one (51) semester hour program embracing a range of knowledge and skills including extensive clinical practice in human service milieus such as community and private mental health agencies, correctional facilities, and gerontological settings.  The program emphasizes education, theory, therapy and consultation.  Students are prepared to provide mental health services to individuals, families and community groups.  

Classes are held at the Warner Robins Center, Warner Robins, Georgia.

Students who complete this program are eligible for licensure as a professional counselor in the State of Georgia (LPC) after gaining appropriate supervised practice and passing the State Composite Board Examination for Professional Counselors.  Completion of the program may also lead to certification by the National Board of certified Counselors (NMCC).

Opportunities for employment may be found in mental health agencies, substance abuse treatment facilities, gerontological facilities, psychiatric hospitals, correctional and rehabilitation centers, VA hospitals and other helping agencies.  A full academic year of supervised internship provides the student with actual mental health counseling experience in a helping agency.

 

The Mental Health Counseling Program is designed to prepare counselors/therapists for work in the field of mental health and requires a full academic year of field experience (internship) in a mental health setting. It requires extensive field experience. The Master of Science Degree in Mental Health Counseling is a fifty-one (51) semester hour program embracing a range of knowledge and skills including extensive clinical practice in human service milieus such as community and private mental health agencies, correctional facilities, and gerontological settings. The program emphasizes education, theory, therapy and consultation. Students are prepared to provide mental health services to individuals, families and community groups.

Classes are held at the Warner Robins Center.

Students who complete this program are eligible for licensure as a professional counselor in the State of Georgia (LPC) after gaining appropriate supervised practice and passing the State Composite Board Examination for Professional Counselors. Completion of the program may also lead to certification by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).

Opportunities for employment may be found in mental health agencies, substance abuse treatment facilities, gerontological facilities, psychiatric hospitals, correctional and rehabilitation centers, VA hospitals and other helping agencies. A full academic year of supervised internship provides the student with actual mental health counseling experience in a helping agency.

Eligibility Requirements for Internship and Campus Supervision

Students must take CMHC 5770 Supervised Practicum first and then apply for Internships one (1) semester prior to the semester in which they plan to register. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or above.  To be eligible for Internship II, CMHC 5782, the student must have taken and satisfactorily completed Internship I, CMHC 5772 and have an overall GPA of 3.0 or above.

Application for internship should be made one term prior to the term in which the student anticipates participating in the internship. Late applications may be considered for the next semester. An application for an internship must be approved by the department head after it has been approved by the student’s advisor.

The student must be aware that internships are scheduled each academic term and care must be taken by each student to be sure that he/she registers for the appropriate internship. Further, students should be aware that the regularly scheduled time for internships, which will appear on the academic schedule of course offerings, refers to the on-campus sessions with the faculty supervisor. During on-campus supervision sessions, students who are at varying stages in their internships will participate together. The reason for this resides in the awareness that with such mixed groups, differences in experiences might arise. Those differences, however, might lead students through a variety of enriching experiences (vicarious and actual), which they would not have had otherwise. Additionally, the student must be in good standing with an overall GPA of 3.00 or above at the start of the semester during which the internship begins.

Summer Scheduling: Courses offered in the summer term are determined on a per-year basis. Courses to be offered will be published during the spring term. Students should be aware that summer school courses may be canceled if the required minimum enrollment is not met.

The program requires a minimum of 60 semester hours for students beginning their program Spring Semester, 2018 and after.

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