Clinical Mental Health Counseling Courses
Focuses on ethical, legal, and professional issues in clinical mental health counseling. The various roles of clinical mental health counselors and issues facing the practice of mental health counseling will also be explored in this context. The profession of mental health counseling will be examined from both a historical standpoint and in light of current trends. Professional codes of ethics will be discussed as will critical legal cases and rulings. Professional credentialing, licensing requirements, and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) will be covered.
Offered: Every fall
Synchronous Requirement: Yes
CMHC610 Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy (3.0 sh)
Introduces students to theories and models of counseling and psychotherapy that are consistent with current professional practice and standards. The implications of various theories for conceptualizing client problems and generating intervention techniques will be highlighted. The course focuses upon counseling strategies whose efficacy is supported by empirical evidence.
Offered: Every fall
Synchronous Requirement: No
CMHC615 Assessment and Testing in Mental Health Counseling (3.0 sh)
Designed to provide an overview of the assessment procedures and tools used by clinical mental health counselors. Students will learn to select, administer, and interpret tests of cognitive ability, achievement, aptitude, memory, personality, and mental and behavioral functioning. Additionally, students will learn to assess suicidality, lethality, and mental status. Emphasis will be placed on integrating the findings of various instruments and communicating the results via oral or written reports.
Offered: Every spring
Synchronous Requirement: Yes
CMHC620 Lifespan Development: Implications for Counseling (3.0 sh)
CMHC625 Skills and Techniques in Mental Health Counseling (3.0 sh)
Designed to focus on interpersonal and counseling skills that characterize successful counseling interactions within and across various theoretical models. Evidence-based counseling interventions will be emphasized. The importance of various components of counseling such as goal-setting, developing a treatment plan, dealing with resistance, referral, and termination will also be covered.
CMHC630 Research and Evaluation (3.0 sh)
CMHC635 Multicultural Counseling (3.0 sh)
Examines the importance of cultural context in the process of counseling. Emphasis is placed on developing cultural self-awareness as a foundation for becoming a culturally competent and responsive professional. Lives of students and clients will be examined as they relate to racism, discriminations, sexism, power, privilege, and oppression. Culturally sensitive counseling techniques and therapeutic interventions will be discussed in depth.
CMHC640 Career Development and Counseling (3.0 sh)
Reviews career development theories and decision-making models. Students will learn to identify and utilize appropriate assessment and counseling strategies. Career and educational planning across the lifespan will be emphasized.
CMHC645 Addiction Counseling (3.0 sh)
Focuses on diagnostic classification using the DSM-5 and ICD-11 in order to understand the etiology, symptoms, and clinical presentation of various mental disorders to facilitate differential diagnosis and treatment. Basic classes and uses of commonly prescribed psychopharmacological medications will be discussed. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of differential diagnosis in developing a treatment plan and selecting appropriate interventions.
Explores technology-assisted mental health services. Students will examine the ethical and legal implications of telemental health, crisis and risk management strategies, and best practices to ethically and legally engage in telemental health and stay current on this rapidly emerging modality.
Provides opportunities to practice advanced interventions and directly apply those skills while maintaining a technology-assisted therapeutic relationship. Experiences include completing an intake, applying diverse therapeutic interventions, writing case notes and a treatment plan, and termination/referral. Direct supervision and feedback will enhance the students' abilities to become effective counselors.
CMHC660 Family and Couples Therapy (3.0 sh)
Introduces family and couples therapy from a systemic perspective. Current evidence-based models commonly used in counseling families and couples will be emphasized. Approaches to assessment and treatment planning as well as ethical, legal and professional issues will be covered.
CMHC662 Child and Adolescent Counseling (3.0 sh)
CMHC664 Creative Therapies for Children and Adolescents (3.0 sh)
CMHC665 Group Counseling (3.0 sh)
Provides didactic and experiential training in group counseling. Critical aspects of group processes and dynamics, including group formation, group stages, cohesion, norms, decision-making, and leading/co-leading will be emphasized. Students are introduced to and practice the skills required to lead counseling groups. Students participate in a processing group for a minimum of ten hours.
CMHC670 Trauma and Crisis Counseling (3.0 sh)
CMHC675 Issues Facing Military Veterans (3.0 sh)
Provides students with an in-depth understanding and application of ethical, legal, and professional issues for counselors. Current professional issues within the field will provide a framework with which to thoroughly review the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics. Emphasis is placed on the wellness model and self-care issues as related to ethical decision making and advocacy efforts for both the profession and the client.
