Clinical Mental Health Counseling The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Overview

The two year Clinical Mental Health Counseling program of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte will provide students with the face-to-face interaction and hands-on learning opportunities necessary to hone their counseling skills, while engaging with expert faculty, who are dedicated to their success. As a graduate of UNC Charlotte’s counseling program, students can confidently and competently begin making a positive impact in the lives of individuals, couples, families, and their community as a clinical mental health counselor.

Why choose our Master of Arts concentration in Clinical Mental Health Counseling?

• Our program is accredited by the Councils for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Professions (CACREP), which ensures the quality of our curriculum, the experience of our instructors, and the academic and experiential rigor of our program in preparing our students for their future professions.

• From the first course, students will be trained to develop their cultural competency skills and learn to work with a diverse client population. This will enable future counselors to connect with and advocate for individuals from various religious, socioeconomic, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, and racial backgrounds to provide the therapeutic and practical problem resolution counseling they need to lead healthier, happier lives.

• Students can tailor their degree program to align with their interests by incorporating elective courses in areas such as: grief and loss counseling, crisis counseling, counseling and spirituality, counseling adolescents, play therapy, and many others. Students can even elect to perform an independent research study for course credit, under the guidance of a faculty member, in any relevant topic for which courses are not available. Students can also earn (if interested) a certificate in disciplines such as Play Therapy, Gerontology, and Addictions while completing their degree.

• Students will learn from and work alongside our experienced faculty and collaborate on research into growing areas of interest within clinical mental health field. Many of our professors also work in private practice, thus keeping them engaged with the ever-evolving communities they serve and connecting their students with ample local networking and educational opportunities.

• Students pursuing this degree will address the program’s core courses and relevant electives from a counseling perspective. As with all courses for all students, each student is required to bring an individualized area of interest to their work. These areas may be singular or varied, but students pursuing the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling are expected to focus on issues of relevance to their counseling professional and personal development. Faculty are eager to work with students to incorporate personal areas of interest into all of their work.

• Upon completion of their degree, students will be eligible to take the National Counselor Exam (NCE), which certifies you to apply to become a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate (LCMHCA) in the state of North Carolina. Students can also complete post-graduate certifications in areas such as: school counseling, substance or addictions counseling, play therapy, gerontology, public health, community health, and nonprofit; or pursue field experience in a variety of other capacities.