Mar 28, 2024  
University Catalog 2022-2023 
    
University Catalog 2022-2023 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, MA (low-residency)


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Master of Arts in Counseling: Clinical Mental Health Counseling (low-residency)
Location: AU Seattle
Credits for Degree: 90 quarter credits
Standard Mode of Instruction: Classroom or low-residency/online
Standard time to completion: 39 months

Program Overview

The low residency Masters of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program is based on the current Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Antioch University Seattle that has been accredited since 2012 by COUNCIL FOR ACCREDITATION OF COUNSELING RELATED EDUCATION PROGRAMS (CACREP). The curriculum meets the highest standards in counselor training and supervision with advanced competencies in multicultural counseling, evidence-based practices, and clinical competencies.

At a total of 90 graduate credits, the low residency CMHC program provides a structure and set of experiences to help students develop the intellectual and relational capacities needed to understand and work with others in the professional practice of counseling empowering diverse individuals, families, and groups. With a greater emphasis on multicultural counseling competence and mental liberation, the program will also equip student to address community and institutional inequities consistent with a social justice counseling orientation. These goals are accomplished through a combination of required coursework, electives, practical experience, and a supervised internship. Concentrations in Addiction Counseling, Trauma Counseling, Advanced Multicultural Counseling, Latinx Mental Health Counseling, Play Therapy, and Human Sexuality are also available.

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program exceeds the educational requirements for Washington state licensure in Mental Health Counseling (LMHC), and as an accredited program, meets national curriculum standards described by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Program (CACREP).

Students in Clinical Mental Health Counseling address the following knowledge areas in their graduate studies:
  • Graduate-level understanding of fundamental theoretical models of human behavior within the counseling field;
  • The ability to make use of research literature and other sources of relevant knowledge, as an integral part of the ongoing responsible practice of counseling;
  • Skills in building relationships including the development and deepening of self-awareness, empathy, ethical awareness, social responsibility, and respect for human diversity;
  • Graduate-level mastery of counseling skills including an ability to apply one’s knowledge and relationship- building skills to the counseling situation, to think critically about human behavior and the counseling relationship, and to integrate theory with practice in ways which facilitate ethical and effective practice as a counselor; and
  • Knowledge of professional development issues, professional organizations and state requirements for practice as a clinical mental health counselor.
  • Developed with the working professional in mind, the MA in CMHC is a unique low residence, 3.25-3.5 years to complete, and year-round cohort models. Classes meet on Monday mornings, afternoons and evenings. In addition to the online course work, students will attend two five-day residencies (winter and summer quarters) per academic year.  Summer residences are held in gorgeous Seattle, Washington and winter residencies are held in beautiful Santa Barbara, California.  The residential experiences will provide opportunities for intensified face-to-face training and community enrichment, and a seminar format for rich discourse and meaning making. This collective experience is consistent with an infused emphasis on multicultural discourse, resilience, civil enrichment, and social justice.

For those interested in expanding their counseling career into the areas of teaching, supervision, research and leadership, 72 credits of the master’s degree will transfer into the 144-credit PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision

Residencies:

Two per year. Week long residencies are held summer and winter terms during the first two years of the program.  The summer residency is held in Seattle, Washington and the winter residency is held in Santa Barbara, California

Current Tuition and Fees

University Tuition and Fees  

Plan of Study


Elective Courses:


Elective courses provide students with an opportunity to advance their clinical training in particular areas and to pursue interest areas with depth beyond material covered in the required courses. Elective courses are offered on a regularly scheduled rotation throughout the academic year. In addition, students are required to take one course from each of the following domains: 

  • Multicultural Counseling Series (titles vary), or
  • Historical and Socio-Cultural Perspectives in Psychology Series (titles vary)
  • Elective concentrations are also offered in Addiction Counseling, Trauma Counseling, Latinx Mental Health Counseling, Clinical Treatment courses (children, adolescents, older adults), Creative Modalities courses (music, writing, dramatic enactment, movement), Counseling & Spirituality courses (Introduction to Counseling & Spirituality, and Integrating Challenges in Psycho-Spiritual Work), and Advanced Theories courses (Psychosynthesis, Buddhist, Integral, Jungian, Existential, Cognitive, Adlerian, and Brief approaches) as well as select course work in the Couples and Family Therapy program and the Art Therapy and Drama Therapy specialties.

Internship Experience:


All students participate in an internship in a professional setting. This experience will enable you to validate and clarify the theory you acquire in the classroom as you develop your own role as a clinician. Examples of internship sites include the following:

  • Community mental health agencies
  • Career and employment agencies
  • Correctional facilities
  • Family service agencies
  • Gerontological settings
  • HMO’s/PPO’s/EAP’s
  • Military and Government agencies including the V.A.
  • Pastoral/religious/spiritual agencies
  • Rehabilitation agencies
  • Addiction treatment centers
  • Youth and Family agencies
  • Substance abuse settings
  • Private practice settings
  • College counseling centers
  • Integrative Primary Behavioral Health Clinics
  • Group homes
  • Homeless shelters
  • In-patient psychiatric hospitals
  • *Program Requirements and Course Offerings Are Subject to Change

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