Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Clinical mental health counselors offer competently trained and experienced therapeutic guidance to individuals, couples, families, and groups who are dealing with issues that affect their mental health and well-being.

Clinical Mental health counselors can work in their own independent private practices or be employed in an agency or hospital setting as licensed professional counselors, marriage and family counselors, substance abuse counselors, clinical supervisors, crisis interventionalists, consultants, and more.

To become a licensed professional counselor, a master’s degree in counseling or a related field from an accredited program is required. Grace’s CMHC program is CACREP-accredited, which is considered to be the gold standard for counselor training.

While you can begin a career in a counseling-related field (caseworkers, behavioral interventionalists, skills coach, etc.), the bachelor’s degree does not allow a person to become a licensed professional counselor. To practice counseling independently and use the title Licensed Professional Counselor or Licensed Mental Health Counselor, state laws require a graduate degree in counseling, passing a licensure exam, and post-graduate supervised experience.

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s degree is a 60-credit-hour program targeted to accreditation standards. Depending on when a student begins, degree programs can be completed as quickly as 2-3 years. Scheduling is flexible, and some students choose a slower pace, factoring in their life responsibilities.

Degree completion will depend on when a student begins the program, due to prerequisites and class offerings. For students who enter in August, the fastest degree plan will take 8 semesters or 33 months. For students who enter in May, they can potentially complete the program in two years, or 6 semesters. For students who enter in January, the fastest degree plan is 7 semesters, or 2 ½ years. Regardless of when a student begins the program, there are 60 hours to complete, and some students choose to slow their pace to balance out the demands of other responsibilities. Advisors help students to evaluate their schedule of study and the best individual pace for completion.

Licensed professional counselors can earn on average between $70,000 – $82.000 annually. Many factors can influence salary, depending on licensure status, specialization, employers, and experience.

60 Credit Hours

The majority of the courses last only 8 weeks in length. Clinical courses last for a 16 week semester.

Students are required to attend an annual six-day summer residency each year that they are in the program. This will vary depending on the length of time that a student is enrolled in classes.

Online Education assists students in locating housing during this week. Students have the option of staying in campus housing or area hotels. Remember to ask for the Grace rate!

Yes! Students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA form. Just log onto www.fafsa.ed.gov . Remember to include Grace College’s school code – 001800. Students are notified of their financial aid award money once they have been accepted into the program. For more information please visit the Financial Aid website.

Students are able to transfer a maximum of 12 credit hours of coursework into the MACMHC program. Transfer credit is defined as Graduate level coursework that has been completed at an approved institution. A student must earn at least a B or better in each course. All transfer credit is approved by the Admissions Committee. Students may be asked to present a course syllabus or description in order to evaluate the coursework.

Online learning is flexible! Classes are organized in weekly modules and learning formats vary. Graduate school emphasizes more written communication, including research writing and reflective writing assignments. Students also participate in projects, presentations, demonstrations, and group work. Successful students in online classes navigate basic computer skills such as uploading assignments and participating in zoom discussions, and they manage their time well independently. Grace College is committed to providing you with an exceptional online learning experience.

The online instructors here at Grace welcome and encourage a high degree of engagement and interaction. There will be opportunities to interact with your instructors and classmates through chat, email, discussion boards, and forums. In the CMHC program, each course will have virtual class time with instructors and peers.

You will need a computer with high bandwidth Internet access, a flash player and speakers. Some courses may have additional requirements; however, Grace online technology support is always available for technical questions.

Yes, the credits earned from the Grace College Online program are transferable. Grace College is an accredited member of the Higher Learning Commission.

As a CACREP-accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, Grace College meets most state educational requirements for licensure. However, a few states require additional educational experiences. Please see the link below for details on finding your state’s educational requirements.

See the State Licensure Requirements