The Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) Program faculty are committed to helping students develop the practitioner-scholar expertise, professional dispositions, and leadership skills required to become multiculturally-competent counselors who will provide a wide range of evidence-based counseling services and interventions to clients in the global communities of the 21st century.

The program’s mission is immeasurably enriched by students with diverse experiences. For faculty and students to be leaders within and beyond our counseling program, we must ensure that we consider the diversity and intersectionality of all who comprise our communities and foster a climate in which those diverse influences are respected and valued. Aspects of diversity include, but are not limited to, race, ethnicity, color, nationality, gender identity, gender expression, affectional orientation, social class, religion, age, dis/Ability, and veteran status. The faculty is dedicated to the recruitment, retention, and training of diverse professionals.

The faculty seeks to fulfill this mission by creating a student-centered educational experience guided by five values integrated into the development of each graduate:

 

 

Program Objectives

At the successful completion of the program, students will demonstrate competency with the following program objectives:

1. Knowledge and skills of professional counseling orientation and ethical practice; human growth and development; career development; counseling and helping relationships; group counseling; assessment and testing; mental health diagnosis and treatment planning; psychopharmacology; addictions; family and couples counseling; crisis intervention; and clinical supervision;
2. Knowledge and skills of multicultural counseling and social justice advocacy; and to actively recruit and retain diverse applicants, students, and faculty;
3. A wellness and resiliency orientation as demonstrated by personal and professional growth in sound interpersonal and self-awareness (intrapersonal) skills within their interactions with clients, colleagues, trainees, and supervisors;
4. Engagement in professional identity and dispositions development and career advancement through activities such as membership and participation in professional counseling organizations;
5. Knowledge and skills with research methods in counseling that emphasize a practitioner-scientist approach and engagement in opportunities for impactful research.