The Counseling Profession

PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling’s “Philosophy of Training” provides students with a well-established program of study that leads to a license-eligible degree. The philosophy of the program is to provide trainees with the skills to become practicing professionals in the community while understanding the research and science behind mental health practice. Through this research-based practice students will become familiar with the research process as a consumer of research findings. The training is also focused on providing a generalist model to prepare students for a range of professional roles across various settings while working with diverse communities.

PROGRAM MODEL & RATIONALE

The Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) is a three-year, 6-semester (optional summer semester), 60-credit hour degree that leads to licensure in the State of Utah as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor. The program is housed in the Department of Educational Psychology located in the College of Education at the University of Utah. The course offerings allow students to balance school and part- or full-time employment as there is not a formal research project requirement (e.g., a thesis) for completing the M.Ed. degree. Most required courses meet once per week in the early evening and face-to-face coursework is supplemented with meaningful online offerings. Some daytime courses are required. The CMHC program is dedicated to providing students with quality supervision. Training in CMHC involves didactic instruction with licensed professionals who are skilled at providing direct services, and who can serve as mentors for future mental health counselors.

The CMHC program emphasizes the importance of a learning environment where the strengths of every student are recognized. Accordingly, the program adheres to the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Mental Health Counseling Association (AMHCA) ethical guidelines and standards. Students are trained for professionally and culturally competent practice as CMHC counselors including, diagnosis and assessment, treatment and intervention (including evidenced-based practice), treatment planning, consultation, and advocacy, with a particular focus on the social justice components of these responsibilities. The course sequence provides developmentally appropriate training experiences that build on each other in order for students to become entry-level license eligible practitioners.