Department of Counseling

Mental Health Counseling Mission & Goals

I. Program Mission

It is the mission of the Mental Health Counseling Program to prepare highly skilled, knowledgeable, and professional mental health counselors who provide competent, caring and ethical services to diverse clients in public, government, community agencies and private practices.  Mental health counselors are encouraged to facilitate the change process in individuals, couples, families, groups and communities. The program challenges its graduates to advance the mental health counseling profession through service, research, innovation, advocacy and training. The program’s mission is aligned to the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the Council of the Accreditation of Counseling Education and Related Programs.  The program is also considered a National Board of Certified Counselors approved graduate program. Candidates also meet the educational requirements for licensure for Maryland State Clinical Professional Counselor and they are eligible to sit for the National Counselor exam.

II. Program Descriptions, Goals, and Objectives

The program strives to prepare highly effective and ethical counseling professionals who will positively impact their students, clients, the counseling profession and the diverse populations they serve in the community. Candidates are expected to demonstrate knowledge, skills and professional dispositions as articulated in the CACREP standards.
 
Candidates are expected to demonstrate in their course work, practicum and internship experiences the knowledge, skills and professional dispositions as articulated in the CACREP eight Common Core Standards.

  1. Professional orientation and ethical practice
  2. Social and cultural diversity
  3. Human growth and development
  4. Career development
  5. Helping relationships
  6. Group work
  7. Assessment
  8. Research and program evaluation

Candidates are expected to demonstrate in their course work, practicum and internship experiences the knowledge, skills and professional dispositions as articulated in the CACREP Mental Health Counseling Program Area Standards.

  1. Foundation.  Knowledge, skills and practices of the history, roles, functions, professional identity, current treatment models, effects of diverse contexts and needs, and processes and operational management of the counseling practices, and impact of crises, disasters, and other trauma-causing events on people.
  2. Counseling, Prevention, and Intervention. Knowledge and skills of theories and practices regarding etiology, diagnostic process, treatment options, and strategies for effectiveness service delivery and impact.
  3. Diversity and Advocacy.  Knowledge, skills and practices of the effects of racism, discrimination, sexism, power, privilege, social justice and oppression on one’s own life and career and those of the client; and are able to identify opportunities and maximize impact in multicultural settings.
  4. Assessment.  Knowledge, skills and practices of principles and models of assessment, case conceptualization, theories of human development, and concepts of normalcy and psychopathology; appropriate uses, including diagnostic interviews, mental status examinations, symptom inventories, psychoeducational, psychopharmacological medications and personality assessments.
  5. Research and Evaluation.  Knowledge and skills of current research and promising practices, models and strategies of evaluation, and evidence-based treatments and basic strategies for evaluating counseling outcomes.
  6. Diagnosis. Knowledge, skills and practices of diagnostic process, including differential diagnosis, and the use of current diagnostic tools, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); impact of co-occurring substance use disorders on medical and psychological disorders; and appropriate use of diagnosis during a crisis, disaster, or other trauma-causing event. 

Candidates are expected to demonstrate in their course work, practicum and internship experiences the knowledge, skills and professional dispositions as articulated in the COE Institutional Standards. Here are the dispositions students will be assessed across Program Transition Requirements:

Centered on the theme of Preparing Effective, Caring, and Collaborative Educators, Counselors and Clinicians for a Global Society, the College strives to develop candidates who become academic scholars, reflective practitioners, and collaborative leaders with a strong commitment to professional dispositions and innovative use of technology in the schools and communities in which they work.