Experience immersive and practical clinical training.
The mission of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at The Chicago School- Washington, D.C. seeks to educate and prepare professional counselors for careers and service in diverse community contexts— as clinical mental health counselors, consultants, and advocates for individuals, families, and groups. We embrace the concepts of wellness, holistic and biopsychosocial perspectives, lifespan development, professional ethics, multicultural/social justice and spiritual competencies, advocacy, and prevention. The counseling faculty, diverse in background, experience, and counseling orientation, are licensed practitioners who embrace and help develop a professional identity as counselors in their students. Our mission is to prepare future counselors to skillfully and effectively support clients through developmental, educational, career, mental health, and other life challenges. Graduates of our program are well-prepared to pursue licensure and careers in settings where their passions and abilities are well-matched to community needs.
Experience a rigorous educational journey through The Chicago School's Master of Arts Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. This enriching curriculum blends theoretical knowledge with practical training, enabling you to apply your skills in real-world settings. By completing this program, you will gain the necessary expertise to support individuals dealing with depression, anxiety, grief, stress, relationship challenges, and thoughts of self-harm.
Upon graduation, you will be prepared to enter the professional world equipped with these competencies and more:
- Counselor identity
- Ethical and professional issues
- Diversity and multiculturalism
- Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment planning
- Methods of research and program evaluation
- Advocacy and social justice
The M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling program offers flexibility to accommodate your existing commitments, allowing you to seamlessly integrate your studies. With personalized advising, you receive one-on-one guidance from a dedicated faculty member throughout your program.
The Washington, D.C., Campus' M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, meeting their standards with regard to institutional settings, program mission and objectives, program content, practicum experiences, student selection and advising, faculty qualifications and workload, program governance, instructional support, and self-evaluation.
COURSE SYLLABUS REQUEST
If you are interested in reviewing any of the syllabi of the courses in the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, you may request them by sending an email to [email protected].
Program Learning Outcomes
Program prepares students to:
- Program prepares students to demonstrate knowledge and application of the helping process with diverse clients; counseling theories and techniques; prevention, treatment, education, and consultation for a broad range of mental health issues and strategies for interfacing with the legal system regarding court-referred clients; wellness models; counselor self-understanding; and the change process.
- Program prepares students to demonstrate knowledge and application related to ethical professional counseling practice, establish a professional counselor identity, interface with legislation, government policy, regulatory processes, and integrated behavioral healthcare professionals.
- Program prepares students to demonstrate contextual knowledge and application of the principles of mental health, wellness, and human development including prevention, education, consultation, intervention, and advocacy.
- Program prepares students to demonstrate knowledge and application of strategies for addressing diverse clients’ career development and employment opportunities in a global economy.
- Program prepares students to demonstrate knowledge and application of group development, dynamics, theories, techniques, therapeutic factors, and how they contribute to the design and facilitation of groups in a culturally relevant manner.
- Program prepares students to demonstrate knowledge and application related to the culturally and developmentally appropriate etiology, nomenclature, intake interview, mental status evaluation, biopsychosocial history, mental health history, and psychological assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, caseload management, referral, and prevention of mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
- Program prepares students to demonstrate knowledge and application related to mental health service delivery modalities and networks within the continuum of care and third-party reimbursement and other practice and management issues in clinical mental health counseling, including primary care, outpatient, partial treatment, inpatient, integrated behavioral healthcare, and aftercare.
- Program prepares students to demonstrate an intersectional lens of cultural competence in counseling with individuals, groups, and families from diverse cultural backgrounds as well as the ability to advocate for equity and social justice in the promotion of mental health strategies on the behalf of people with mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental conditions, the community, and the profession of counseling.
- Program prepares students to critically evaluate and utilize research, evidence-based practices, and program evaluation to inform the practice of clinical mental health counseling.
Admissions Requirements
- Application
- Application Fee ($50)
- GPA of 3.0 or higher is required
- Essay: The mission of the program is to equip students with the knowledge, skills, practices, and values of the counseling profession: empowerment, resilience, optimal development, multicultural competence, and holism, in order to promote the well-being of individuals, families, and the diverse systems that support them. In a two-page essay address the following:
- How you would contribute to the fulfillment of the program’s mission given your personal and professional characteristics and accomplishments, your academic background, and your experience, and
- Upon successful completion of the program, how do you see yourself contributing to the profession as a clinical mental health counselor?
- Resume
- Three letters of recommendation
- Admissions interview
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university
Accreditation & Licensure
Accreditation
The M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling program in Washington, D.C., is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). To learn more about The Chicago School's institutional and programmatic accreditations, visit our Accreditation page.
Licensure
For information on whether a program at The Chicago School meets or does not meet licensure eligibility requirements for the state in which you wish to be licensed, please visit our licensure disclosures page.
CMHC D.C. Core Faculty
Gina Polychronopoulos
Department Chair
Sara Kim
Director of Clinical Training
Glenda Dickonson
Assistant Professor
Erin Justice
Teaching Faculty
Sadiqa Long
Teaching Faculty
Felicia Pressley
Teaching Faculty
Fieldwork Opportunities
Practicum and Internship
Practicum and internship, sometimes referred to as field training or applied professional practice experiences, provides for the application of theory and the development of counseling skills under supervision. These experiences offer opportunities for students to counsel and provide other professional services to diverse clientele in their communities. Each student is responsible for identifying potential practicum/internship sites. Students are encouraged first to assess their counseling and professional interests, training needs, and goals (e.g., populations, settings, clinical presentations, and professional activities of interest). Then, students will tap into their existing personal and professional networks to learn of sites that provide clinical mental health counseling services. In addition, they may conduct internet searches; consult the websites of local, state, and national professional organizations; network with other human services organizations in their communities; and/or talk with the CMHC director of clinical training to brainstorm additional routes to site development.
Typically, students complete their practicum and internship at the same site. During the practicum course, students complete a supervised practicum experience at an approved site with an approved clinical supervisor for a minimum of 100 hours. The practicum course consists of the on-site clinical counseling supervised experience, and students must participate in group supervision, which meets weekly throughout the entirety of the semester, as well as coursework. Students will practice foundational counseling skills and, over time, integrate more advanced skills through practice in classes, supervised recorded sessions, and direct service at their sites. Moreover, the practicum experience often focuses on the personal qualities needed to develop genuine and effective counseling relationships with a wide range of clientele. As such, students learn self-assessment skills as well as how to understand clients’ worldviews.
After successfully completing the practicum course, students will enroll in Internship I. During the 14-week Internship I course, students complete the next level of supervised internship experience at an approved site with an approved clinical supervisor, for a minimum of 300 hours to further develop their individual and group counseling skills. The Internship I course consists of the on-site clinical counseling supervised experience, and students must participate in site and group supervision, which meets weekly throughout the semester, as well as coursework.
Following successful completion of Internship I, students will enroll in Internship II. During the 14-week Internship II course, students complete a more advanced level of supervised Internship experience at an approved site with an approved clinical supervisor, for a minimum of 300 hours to further develop their individual and group counseling skills. The Internship II course consists of the on-site clinical counseling supervised experience, and students must participate in site and group supervision, which meets weekly throughout the semester, as well as coursework. The internship is intended to reflect the comprehensive work experience of a clinical mental health counselor, and students will participate in the full range of roles and responsibilities available at their sites.
Note the practicum and internship experiences are conducted under the direction of a qualified on-site supervisor, and the minimum total number of hours accrued is 700 (i.e., 100 practicum hours + 300 Internship I hours + 300 Internship II hours = 700 total hours). An advanced internship course is available to students needing a full year of field work or 900 hours of internship to complete the necessary course work for counseling licensure in certain states.
Transfer of credit for the practicum/internship is not granted and practicum/internship requirements are never waived. Further details regarding practicum and internship are available from the CMHC director of clinical training.
Students registered in this program incur a one-time $195 Experiential Learning Technology Fee.
Sample Courses
Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy
The course reviews basic theories, principles, and techniques of counseling and psychotherapy, as well as applications to a variety of therapeutic settings. The course also focuses on personal theory construction, bias embedded in theory, and cultural diversity.
Diagnosis of Mental Health Issues
This course addresses the general principles of etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders. Major definitions and descriptions of psychological phenomena as categorized and classified by the DSM diagnostic system are covered. This course includes models of mental status assessment as well as the application of how cultural factors influence mental health.
Lifespan Development
This course examines typical development from infancy through advanced age, focusing on the development of perceptual and cognitive processes, psychosocial roles, and familial interpersonal processes. Current clinical approaches are examined from diverse theoretical viewpoints and in light of recent research findings. Cultural diversity and individual differences are integral to this course.
Career Pathways
The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at The Chicago School is committed to educational experiences that provide training in mental health counseling for a variety of clinical settings, such as:
- Couples/family counseling
- Social service and mental health agencies
- College counseling centers
- Non-profit organizations
- Private practice
Focusing on three core areas of ethical practice, multiculturalism/social justice, and advanced clinical practice, the program prepares students to work with a range of diverse clientele, including those within underserved communities.
The D.C. Experience
As a student at the Washington, D.C. campus surrounded by much of the nation’s historical and cultural riches, you will have the opportunity to benefit from a location essential to much of the United States’ political, governmental, and multi-national affairs.
This campus reflects The Chicago School’s commitment to diversity and the efforts to expand mental health services to multicultural and underserved communities.
Programmatic Assessment Reports
CACREP Reports
2024 CACREP Vital Statistics Report
2023 CACREP Vital Statistics Report
2022 CACREP Vital Statistics Report
Assessment Reports
2023-2024 MA CMHC Annual Report
2022-2023 MA CMHC Annual Report
2021-2022 MA CMHC Annual Report
2020-2021 MA CMHC Annual Report
2019-2020 MA CMHC Annual Report
2018-2019 MA CMHC Annual Report
2017-2018 MA CMHC Annual Report
2016-2017 MA CMHC Annual Report
Interim Report
2023-2024 CACREP Interim Report
2018-2019 CACREP Interim Report
Financing Your Education
The Chicago School is dedicated to keeping our professional degree programs accessible to anyone regardless of financial status. In addition to the scholarships that may be available, our Financial Aid Department will provide you with information to determine what financial arrangements are right for you.
Mental & Behavioral Health Professionals Tuition Rate
The Mental and Behavioral Health Professionals Tuition Rate has been established to support mental and behavioral health professionals who aim to better serve their clients and the community through advanced education and training. Students may be eligible for special tuition rates and/or additional institutional aid.
