Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Become a licensed mental health counselor with a master’s degree from one of New England’s top counseling programs.
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Become a licensed mental health counselor with a master’s degree from one of New England’s top counseling programs.
Merrimack College’s accredited mental health counseling master’s program includes 700 hours of hands-on clinical training in schools, hospitals, rehab centers, correctional facilities and other settings. We carefully select clinical sites and supervisors to ensure they align with curriculum, promote exceptional mental health counseling skills and qualify you to become a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC).
At Merrimack, you’ll be paired with a faculty mentor who provides personalized guidance throughout the two-year mental health counseling master’s degree. With small classes, an intimate campus and a culture of service, Merrimack fosters close-knit relationships that encourage academic and professional growth.
Curriculum in our mental health counseling master’s program focuses on the most current evidence-based techniques. You’ll become proficient in diagnosis and assessment, group counseling, addiction and trauma, crisis intervention, research and more. To complete the master’s in mental health counseling, you’ll produce a capstone project that consists of a written client case study.
You can earn while you learn via one of Merrimack’s clinical mental health counseling fellowships. These competitive awards provide supervised work experience on campus, along with a tuition discount and stipend totaling more than $10,000. Whether or not you seek a fellowship, you’ll automatically be considered upon admission for a merit scholarship that can meet up to 20% of your tuition.
Merrimack is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Our master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling also meets the requirements of the Massachusetts state licensing board, so upon graduation, you will be eligible to sit for the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE).
Our master’s degree curriculum emphasizes culturally sensitive clinical mental health counseling. You’ll work with diverse populations on a wide range of mental health issues, including those that arise from psychological dysfunctions and social injustices.
Deeply rooted in Merrimack’s tradition of moral and ethical education, our mental health counseling master’s degree equips you to help individuals confront challenges, transform their lives and uplift their communities. You’ll have the skills to provide clinical mental health counseling related to issues such as:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts very rapid growth in clinical mental health counseling jobs over the next decade, with jobs projected to increase by more than 20 percent. Graduates of Merrimack’s clinical mental health counseling program have a job placement rate of nearly 100 percent, based on their top-notch training and the program’s strong reputation among employers. Our alumni have found immediate employment with mental health counseling organizations such as:
“If you’re able to help people attain mental and emotional stability, you are able to help them do better things in life.”
― Amanda Priest, MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling ’20
Merrimack’s clinical mental health counseling degree caters to students of varying backgrounds and levels of experience. The program attracts recent college graduates, young direct care staff and therapeutic mentors who seek to deepen their expertise and midcareer adults who are migrating into mental health counseling from another field.
Contact the Merrimack College Office of Graduate Admission at graduate@merrimack.edu.
Mental health counseling scholarships and fellowships can reduce your tuition by thousands of dollars.
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