Administrative Director, Department of Behavioral Sciences
Tara.Donai@LCU.edu
806.720.7726
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at LCU prepares individuals to become counselors who can serve in a variety of clinical settings such as mental health or social services agencies or private practice. The CMHC program fulfills the academic requirement for licensure as a professional counselor in Texas and other states. The program is delivered in an online format.
The Mission of the Clinical Mental Health Program Aligns itself with the mission of LCU and the Department of Behavioral Sciences by training ethically- and spiritually-aware mental health counselors who possess the knowledge, values, skills, and personal disposition to promote the mental health and holistic wellness of clients across diverse populations.
View information, forms, links, and other resources for the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program.
Graduates from this program will receive the academic and experiential foundations that will enable them to specialize in a variety of counselor roles, such as community mental health counselors, pastoral counselors, drug and alcohol counselors, trauma counselors, college counselors, and relationship counselors. The program has the goal of providing educational foundations that enable its graduates to enter professionally-satisfying careers, serve others to the best of their abilities, and develop a capacity for intellectual, professional and personal growth.
The CMHC program promotes the following goals:
The CMHC program promotes the following objectives:
CMHC Graduates by Academic Year
2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 |
8 | 20 | 19 | 13 |
LCU’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program’s first enrollment period was Fall 2013. The estimated completion time for the CMHC program is 11-12 semesters, with a handful of students graduating in as few as 9 semesters. 100 students enrolled between Fall 2013 and Spring 2015. Twenty-four of these students graduated in the estimated completion time. Eight of the 100 enrolled students changed majors and graduated with degrees from related programs within LCU’s Department of Psychology and Counseling.
Administrative Director, Department of Behavioral Sciences
Tara.Donai@LCU.edu
806.720.7726
This course provides a base of knowledge about the counseling profession, its history, philosophy, and identity. Also covered are the roles & responsibilities of the professional counselor in working competently with diverse populations through personal challenges and crises and toward wellness and prevention.
Examines the stages of individual development as they occur in the context of the family life cycle. Consideration will be given to how various tasks, transitions, and events impact individuals and families at different stages of life. Students will integrate a linear individual perspective to human development with a systemic family perspective.
Examination of the major individual, marital, and family assessment strategies and instruments. Students will receive training in the use of both testing and non-testing approaches to assessment and appraisal. Attention will be given to the relationship between assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning. Fee $200.
Survey and analysis of research methodology and program evaluation in the counseling profession. Topics include current trends in counseling research, Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed methods design, implementation, and data analysis. Evaluating research and writing research reports will be also be addressed. Recommended pre-requites include COU5301 Introduction to Clinical Mental Health and/or COU 5361 Techniques of Individual and Family Counseling.
Focuses on the development of a professional attitude and identity as a marriage and family therapist and a professional counselor. Areas of consideration will include professional socialization, the role of professional organizations, licensure and certification, legal responsibilities and liabilities of clinical practice and research, family law, confidentiality issues, codes of ethics, the role of the therapist in court proceedings, and inter professional cooperation.
Detailed overview of psychopathology and analysis of psychopathology in educational and clinical counseling settings. Students will receive training in the use of the DSM-IV and its application. Diagnostic and treatment planning skills will be facilitated through the use of case studies.
Examination of the major theories and models of counseling. Ethical and culturally relevant issues of in-person and technology-assisted relationships and the impact of technology on counseling is examined. Students expected to develop a coherent theoretical rationale for their therapeutic interventions.
Introduction to the skills involved in developing effective helping relationships. The processes, principles, and techniques associated with counseling are explored. Experiential component fosters the development of basic interviewing, listening, and counseling skills. Additional techniques and resources are reviewed and evaluated.
Reviews concepts, issues, and trends in the field of career counseling and career education. It is designed to consider the role of the counselor in the career decision-making process of individuals across the lifespan. Consideration will be given to the relationships between work, career development, and family functioning. Fee: $100.
Study of theoretical foundations of group counseling and group work. Emphasis on dynamics associated with group process and development. Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for designing and facilitating groups. Students are provided direct experiences to participate as group members and leaders in small group activities. Fee: $100.
Comprehensive overview of the various theories and models of marital and family therapy. Consideration will be given to the therapeutic skills and assumptions associated with the following treatment approaches: cognitive-behavioral, inter-generational, narrative, solution-focused, structural, and strategic. Students will participate in an in-depth exploration of their own families of origin.
Intensive overview of therapeutic strategies for working with children, adolescents and their families. Consideration will be given to developmental psychopathology. Techniques and strategies from Adlerian, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, and systemic approaches will be presented. Fee: $100.
Study of definitions of addiction, substance abuse and dependence, and counseling persons with substance abuse disorders and process disorders. Holistic approach to treatment and recovery is emphasized. Assessment, initial treatment, and intervention techniques are explored for rehabilitation of substance use disorders.
Review of multicultural counseling literature. Focus on promotion of self-awareness and self-knowledge, facilitation of the construction of cultural knowledge to increase awareness and sensitivity to issues affecting multicultural populations, identification of intervention strategies applicable to multicultural clients, and promotion of development of a personal philosophy of substance abuse disorders.
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