Administrative Director, Department of Behavioral Sciences
Tara.Donai@LCU.edu
806.720.7842
Graduate Behavioral Sciences
Graduate Behavioral Sciences
Graduate Behavioral Sciences
If you’re interested in pursuing a graduate degree that will help you change the lives of other people, you have come to the right place. In our graduate programs, we help equip you to strengthen families and marriages, resolve conflicts between people and groups, assist individuals in overcoming addictions and other destructive behaviors, and help clients deal with emotional and spiritual problems.
At Lubbock Christian University, you will enjoy small classes taught by experienced professionals who are still involved in their professions. All of our faculty members hold doctorates and continue to work as counselors, diagnosticians, human service professionals, and consultants. Our professors will help you examine professional research and theory from a Christian worldview, while continuing to write and contribute to scholarly research.
Our Masters degree in Mental Health Counseling offers three different emphasis to meet your needs: Clinical Mental Health Counseling, School Counseling, and Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy. We also offer a School Counseling degree for non-Texas residents. At LCU we are dedicated to nurturing compassionate, skilled, and culturally competent therapists. Our program combines theoretical knowledge and practical experience, equipping our students to address the diverse challenges in today's dynamic world. Join us on a transformative journey as we explore the intricacies of human connections and empower you to make a meaningful impact in the lives of individuals, couples, and families.
This emphasis allows you to sit for the LMFT licensing exam in Texas. This specific training prepares graduates to engage in therapeutic work with individuals, couples, and families, covering a broad spectrum of counseling settings. The designation refers more to the approach—an LMFT is trained to help each client within the context of his or her social environment and relationships, past or present.
Graduates from this emphasis 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.
Graduate Behavioral Sciences Programs
Administrative Director, Department of Behavioral Sciences
Tara.Donai@LCU.edu
806.720.7842
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 mental health and holistic wellness of clients across diverse populations.
The MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and MS in School Counseling programs have a two-phase process for admissions. The first phase is the standard application process for Graduate Studies and has the following requirements:
Application items should be submitted no later than four weeks prior to the beginning of a session. Any items that need to be mailed should be submitted to Lubbock Christian University, Attn: Marcia Crabtree, Department of Psychology and Counseling, Graduate Programs, 5601 19th Street, Lubbock, TX 79407.
Approved applicants proceed to the departmental interview phase of the admissions process. This second phase has the following requirements:
After both phases of the admissions process are completed, applicants will be notified of their admission status. Applicants are not accepted until an official letter of acceptance is issued. For further information regarding the application process, please contact us at 806-720-7823.
CMHC Practicum, Internships, Sites or Supervision
Department of Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Perez received his PhD from Texas Tech University in Marriage and Family Therapy. Research interests and areas of preference include couple interaction and dynamics in therapy, post-affair relationship maintenance, emotional intelligence in relationships, and influence of religious faith in marital forgiveness. Dr. Perez is a Licensed Professional Counselor Intern and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate. Currently, Dr. Perez is an assistant professor of Family Studies in the Behavioral Science department of LCU.
Dr. Brown is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and Assistant Professor in the Graduate Behavioral Sciences Program. It is her passion to work with counselor-trainees in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program as they complete their degree and move toward becoming licensed counselors. She believes it is important for graduates to be competent counselors as they work in the community in various settings while at the same time balancing their faith against the profession which is often contrary to Christianity.
Dr. Brown has a private practice where she sees clients with depression, grief, chronic pain, end-of-life/life review, domestic violence, and trauma victims.
She taught online counseling courses for seven years for Liberty University. She has worked with victims of domestic violence at the Women's Protective Services. As a contract specialist, she worked with persons with intellectual disabilities at MHMR.
She has been a member of the Green Lawn Church of Christ for the past 20 years. Dr. Brown has been married to her high school sweetheart for 46 years. They have two grown children, seven grandchildren, and one great granddaughter. She enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.
Dr. Joshuah Ellis is a Licensed Professional Counselor and owner of a private counseling practice in Lubbock, TX. He has also been in ministry since 2004 and has spent several years working to normalize mental health in the church. Dr. Ellis received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University where he researched gender impacts on help-seeking behavior and men’s issues in mental health. He is passionate about cultivating a love for psychology and counseling in his students and nurturing emerging counselors as they prepare for their careers.
Dr. Ellis has lived in Lubbock since 2016 and works with the Hub City church of Christ. Dr. Ellis has a deep love for this community and the counseling profession, serving on the board of the Texas Association of Adult Development and Aging and the West Texas Counseling Association. He has been married to his high-school sweetheart since 2004 and they have three boys.
Dr. Williamson is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Lubbock Christian University teaching graduate counseling courses. Publications and conference presentations include topics on stress; counseling across generations; career; cyberbullying; adolescents and leadership; grief; human trafficking; addiction; military; and ethics.
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas. Dr. Williamson has a passion for developing strong leaders in the community. She is a member of local, state, and national counseling associations. As a counselor she specializes in working with children, teenagers, college students, teachers, and women. She has worked for a medical clinic, school district, and counseling center. She is passionate about counseling college students (undergraduate and graduate), teachers, and women.
