Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

This specialization prepares you academically and professionally to become a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor in New Jersey. With this license, you can work in a variety of treatment settings serving individuals with substance abuse disorders and their families. 

In addition to the CORE class of Introduction to Alcohol and Drug Counseling (PC 540) students will complete:

• PC 542: Treatment of Alcohol and Drug Counseling
• PC 544: Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counseling
• PC 510: Community Counseling & Social Justice

Prepare to work with children, adolescents, and their families in a variety of residential, community, and educational settings by completing the following courses:

• PC 672: Advanced Theory in Play Therapy
• PC 673: Advanced Techniques in Play Therapy
• PC 674: Play Therapy for Children at Risk

This specialization goes beyond the individual, preparing you for clinical mental health counseling jobs that focus on couples, families, and other intimately connected groups by completing the following courses:

• PC 528: Family Counseling
• PC 516: Counseling & Sexuality
• PC 533: Couple & Relationship Counseling

This increasingly popular area of counseling explores how humans are emotionally interwoven with the natural world. Learn about techniques such as forest bathing, equine therapy, and animal-assisted therapy.

Students interested in this focus area will complete PC 502 and PC 504 and either PC 522 or a practicum/internship in Ecotherapy:

• PC 502: Ecotherapy: Counseling with Nature
• PC 504: Adventure Based Ecotherapy, including a 3-day canoeing trip at the Delaware Water Gap.

Choose an additional 3 credit course from the following:

• PC 521: Spirituality in Counseling
• PC 517: Counseling and World Religions
• PC 522: Self-Exploration: Body, Mind, Spirit
• PC 650/651: Transformational Travel, including a trip to India for approximately two-three weeks

Learn to integrate the existential, mystical, or otherwise inexplicable into your counseling practice. You’ll examine different spiritual practices through a respectful, multicultural lens—and even have the opportunity to embark on a transformative international experience in India.

• PC 521: Spirituality in Counseling
• PC 517: Counseling and World Religions
• PC 522: Self-Exploration: Body, Mind, Spirit
• PC 650/651: Transformational Travel, including a trip to India for approximately two-three weeks

This specialization also features a Transformational Travel to India counseling course which offers professional counseling graduate students the opportunity to travel through Northern India on a service learning trip. Joanne Jodry, Ed.D., D.M.H., created the course as a means for students to expand their understanding of multicultural differences and enhance their multicultural competence, as they experience dozens of spiritually enlightening sites in Indian history and culture. Throughout the trip, students spend time at One Life to Love, a nonprofit organization and orphanage that provides resources such as education, nutrition, and health care for children with mental and physical disabilities in New Delhi, India. Additional fees required for travel expenses.

M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling students of all specialization areas will complete the following courses: 

• Mental Health Counseling
• Introduction to Counseling Skills 
• Case Conceptualization & Advanced Techniques
• Psychotherapy & Psychopharmacology
• Theories of Counseling
• Crisis Intervention & Trauma
• Group Counseling
• Human Development Through the Lifespan
• Introduction to Alcohol and Drug Abuse
• Multicultural Counseling
• Research Methods in Counseling
• Testing and Assessment in Counseling
• Career Counseling
• Professional Counseling Practicum 
• Clinical Internship for Professional Counseling 
• Electives – 12 credits of your choice from an approved list of 500/600-level professional counseling courses

See the full curriculum and course descriptions in our catalog. Syllabi can be provided upon request.

Customize your clinical mental health counseling graduate program​ by choosing one of five specializations, each with their own set of required courses. Options include: 

• Alcohol and Drug Counseling
• Spirituality and Counseling
• Couples and Relationship Counseling
• Ecotherapy
• Child and Adolescent Counseling

At Monmouth University, you’ll put counseling theory, skills, insights, and knowledge into clinical practice during your learning experiences. You will gain 700 hours that you can apply toward your required hours for your New Jersey LPC license.

• One practicum (100 hours) 
• Two internships (600 hours total)

During both types of experiences, you’ll be mentored by a faculty member and an on-site supervisor. We offer over 100 placement locations and have relationships with mental health organizations of all kinds throughout New Jersey as well as some out-of-state placements.

Learn more about mental health counseling field experiences. 

Whether you’re working toward a specialization or just want to explore the counseling profession, you’ll get to choose from a wide range of electives, including: 

• Advanced Techniques in Play Therapy
• Adventure-Based Ecotherapy
• Community Mental Health & Social Advocacy
• Counseling for Grief and Loss
• Self-Exploration: Body, Mind, Spirit
• Travel to India through Transformational Travel

We also offer an ever-changing Special Topics in Professional Counseling electives; available topics and issues will change from semester to semester in response to current work place trends, legislation, and cutting-edge opportunities for students.

To be considered for admission:

• A four-year baccalaureate degree with a minimum 3.0 overall GPA in any major

Your application must also include: 

• Two completed recommendation forms found in the online application; these should be from a professional or academic contact, such as a supervisor, mentor, or colleague 
• Essay in response to the questions outlined in the online graduate application
• Candidates will also participate in an evaluative group interview. 

Applicants are reviewed for admission in a holistic manner reviewing their readiness to become a professional counselor, which extends beyond academics to factors including disposition, maturity, and intention for the profession.