Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical Mental Health Counseling

0 Credits

CNSL/500 is a 3-week orientation required for specified counseling program applicants. Students will explore the field of counseling and options for a career path to determine their readiness for entry into a graduate program in counseling. Students are required to take a career inventory to examine their interests and aptitude for acquiring the skills needed in the counseling professions. Students also begin to identify their personal motives for a career in the counseling field. Additional topics include orientation to University of Phoenix learning platforms, the online library, graduate-level writing expectations, and the broader idea of navigating graduate school and studies.

3 Credits

This course presents students with theoretical frameworks to foster an understanding of the various dimensions of human development. Emphasis is placed on biological, cognitive, and psychosocial development within the context of gender, family systems, social roles, and culture. Students evaluate clinical situations and assess potential therapeutic interventions in context.

3 Credits

This course presents the student with the primary theoretical models of personality theory used in counseling practice, including psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, humanistic, integrative, multicultural, and systems theory. A focus on evidence-based practices that incorporate diversity issues is a significant feature of this course. Students have opportunities to establish a strong theoretical foundation as the basis of clinical practice.

3 Credits

This course covers the legal and ethical responsibilities of the counseling professional with an emphasis on California law. Students learn to interpret and act upon situations appropriately and effectively. Content includes issues such as client rights, confidentiality, duty to warn and protect, dual relationships, supervision and consulting, ethics with special populations, and ethical decision-making models.

3 Credits

This introductory counseling skills course introduces students to fundamental helping skills. Students will develop a range of basic communication patterns to facilitate a healthy therapeutic relationship between the counselor and the client. Students learn counseling and communication skills such as , attending behaviors, eliciting, structuring, and summarizing.

1 Credits

This residency course is 2‐weeks in length, with the last 3 days of the second week involving face‐to‐face interaction with faculty and peers at a ground campus. The 3‐day in person residency is the last requirement for formal admission into the counseling program and provides an opportunity for students to observe, practice, and demonstrate competency in fundamental counseling skills. Topics in this course include counselor self‐efficacy; oral and written communication skills; and basic interviewing skills. In addition to fundamental skills, students are evaluated on professional dispositions and their readiness to matriculate in the program.

3 Credits

This course provides an overview of the fundamentals of research and evaluation in the counseling profession. Topics include critical analysis of research literature, statistical analysis, qualitative and quantitative research methods, needs assessment, and program evaluation. Emphasis is placed on understanding connections between research design, theories, and the utilization of results in the professional practice of counseling.

3 Credits

This course is designed to be a foundation for understanding diversity among clients in a pluralistic society. Special focus is given to populations in the state of California. Emphasis will be on integrating awareness, knowledge, and skills related to counseling differences and similarities based on age, race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliations, gender identification, sexual orientation, physical/mental limitations, social class, etc.

3 Credits

This course introduces students to models and tools of clinical assessment and diagnosis techniques, including tests and test reports used in counseling and behavioral analysis. Students use the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to practice writing clear, accurate, and useful intake assessments, mental status examinations, and outcome-based treatment planning. Special focus is placed on psychometric properties of tests, test selection criteria, administration, interpretation, and reporting of test results. Multicultural and ethical issues in assessment and psychometrics are also explored.

3 Credits

Students build on the skills gained in previous courses, focusing on the more complex or problematic disorders. Students enhance their skills by using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders® for report-writing and treatment plan development. Emphasis is on accepted treatment approaches and outcome-based assessments; the development of critical-thinking skills; and on multicultural, legal, and ethical issues.

3 Credits

The course examines the history, biochemistry, main effects and side effects of prescription psychotropic medication and biological bases of human behavior in relation to cognition, emotions and mental health. Topics include an overview of neuroanatomy and biochemistry, biological concepts of mental distress, and principles of drug action and metabolism. Ethics, methods of working with medical personnel, and the effects of psychotropic medications on the family system are included.

3 Credits

This course focuses on intensive skill building in individual counseling. The relationship between assessment, theory, application of strategy and intervention, setting goals with clients, closure, and referral are emphasized as essential to the counseling environment. Emphasis is also placed on treatment plans, ethics, and cultural diversity.

3 Credits

This course provides students with intensive knowledge, awareness, and skill-building in group counseling. Content emphasizes such areas as different types of groups, dynamics, norms and boundaries, leadership styles, leading and co-leading, and treatment plans. Confidentiality, selection procedures, ethics, and diversity are included as key components of effective group counseling practice.

1 Credits

This residency course is 2‐weeks in length, with the last 3 days of the second week involving face‐to‐face interaction with faculty and peers at a ground campus. The 3‐day in person residency provides an opportunity for students to observe, practice, and demonstrate competency in intermediate counseling skills. Topics include professional and personal development; oral communication skills; application of theory to practice; and sensitivity to diversity issues. Students will demonstrate intake, assessment, provisional diagnoses, and treatment planning abilities. The capstone of the residency is staffing a clinical case and role play. In addition to intermediate skills, students are evaluated on professional dispositions and their readiness to progress in the program.

3 Credits

This course provides the student with a comprehensive overview of vocational theory and career counseling. It includes the historical foundations of vocational theory and the relationship of these to skills and techniques utilized in career counseling and vocational development practices. Vocational and career counseling is examined as an integral component of the overall assessment and treatment of clients representing diverse populations found within the scope of community, mental health, and marriage and family counseling. Emphasis is placed on the examination of adults in transition and the nature of work in a changing world. Students develop competencies necessary to provide career and vocational counseling to clients across the lifespan.

3 Credits

This course addresses addiction concepts and counseling practices. Topics include an overview of dependency theories, major substances of abuse, assessment, diagnosis, treatment modalities, special topics, and working with diverse populations.

3 Credits

This course is an overview of models in the intervention and treatment of children, adolescents, and families. Students contrast fundamental assumptions of systems theory with intrapsychic theories, address integrative approaches to assessment and diagnosis in family therapy, and explore systemic approaches for the treatment of issues common to families and children in clinical settings.

3 Credits

This course provides students with an in-depth evaluation of crisis and trauma counseling, including emergency and disaster situations. Students examine crisis theory, methods of crisis response, psychological effects associated with trauma, assessment strategies, and intervention models. Students analyze theoretical approaches as they relate to crisis management and trauma counseling.

3 Credits

The goal of this course is to learn about the many facets of human sexuality and the treatment of sexual dysfunctions in a safe and respectful environment. Topics include the physiology, psychology, and sociology of sexuality, including the effects of sexual attitudes and functioning on individuals and families. Clinical applications, including the treatment of sexual difficulty and dysfunction will also be explored. Students will develop familiarity with the language and terms of sexology and demonstrate an ability to apply this knowledge to clinical situations.

3 Credits

This course is an overview of supervision and management as they relate to the practice of counseling. Models of supervision and counselor development, supervision and management processes, assessment and evaluation issues, and ethical and legal aspects of supervision are emphasized. Students explore their skills in management, supervision, and consultation, particularly as they relate to recent changes in the mental health care delivery system.

1 Credits

This residency course is 2‐weeks in length, with the last 3 days of the second week involving face‐to‐face interaction with faculty and peers at a ground campus. The final 3‐day in person residency in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling online program focuses on advanced clinical counseling skills and competencies. Students practice facilitation of group therapy and demonstrate skills in clinical case staffing. The core of this residency focuses on practicing group work theory and application in a variety of group therapy simulations. This residency is also used to determine the student's readiness for work with diverse populations during clinical placement in practicum and internship courses. Specific topics include professional orientation, professional identity, personal growth, and self‐care.

3 Credits

This course focuses on the assessment and continuing development of student counseling skills. Students have a variety of opportunities to receive feedback and to evaluate their ability to integrate theory into practice. Students determine their styles and strengths as professional counseling practitioners, as well as identify areas needing further development. Individualized practice sessions and feedback are designed into the course.

3 Credits

Counseling Internship is a 600-hour clinical experience (900 hours in Utah) required of all MSC students. Depending on the campus, the internship is divided into either 200 or 300 hour sections, each lasting 15 weeks. Those campuses that offer CCMH 597 A, B, and C require students to complete 200 hours for each course (except Utah which requires 300 hours each), while those campuses that offer only CCMH 597 A and B require the student to complete 300 hours for each course. Please check with your Campus College Chair for any clarification or questions you have. The internship experience comprises Portfolio III of the counseling portfolio series. Students are placed in community counseling agencies where they provide clinical services to clients under the direction of an approved licensed agency site supervisor. Students are also assisted in their preparation for the National Counselor Examination.

3 Credits

Counseling Internship is a 600-hour clinical experience (900 hours in Utah) required of all MSC students. Depending on the campus, the internship is divided into either 200 or 300 hour sections, each lasting 15 weeks. Those campuses that offer CCMH 597 A, B, and C require students to complete 200 hours for each course (except Utah which requires 300 hours each), while those campuses that offer only CCMH 597 A and B require the student to complete 300 hours for each course. Please check with your Campus College Chair for any clarification or questions you have. The internship experience comprises Portfolio III of the counseling portfolio series. Students are placed in community counseling agencies where they provide clinical services to clients under the direction of an approved licensed agency site supervisor. Students are also assisted in their preparation for the National Counselor Examination.