Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Learning Outcomes for Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Learning Outcomes for MS in Human Services
Requirements

The 60‐credit MS degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is a licensure‐tract degree and must comply with the curriculum requirements mandated by the State of New Hampshire. Completion of the degree requires nearly two years of continuous study and the completion of a 700 hour internship. Minimally, 300 of those 700 hours must be direct, clinical client activity. There will be a faculty assessment, with final approval from the Program Director, within the first year of the program regarding student readiness for placement in clinical internship. Students must be in good academic standing to begin internship. The degree qualifies an NEC graduate to apply for candidacy as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) or an equivalent mental health provider in most other states. Students from neighboring states are responsible for supplementing or adapting the curriculum to meet the requirements in those states where they intend to practice. Students are required to become a member of the American Mental Health Counselor Association, or the NH branch, within the first term. Students will also be required to purchase student liability insurance prior to beginning internship placement. Students will be required to successfully complete a capstone project, as a component of the research Methods course, to demonstrate attainment of competency in core professional skills. Courses are intended to be sequential, and students need permission from the Program Director to alter their course of completion, and design an approved educational plan. The Clinical Mental Health Couseling program reflects the 2016 CACREP standards, as a CACREP curriculum - equivalent degree, containing inclusion of foundations, contextual dimensions & practice.

Learning Outcomes for Clinical Mental Health Counseling

As a result of participating in this program, students will:

Demonstrate an ability to be self‐reflective and engaging in personal awareness and growth regarding their intra‐ and interpersonal processes;
Understand and incorporate an identity as a professional counselor;
Demonstrate the ability to develop helping relationships with diverse populations and demonstrate sensitivity and competency in skills in cultural diversity;
Understand and demonstrate developmentally appropriate individual counseling, group counseling, and systemic interventions;
Demonstrate the ability to understand concepts and skills relating to career interventions;
Evidence skills in effective written and oral communication and clinical documentation, including those most utilized in the mental health counseling field;
Demonstrate technological competence to meet the needs of course work and employment in the field of counseling;
Understand and apply ethical reasoning and decision making to dilemmas faced by professional counselors, and demonstrate understanding of common legal issues within the field;
Show leadership and advocacy skills in supporting both individual and systemic change;
Understand and demonstrate appropriate assessment techniques, considering presenting problem, developmental, cognitive and cultural perspectives;
Identify contemporary issues in the human services field and their impact on clients, consumers, organizations, and human service providers;
Research and evaluate the effectiveness of counseling and systemic interventions and service programs;
Demonstrate an understanding of research methods for clinicians including completing an active research project as a capstone;
Demonstrate acquired fund of knowledge and clinical skills through a successful internship placement of at a minimum of 700 hours, with at least 300 of those hours requiring direct, clinical client activity.

Although the 36‐credit M.S. in Human Services is not designed to meet licensure requirements for counseling professions, graduates of this program are prepared for leadership positions in social services, education, behavioral health management, program is designed for learners within the counseling, psychology, or related human services fields who wish to pursue careers in private or public human services or counseling settings. Core courses provide knowledge in the discipline, while electives provide an examination of contemporary issues that allow the student to focus on human services populations and/or areas of interest in supportive counseling and leadership/management. Students will be required to successfully complete a capstone project, to demonstrate attainment of competency of core professional skills, as a requirement of graduation.

For more information:

graduateadmission@nec.edu or 603.428.2252
Course sequence, dates & location are subject to change.

Learning Outcomes for MS in Human Services

As a result of participating in this program, students will:

Understand core concepts of human development, Abnormal Psychology/Psychopathology, and emotional and behavioral functioning;
Identify contemporary issues in the human services field and their impact on clients, consumers, organizations, and human service providers;
Attain the necessary skills to communicate in an effective and professional manner;
Understand historical and contemporary ethical concepts and theories within the field of human services;
Understand and explore the influence of personal history and values on the role as a human service provider;
Demonstrate problem‐solving, critical and analytic skills utilized within human services and apply organizational and leadership skills through the completion and presentation of a final project.

Programs

Major

Certificate

Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Addictions Certificate/Concentration, MS

Courses

Psychology