Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs

Accredited mental health counseling programs: Mental health programs are available to be offered through the internet as accredited. Let us focus this article on some specific Master’s degree programs in mental health counseling programs. As an outstanding and awarded master’s degree program in counseling, mental health counseling prepares the student to be able to handle the mental, emotional, and psychological health conditions of several sets of people through the use of psychotherapy, therapeutic support, assessment, treatment planning and the managing of crisis.

Sometimes, you can refer to mental health counseling as clinical mental health counseling. As a masters degree holder, you are expected to acquire counseling licensure to be able to practice counseling in your state, depending on the law of the land especially in the United States of America.

Accredited online masters programs in mental health ensure that candidates are able to execute their clinical experiences in person and then prepare them with similar on-campus coursework.

There are some several factors that you should consider before selecting your online master’s in mental health counseling which is: accreditation, online student interactive forum, and support services, live discussion, supervised fieldwork, and class sizes.

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: Mental Health Counseling Program Accreditation

Any online degree in counseling, the accreditations have to offer the mark that will get it approved after having verified to meet career standards while you are preparing for a future profession.  The Council for Accreditation and Related Programs (CACREP), and the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC) have set standards for online masters in mental health counseling courses that will groom them to meet up with the need of their patients whether individual or group. As I speak now, the mental health profession is growing every day and therefore will be a very good choice to per take in this new development.

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: CACREP Accreditation Programs

It has been noticed that CACREP accredited courses or programs of master’s degree studied online pertaining to mental health issues have met the general standards and curriculum that is unique to them as listed  below:

• History and the Development of Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Theories, Models, and Techniques of Counseling.
• Role of the Clinical Mental Health Counselor, for example, Advocate for Persons with Mental Health Issues
• Principles of Biopsychosocial Case Conceptualization
• Neurobiological and Medical Foundations of Addictions and Co-Occurring Disorders
• Etiology, Nomenclature, Treatment, Referral, and Prevention of Mental and Emotional Disorders
• Understanding the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
• Psychopharmacological Medications

MPCAC Accreditation Programs

This body has accredited a lot of programs of online masters in clinical mental health counseling. Most of the accredited programs are science-based standard in education and training. For the course to be accredited it has to meet this curriculum standard.

• Professional Identity & Ethical and Professional Standards
• Evidence-based Theories and Practice of Counseling & Psychotherapy
• Multiculturalism and Diversity
• Theories of Psychopathology and Other Systems
• Tests, Measurements, and Other Behavior Assessments
• Research Methods and Program Evaluation
• Career Development
• Biological Basis of Behavior
• Development Basis of Behavior
• Social, Organizational, Community Basis of Behavior

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: Online Student Support Services

If an online school does not have the support service for students, I don’t advise that you should enroll. The first impression really matters here. An online educational service provider must first of all have the wellbeing of their customers in the heart. This is an integral aspect of online learning, to have the support channel of the university and program department on your calendar. Your focus should be to search for a school with online support for your online master’s programs because your future career is very important to you. This will help you to meet up with the school schedule and thereby meeting your needs. Since your study is online, you cannot visit offices as the campus students do, so you need to have access to the faculty and student support staff when you are logged in. in some cases, the online students support open within some specific hours, there could be specific meeting times and loads of materials to support students.

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: Clinical Experience Placement Assistance

For you as a student to acquire your accredited online master’s in mental health counseling program and then get licensure, you must have completed a clinical experience of internship hours under long supervision by a professional counselor. These are the acts of mental health counseling that will give you the opportunity to put your learned skills and knowledge into practice. With your experience after the whole program, there use to be difficulty in getting a place for an internship, however, if you are lucky, the university you studied with online, may help you in the provision of a place to carry out your internship programs close to your home.

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: Small Class Sizes for Learning Convenience

There is what is called “Small Class Sizes”, it is designed to aid you as a distance learning student to increase how the university or school support your learning experience. These classes provide the opportunity to interact with your classmates and lecturers that teach you.  One thing that is equally good is to have an online available instructor that will discuss with you one on one in order to increase your understanding of the course of study. You will equally understand the role of mental health counselors and developing as a practicing professional.

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: Live Discussions on Synchronous Learning

It is well known that there are two types of online learning, the synchronous and asynchronous.  As a student, while studying online using the asynchronous method, you will log in at your convenient time to present or submit your coursework. You will have access to participate in educational and instructional discussions, ask lecturers questions that are relevant to your course of study or whatever the current discussion topic may be.  If you are learning under the synchronous package, you will be allowed to meet your instructors online at a specific time as organized by the school management. In most cases, this type of learning occurs weekly. If you are lucky, your school may adopt the two types of learning online. However, I prefer the asynchronous method because it gives you a convenient time to study.

List of Accredited Online Mental Health Counseling Programs and the Universities that offer them:

1. University of the Cumberlands: Master of Arts in Professional Counseling.
2. University of Massachusetts – Boston: Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling.
3. University of Louisiana – Monroe: Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
4. Union Institute and University: Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
5. Thomas University: Master of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling.
6. Regent University: Master of Arts in Counseling, Specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
7. Palo Alto University: Master of Arts in Counseling, Specialization in Clinical Mental Health.
8. Northwestern University: Master of Arts in Counseling.
9. North Carolina State University: Master of Education in Counseling, Specialization in Clinical Mental Health.
10. North Carolina Central University: Master of Arts Counseling, Specialization in Mental Health Counseling.
11. New York University: Master of Arts in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness.
12. Montana State University-Billings: Master of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling.
13. Indiana Wesleyan University: Master of Arts in Counseling, Specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
14. Messiah College: Master of Arts in Counseling, Specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
15. Cornerstone University: Master of Arts in Counseling.
16. Hodges University: Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
17. Lamar University: Master of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
18. Malone University: Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
19. Lindsey Wilson College: Master of Education in Mental Health Counseling.
20. Lock Haven University: Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
21. Edinboro University: Master of Arts in Counseling, Specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
22. Adams State University: Master of Arts in Counseling, Specialization in Mental Health Counseling.
23. Adams State University: Master of Arts in Counseling, Specialization in Mental Health Counseling.
24. Grace College: Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
25. Antioch University: Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
26. Bradley University: Master of Arts in Counseling, Specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
27. Bellevue University: Master of Science in Clinical Counseling.

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: Quality of Learning Experience

The concern of a would-be student of mental health counseling program should be the quality of the education he or she will receive at the end of the program. That is why it is highly recommended from me to them that they should look for an online course that is CACREP or MPCAC accredited program. This is because the programs accredited by these two bodies above, meet the standards set aside for the campus programs of the same categories.

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: Engagement and Experience in the School

The days of online programs are boring is gone forever. New technologies have been developed to make online learning engaging and interesting to students of knowledge. A student can now interact with their peers and instructors through what is called “small class sizes” as mentioned and explained above. These classes are built in form of forums and chatting room as easy access for each student to interact, ask a question or answer questions and then find an interaction with the faculty of his or her course of study. There will also be easy access to scholarly made materials as available on the main campus. Networking with other students is not also left out of it.

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: Flexibility in Learning in the School

The other factor that a student should also consider while trying to apply for an online course is convenience. Your class should not in any way disturb the time you set aside for other activities in life. Which means, you must ensure that the classes favor your scheduled time; no wonder there are two methods of learning online as I discussed in details above. You need an interactive class with a specific time schedule that will make your learning easy and convenience. Such classes will aid you in complete your program as your counterpart students on campus. You will not want to enroll on an online program that will not allow you take exams online while they have not made a provision for exam centers in your locality or somewhere close to your state of residence. That factor too should be highly considered to avoid future regret. All in all, what I am telling you is to secure a long distance environment that will allow you to take care of other life obligations.

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: While you are deciding your Career

The decisional making period usually comes after the completion of your first degree. At this time, you must have decided what career you would love to pursue, then the next step is to search online for counseling program whether or not you will find your area of concentration. If you find one, don’t jubilate until you confirm that it is accredited and the university offering it is renowned and accredited too. It may be expensive, but most the mental health programs used to have a financial assistant measure, apply for one if you can’t afford their school payments conveniently.

Accredited Mental Health Counseling Programs: How Much Do School Counselors Make

You may be wondering how much do counselors earn, which is normal for everybody. You need to know the worth of what you are spending your time on before pursuing it. is it worth spending my time on or not? These questions will give you a sense of sincerity on what you are doing. Below are the salaries of counselors. These will be based on the united state salary standard as set by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). A school counselor still according to the authority of (BLS) it is known that school counselors make the following wages on an average basis as listed below:

1. Counselors make an average of $56, 170 per year which can cover the summer while other workers are off work.
2. The lowest paid Counselors make more than $31, 920 while the highest earners only receive $86, 680.
3. They make more than the average of $45, 790 received by the entire 130.2 million workers in the United States.

This article will aid you to choose from varieties of mental health programs accredited online.