Graduate Certificate In Mental Health Counseling Online

Graduate certificate in mental health counseling online: If you scale through our previous articles on mental health issues, you will realize that we have written many some articles that guide you on how to select the best of your choice for any career you wish to pursue in the field of counseling and psychology. In this article, I shall discuss the various graduate certificate programs you can find online in mental health counseling. The article will, as usual, tell you what mental health means and the requirement to receive the certificate in the long run. Before I proceed, you must understand that there is no course in counseling that is easy to achieve, therefore, you must have prepared your mind to dedicate much of your time studying online at your convenient time.

Let me quickly summarize the two types of teaching methods we have online in order to prepare your mind towards the choice you may finally decide to select after at the end of the article. There are two major types of learning methods on the internet online schooling. The synchronous method and the asynchronous method both of which are perfectly designed to meet your need as a student as may be necessary.  The synchronous method of learning online has to do with learning through chat. This means that you will have to be online at a scheduled time by your school management in order to be able to receive lecture, communicate with your instructors and also interact with your colleague. Asynchronous as a method of E-learning involves learning online at a convenient time. You can come online and interact with your instructors and colleague on the platform of a small size class normally known as a forum.  You can come online at your convenient time to access the learning materials as may be necessary.

Just as I mentioned above, the main topic is based on the Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Counseling. How can we acquire this certificate? What are the steps to carry out? These are two major questions any student must find an answer to before he or she can proceed to apply online for a program, in this field.

Requirements for Graduate Certificate In Mental Health Counseling Online

From the topic, the first requirement you need to earn a certificate in mental health counseling is a master’s degree. Though, there is no way you can receive your master’s degree honor without a bachelor degree in courses related to psychology at the undergraduate level.  However, officially, it must be stated that the first requirement in achieving most of the counseling courses is a master’s degree.  At the completion of your master’s degree, that takes the period within two to three years depending on your institution and the state’s settings, you will have to go for some practicum work, internship and under the supervision of a senior officer in the field of counseling. You will also have to pass a licensure exam before you can be recognized as a counselor. Most of the states may, in fact, advise you to further your education for the continuity of your licensure to practice.

There are various graduate programs online in mental health counseling. We are going to look into some of them at masters level since it is the minimum degree to start your journey as a professional counselor.

These are some of the selected master’s level accredited courses in mental health counseling online. Let us observe them and their requirements.

1. Masters of Art Counseling online: this can be acquired in the Northwestern University. This is designed for people like you that think critically and also are in the mission to become counselors that are highly interested in helping people with a mental health challenge. This particular program is an accredited course under the authority of CARCREP. There are several options for you to choose as a method of learning; the course can be offered as traditional, accelerated or part-time—for this article context—an online service either synchronized (Synchronous) or none synchronized (Asynchronous). Most of the part of the courses are completed online, however, the student most equally be involved in some programs that will require that presence in person. For instance, when it is time for internship and fieldwork, a student must be present under the supervision of a professional supervisor in the field he chose. According to my research, I got to know that the school above, i.e. Northwestern University has scheduled her online schooling dates to begin from January, April, June, and September. Since your mission and vision is to become a counselor, you must prepare your mind to attend activities that take a total of 800 hours for internship and practicum.

2. Online Masters of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: if your hope has always been to become a counselor in the field of clinical mental health counseling, here is the opportunity to acquire the certificate online. North Carolina University is an accredited institution that offers this course online at the master’s level. At the end of the whole courses, you will be able to earn licensure on the field. The program has been designed in such a way that you will be able to study online at a part-time approach for the period of three years, not excluding the summer sessions too. However, unlike some other courses or institutions, North Carolina University has designed their policy for this program that towards the end of the program, students will have to begin to attend weekend classes at the campus. The admission requirements for the program include the submission of the scores on Gre or Mat. The curriculum is centralized on courses such as group counseling and multicultural counseling. At the end of the program, the student must complete his or her fieldwork and internship supervised by a professional.

3. Online Masters of Art in Mental Health Counseling: this course is accredited by the CARCREP and it can be acquired at Bradley University. The program is also known as clinical mental health counseling. If you are inclined in the counseling field, this program will prepare you to apply your high skills required in dealing with mental health issues and then find the solution for your client either individual or a group through a critical thinking approach. You will be taught how to communicate in a very effective manner so as to relate with your client appropriately. In fact, Bradley University has given you the free will to choose between two options while studying this course, you may like to be taught and trained to become a clinical mental health counselor or a professional school counselor; the choice is yours. The program will put you on the line to achieve your counseling licensure by training you on topics such as crisis intervention, group counseling and also ‘psychopharmacology’ is not left out of the plan. The University has made an extra effort to look into neurocounseling—a course that discusses the relationship between the brain and human behavior.

4. Online Masters of Science in Education and in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: if you already longing to study this course for long; it is now available for you to study online at Bonaventure University. You may be across the country or in another country entirely, the course is still available for you to study. It has been accredited by CARCREP therefore; there is no need to show panic. The program is designed for you to enroll 7-week per term. Isn’t this an amazing convenience time for a student? You will complete the program online except that you have to go for a four days residencies program as designed by the school management. Beside this residencies program, the student must complete his or her internship and other fieldworks as may be required before the collection of license to practice counseling. There is also a benefit for you while school in this great institution. The school has provided both financial and military aid for you during the course of your study and also favors the distance learners like you with the online library, technical assistance, and access to communicate with their instructors.

5. Online Masters of Art Counseling: this certificate can be acquired at Palo Alto University. They have all it takes for you to be trained in clinical mental health counseling. If you are luckily a resident in California, you will be opportune to also gain both marriage and family therapy and Professional Clinical Counselor license. The teaching method at this University online program is synchronous. You are allowed to select two classes per quarter and the classes are scheduled in the evening. The entire program will take you two years and nine months to complete. After the completion, you must go for internship and fieldwork under professional supervision and then write and pass the licensure exam.

There are more than five certificates in mental health counseling online, I have to limit it here pending an article in the future that will deal with that aspect in total. We shall list numerous numbers of courses and the Universities that offer them. We shall present the entire requirements for achieving them.

Why it is Important to Become a Mental Health Counselor

One amazing thing about this knowledge of clinical mental health counseling is that it can be applied to solve problems for everybody in all walks of life. This alone is a significant and vitally important aspect of it. Through the acquired skills and knowledge, clinical mental health counselor can help solve human problems by working in conjunction with other professionals such as social workers, psychiatrists, a support group in order to strategies, implement and provide various ways for the treatment of people who need therapeutic attention. They can work in the school with children, adolescent and young adult and can also serve as the therapists for families who face some psychological challenges in order to restore peace and harmony in their homes.

The counselors in this field also diagnose mental and emotional disorders. They help their clients observe both physical and mental states to figure out the appropriate approach to help them tackle their problems. They inform their client about the information needed to prevent them from mental and emotional disorders, this is normally done after they must have understood whether their client is ready to receive treatment or not. Thereafter, they develop strategies to help the current situation by presenting them to the individual or group’s family. Apart from all these, a counselor will also help their client develop some skills and behaviors that will register their wellbeing in the way of mental wellness.

How to know if you need a Clinical Mental Health Therapist

Unfortunately, most people don’t even know when they need a therapist or counselor to check on them. Just like the medical aspect of our health, we also need to understand our emotional and mental state and the symptoms that can tell if we actually need a counselor to intervene in our matter. You may be addicted to a substance and yet still find yourself receiving the reward of what is recorded in the part of your brain that handles the reward of addiction. You may still not know if you need a therapist because you are not exposed to the symptoms in totality, don’t worry, I will handle list some symptoms you developed which will give you the clue that it is time to see a counselor just like a constant vomit and headache give you the glimpse of a fever coming your way.

Here are the symptoms you experience when your emotional and mental states need the attention of a therapy:

• Suicidal thinking
• Excessive anxiety or constant worries
• You are always guilty of what no other human even know about
• Your mood is always in constant change
• You abuse substances such as alcohol and drug
• You get angry at little things
• You are always in seclusion from friends, family, and activities
• You feel serious emotional pain and things get you upset easily
• You have constant sex drive malfunctions i.e. sex drive changes
• You find it difficult to understand people and situations
• Hostility, violence and critical anger
• You cannot concentrate as expected
• You hate daily stress and problem solving
• There will be drastic changes in your eating habit
• You don’t understand the difference between reality and illusion based environment
• You will find yourself always depressed

These are the various symptoms a patient may in one way or more has developed. A clinical mental health therapist should be able to identify these symptoms too in the course of the treatment in order to strategies the best treatment method to help his or her client.