Mental Health Counseling Advanced Certificate

Required Core (15 credits)

*One or both may be waived or substituted with an alternate course based on student’s prior coursework background - must have earned grade B or higher.

• CEP 521LEC - Mental Health Counseling Credits: 3
• CEP 541LEC - Human Growth & Development Credits: 3 *
• CEP 586SEM - Assessment in Mental Health Co Credits: 3
• CEP 615LEC - Legal and Ethical Issues in Counseling Credits: 3 *
• CEP 695LEC - Psychopathology Interventions Credits: 3

Clinical Experience (12 credits)

A minimum of 600 hours of site experience is required with at least half of those hours delivering direct services to clients.

Upon admission, previous internship courswork will be evaluated.  Students who may have previously completed an acceptable intership that meets current NYSED Office of Professions guidelines may have up to 6 credits of internship waived.  

• CEP 600TUT - Internship Credits: 0-12

Total Credit Hours: 15-27

3.0 GPA required

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

1) Professional Counselor identity, ethical behavior, and professional standards:

         • Assisting students to acquire knowledge and understanding of relevant ethical/professional codes, standards and guidelines, laws, statutes, rules, and regulations;

         • Awareness and application of ethical decision making;

         • Recognizes situations that challenge adherence to professional values and applies an ethical decision-making model to ethical dilemmas;

         • Assisting students adhere to professional values throughout professional work;

         • Demonstrates understanding of counseling and psychological practice as an applied behavioral science;

         • Maintain professionally appropriate communication and conduct across different settings;

         • Assess personal accountability and accept responsibility for own actions;

         • Demonstrate concern for the welfare of others; and

         • Display an appropriately defined professional identity.

2) Evidence-based theories and practice of counseling and psychotherapy:

         • Empowering students with the knowledge of individual and group theories of counseling and psychotherapy;

         • Maintaining forms of productive and respectful relationships with clients, peers/colleagues, supervisors, and professionals from within and across disciplines;

         • Negotiating differences and handles conflict satisfactorily to (1) provide effective feedback to others, receive feedback non-defensively, and integrate feedback appropriately, and (2) communicate clearly using verbal, nonverbal, and written skills in a professional context;

         • Applying evidence-based intervention and prevention strategies designed to alleviate suffering and to promote health and wellbeing of individuals, groups, and/or organizations;

         • Formulating and conceptualizing cases.

3) Multiculturalism and diversity:

         • Assisting students in demonstrating knowledge, self-awareness, and skills in working with individuals, groups, and communities who represent various cultural and personal backgrounds and characteristics;

         • Demonstrating knowledge and awareness of self, as shaped by individual and cultural diversity and context; 

         • Demonstrating knowledge and awareness of others, as shaped by individual and cultural diversity and context; 

         • Applying knowledge of self and others as cultural beings in assessment, treatment, consultation, and all other professional interactions.

4) Theories of psychopathology and relevant classification systems:

         • Demonstrating knowledge including, but not limited to, assisting students in demonstrating knowledge of theories of psychopathology, including but not limited to, biological and sociocultural theories; 

         • Demonstrating knowledge of classification systems of behavior and evaluates limitations of those systems;

         • Demonstrating skills including, but not limited to, assisting students in applying concepts of normal/abnormal behavior to case formulation, diagnosis, and treatment planning in the context of stages of human development and diversity.

5) Tests, measurements, and other assessments of behavior:

         • Empowering students to demonstrate knowledge of content, reliability and validity, and purposes of assessment measures frequently used by counselors and psychological practitioners; 

         • Evaluating strengths and limitations (including cultural limitations) of administration, scoring, and interpretation of assessment measures. 

         • Assisting students in the ability to select and utilize appropriate assessment measures across domains of functioning, practice settings, and cultural groups.

6) Research methods and program evaluation:

         • Assisting students to demonstrate the knowledge of scientific methods commonly used by counselors and psychology practitioners in their clinical work; 

         • Demonstrate knowledge of use of scientific methods to add to the knowledge base of counseling and psychology; 

         • Demonstrate knowledge of application of scientific methods to evaluating practices, interventions, and programs;

         • Assisting students in critiquing published research effectively.

7) Career development and/or the role of work in peoples’ lives

         • Demonstrates knowledge of the role of work in peoples’ lives

         • Demonstrates understanding of the development of work and career choices across the life span

SED Statement

This program is officially registered with the New York State Education Department (SED).