Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Introduction

The Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) Program is a 60-semester-hour program designed to prepare students to be Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) in the State of Georgia. The program has been developed to be in compliance with the 2016 Standards outlined by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Students will be prepared to sit for the state-required licensure exam (e.g., the National Counseling Exam (NCE)). Upon completion of the program, graduates may apply to take the National Counselor Examination (NCE), then obtain employment. Once students have found both a supervisor and director to sign off on their paperwork students may apply for an associate license. Students who obtain their associate license in counseling (APC) will be eligible to practice in a variety of settings, including private practice and/or community agencies such as mental health centers, hospitals, outpatient and residential drug treatment centers, and agencies serving children, adolescents, and families.

Mission of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program

It is the mission of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) Program at LaGrange College to prepare counseling professionals who value civility, integrity, diversity, service, advocacy, and excellence as they promote the well-being of all those they serve. The faculty members are committed to communicating the knowledge, skills, and passion for both the art and the science of counseling as they prepare qualified graduates to serve the people of their communities as well as the counseling profession.

Program Mission Goal Application & Admissions

It is the goal of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at LaGrange College to develop counseling professionals who possess the skills and knowledge necessary to be highly competent and committed in their specialty areas.

Core Values

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at LaGrange College outlines 5 core values: Diversity & Inclusion, Advocacy and Social Justice, Ethical and Competent Practice, Professional Engagement, and Self-Care and Wellness.  The CMHC faculty ensures that each of the core values are upheld by students while enrolled in the program.

• Diversity & Inclusion – The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at LaGrange College is dedicated to diversity and inclusion and demonstrates this practice in their student recruitment practices, course materials, and clinical experiences offered during practicum and internship.
• Advocacy and Social Justice – The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at LaGrange College is dedicated to social justice and advocacy practices in the field of counseling. The program is devoted to developing, implementing, and sustaining programs and initiatives that assist underserved and minority populations.
• Ethical and Competent Practice – The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at LaGrange College is dedicated to educating and training students with ethical and evidence-based practices and materials. The program is committed to following each of the standards set forth by the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics.
• Professional Engagement – The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at LaGrange College is dedicated to the professional engagement of students by providing professional development activities, collaborative projects with CMHC faculty, and opportunities to present research at state and regional conferences.
• Self-Care and Wellness – The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at LaGrange College is dedicated to promoting strong and positive self-care and wellness practices by students. The program stresses the importance of self-care and provides course materials that require students to examine their wellness practices and identify future self-care goals and objectives.

Program Objectives

The objectives of the LaGrange College Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program are:

1. Develop knowledge and skills necessary for competent professional practice, while cultivating strong counselor identity.
   1. Practice code of ethics relevant to counseling
   2. Demonstrate the ability to work with diverse populations.
   3. Design and implement effective counseling interventions in various settings with groups and individual clients.
   4. Develop a strong professional identity
   5. Utilize various research methods, assessments, and data to improve counseling effectiveness
   6. Work with a wide spectrum of biopsychosocial behaviors found in individuals, families, couples, and groups across the lifespan
2. Develop competent professional who engage in advocacy, by enhancing awareness and creating a passion for social justice while implementing multiculturally competent practices
3. Enhance engagement in professional organizations by increasing counselor identity
   1. Provide multiple professional development opportunities
   2. Encourage student participation in professional organizations
4. To provide opportunities for students to engage in activities that assist students in engaging in professionalism, self-awareness, and introspection.
5. To attract, enroll, and retain a diverse group of students and to create and support an inclusive learning community.

CMHC Key Performance Indicators

Students in the LaGrange College Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program will be able to demonstrate the knowledge and/or skills necessary to:

• Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethics.  Ethical standards of professional counseling organizations and credentialing bodies, and applications of ethical and legal considerations in professional counseling (2.F.1.i)
• Social and Cultural Diversity. Understand and apply multicultural counseling competencies (2.F.2.c)
• Human Growth and Development. Biological, neurological, and physiological factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior factors) (2.F.3.e)
• Career Development. Understand and implement approaches for conceptualizing the interrelationships among and between work, mental well-being, relationships, and other life roles and factors (2.F.4.b)
• Counseling and Helping Relationships. Understand and conduct the essential interviewing, counseling, and case conceptualization skills (2.F.5.g)
• Group Counseling and Group Work. Understand and apply the dynamics associated with group process and development (2.F.6.b)
• Assessment and Testing. Understand and demonstrate procedures for assessing risk of aggression or danger to others, self-inflicted harm, or suicide. (2.F.7.c)
• Research and Program Evaluation. Understand the importance of research in advancing the counseling profession, including how to critique research to inform counseling practice. (2F.8.a)
• Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Demonstrate techniques and interventions for prevention and treatment of a broad range of mental health issues (5.C.3.b)

 

Application & Admissions

Admission Requirements

Students applying for admission to the CMHC Program must fulfill the following: 

Students who wish to apply to the CMHC Program must submit the following information:

1. A completed application using the following website: www@lagrange.edu
2. An official transcript of their undergraduate and previous graduate programs (if applicable)
3. An undergraduate cumulative GPA of 2.5
4. A two-page essay describing the journey that led them to pursuing a counseling career, including how this degree program will assist them in pursing their career goal
5. A background check
6. No licenses or certifications have been revoked in other fields.
7. Three professional references

All materials are due by the admissions deadline to be invited for the on-campus interview.

Interviews may also be conducted on-line through Microsoft Teams.

Background Check

Because of the sensitive nature of the counseling process, applicants must submit to a background check before they are admitted providing evidence that graduates would be eligible for licensure as a professional counselor. 

Interview Process

Students who have submitted a complete application and who meet the requirements for the graduate program may be invited for an on-campus, or on-line interview.  This interview will be in two parts: (1) an individual interview with two or more faculty members and (2) a group interview with all applicants being interviewed on that date.  The group interview can be waived in lieu of restrictions with COVID-19. Faculty members will be in attendance to direct the group interview.  Students are evaluated by a comprehensive admissions rubric. Admissions decisions will be made very shortly after this process and students will notified by email with a formal letter attached. Admissions decisions are made by the Program Faculty and are based on the applicant’s academic preparation, career goals, aptitude for graduate-level study, potential success in forming effective counseling relationships, and respect for cultural differences (CACREP, 2016).

Provisional Admission

In some cases, students who do not meet minimal academic requirements for admission to graduate school may be admitted with a provisional status. Students will be required to obtain a grade of no less than B in each of the 4 courses offered in the fall semester.  Students who obtain a grade lower than a B on one of more of those courses taken during the first 12 hours will not be allowed to continue in the program. 

Student Dispositions 

For counselors to be most effective, they should possess certain dispositions, which our faculty expects of applicants to our program.  The following is a brief summary of those dispositions:

1. Professional Identity
2. Self-Awareness and Continued Introspection
3. Commitment to Diversity
4. Ability to Express Empathy
5. Integrity

As students are being interviewed for possible admission, as they are progressing through their coursework, and as they continue through their clinical experiences, students are evaluated based on their display of these important qualities and behaviors.  More information related to these dispositions is provided to students during their orientation experiences when they are admitted.

Student Transfer Policy

Students who are interested in transferring to LaGrange College may submit an application to transfer through admissions (put link)

1. The prospective student must be interviewed by the program faulty
2. Submit a CMHC application to admissions
3. Submit all transcripts
4. The student must be in “good standing” with their current institution
5. The student must provide a letter for recommendation from their current institution unless the degree was completed.
6. CMHC faculty will evaluate syllabi from previous coursework to ensure CACREP compliance
7. Await CMHC program faculty decision on their acceptance

Digitally Delivered CMHC Program Requirements

All CMHC courses are delivered in synchronous and asynchronous formats through assigned readings, online lectures, seminar discussions, multimedia presentations, case presentations, and small group discussion. All asynchronous learning students will be required to either attend the in-class sessions synchronously via Teams or watch the recording of class within 7 days. Students will lose points on participation and may be dropped a letter grade for more than 3 absences from class, or not watching class via Teams in a timely manner. Asynchronous students are required to attend some of the skills-based classes on certain dates (e.g. COUN 5003 Group Counseling Course- students are required to attend live on-teams for the group experience class.)

Technology Requirements

Counseling students are provided with Microsoft 365 which gives students access to One Drive, Email, Teams, Power Point, and Excel. Students are expected to be able to utilize this technology by keeping an up to date laptop or tablet in order to be successful in the program.

Standard 1.G indicates: “The institution provides technical support to all counselor education program faculty and students to ensure access to information systems for learning, teaching, and research.”

• Microsoft Teams training was made available for students
• One Drive Training
• Email Training
• IT SUPPORT (Chastity Hargrett)
• Connect (Support Portal)
• mock counseling sessions.

Digitally Delivered Format Policies

• The asynchronous CMHC program, regardless of where it is offered, operates under a single institutional budget and reports to a single academic unit leader who oversees all counseling programs offered by the institution (Standard 1.C).
• The program, regardless of where it is offered, requires completion of identical curricular requirements, culminates in the same degree title, and provides identical entries on student transcripts (Standard 1.B).
• The program, regardless of where it is offered, demonstrates that core faculty across sites share in the program curriculum development (Standard 1.Y).Students are admitted and advised under the same procedures and processes, regardless of which site/option they attend (Standard 1.L, 1.M and 1.P).
• The virtual/asynchronous option follows identical student retention and dismissal procedures (Standard 1.N(7))
• The program’s comprehensive assessment plan applies to all sites, regardless of where the program is offered, and the same assessment procedures are used at each site. Data are reviewed at each site individually and in aggregate across sites (Section 4).
• The program demonstrates that regardless of the site where students complete coursework that the number of credit hours delivered by non-core faculty at each site does not exceed the number of credit hours delivered by core faculty (1.S).
• The FTE student-to-faculty ratio is met for both program tracks (Standard 1.T).

Digitally Delivered Program Policies

Students are required to have access to technology requirements such as WIFI, a computer, and access to email and the learning management system.

Students engaged in digitally delivered synchronous learning are required to plan to be in a suitable learning environment that is free from distractions and noise.

Students in the 100% digitally delivered track are required to schedule a monthly meeting with their assigned academic advisor.

Proctoring Software Grading Scale for CMHC

In this program, LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor will be used to facilitate the online proctoring of assessments (such as quizzes or exams).  Students will be able to download LockDown Browser from a link provided from within our course on Connect and will incur a one-time, $15.00 fee (payable only by credit card) for the use of Respondus Monitor.  This one-time fee will entitle a student to unlimited use of Respondus Monitor for this course and any other on at LaGrange College for the time period of one year.

These pieces of software work only with reliable desktop or laptop computers running Windows or Mac OS as well as modern iPads.  Devices used for testing must be equipped with a functional webcam and must have access to a stable, high-speed internet connection.  LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor will not function with smartphones, tablets that are not iPads, or Chromebooks.

If you do not have access to a personal computer that meets these specifications, laptops are available for checkout in Lewis Library. Campus Wi-Fi is robust and will satisfy your internet connectivity requirements.

Students having difficulties with the functionality of these tools should contact IT (support@lagrange.edu, 8049) for assistance.

Grading Scale for CMHC

Students will be assigned a grade for each course based on a 10-point scale:

A: 90 – 100

B: 80 – 89

C: 70 – 79

D: <70

Financial Information

All charges for the semester/term are due and payable at the beginning of the term, and each candidate is expected to make satisfactory arrangements at that time.

Candidates who pre-register and pay in advance of the deadline each semester are not required to attend final registration.  Invoices not paid by the due date will be assessed a Late Payment Fee as enumerated below.

The College offers a deferred payment option that allows candidates to make monthly payments to cover educational costs.  Interest will be assessed to candidates utilizing this option.

Expenses

Tuition - per credit hour	$755.00
Graduation Fee	$200.00
Student Identification Card replacement fee	$25.00
Comprehensive Fee	$120 (per semester)

Suggested Course Rotation

The sample plan of study below demonstrates how students may complete the program in two calendar years. Students may take up to four years to complete their course work and clinical experiences to obtain a Master of Arts Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

Fall 2022	Spring 2023	Maymester 2023	Summer 2023
COUN 5000-Foundations of CMHC COUN 5001-Theories of Counseling COUN 5002-Strategies and Techniques COUN 5004-Professional Practice & Ethics	COUN 5003-Group Dynamics COUN 5013-Individual Analysis COUN 6000-Advanced Techniques COUN 6001-Assessment and Diagnosis	COUN 5011 Lifespan Development*	COUN 6004-Crisis, Trauma, & Grief Counseling COUN 6005-Research and Program Evaluation*
Fall 2023	Spring 2024	Maymester 2024	Summer 2024
COUN 5999-Practicum COUN 5999-Practicum Lab COUN 6002-Addictions Counseling COUN 6003-Family Counseling COUN 5012 Career Counseling* * Portfolio Mid-Program Submission Due	COUN 5010-Social and Cultural Diversity COUN 6007-Principles of Consultation, Management and Advocacy COUN 6998-Internship II Comprehensive Exam: April 2024 Preliminary Graduation Petition Submitted	NCE taken by May 30, 2024   No Classes	COUN 6999-Internship III Portfolio Project Due June 2024 Graduation Petition Resubmitted by July 15, 2024

*100% digitally delivered format

Graduation Requirements

Students must satisfy the following:

• Earn 60 semester hours in approved coursework and clinical experiences.
• Maintain a 3.0 (B) average throughout the program.  Anything below a C is considered a failing grade.  Courses in which a student achieves a grade below a B must be repeated.  If a student does not achieve a B or better during the second attempt, a remediation plan must be created by the program faculty for the student to remain in the program. Failure to complete the remediation plan may result in the student being released from the program.
  
  Students may receive no more than 2 C grades in the program. Students who obtain more than 3 C’s will be dismissed from the program.

• There are specific requirements for graduation (specific exams) that require an application fees and registration forms (e.g., the CPCE, NCE, Respondus Software, professional organizations)
• Receive a passing grade on the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE).  During their final semester of enrollment in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, students are required to take the CPCE, which is a standardized exam distributed by the Center for Credentialing and Education (http://www.cce-global.org).  The exam must be taken at LaGrange College and not at an alternate site.
  
  Passing grades on the CPCE are based on the national mean for the form of the exam used at any time.  Students who do not obtain a passing grade on their first attempt of the CPCE will be given a second chance to take the examination on the next date that the exam is scheduled to be administered.  A student who is unable to pass the CPCE for a second time will be required to do a comprehensive portfolio. This portfolio project will be expanded from the required graduation portfolio to include several artifacts, corrected work, several reflections, and other assignments deemed appropriate by program faculty.  The students’ attempts will be read and evaluated by a minimum of three college faculty members using a rubric as a guide.  Students must receive a passing evaluation by at least two of the three faculty members to be approved for graduation.

• National Counselor Examination (NCE) The National Counselor Examination (NCE) is a 200-item multiple-choice examination designed to assess knowledge, skills and abilities determined to be important for providing effective counseling services. The NCE is a requirement for counselor licensure in the state of Georgia. It is also one of two examination options for the National Certified Counselor (NCC) certification. It may also be accepted by military health systems to become a recognized provider. The NCE was first used in 1983 as part of the NCC application process and continues to undergo regular review and development to ensure it represents the current reality of practice and research in the counseling profession.
  
  The CMHC program coordinates with NBCC to offer the National Counselor Examination (NCE) between April and May each year. The NCE must be taken and passed in order to begin the application process for Associate Licensed Counselor once you graduate from the program.
• Students will complete a comprehensive portfolio project.  The Clinical Mental Health Counseling portfolio is a demonstration (through artifacts) of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions expected of a Professional Clinical Mental Health Counselor. The portfolio is a comprehensive assessment of the 8 core foundational areas of CACREP. The portfolio is a requirement for graduation. The portfolio will be submitted during the fall semester of the second year for a mid-program review and during the last semester of the program for a final review. Students will include key assessments from the first year and second year in a comprehensive portfolio to be submitted in OneDrive. The portfolio will be submitted in a OneDrive folder shared with all faculty. The folders should be labeled by core foundational area, then by course. Each foundational area folder should have a copy of the required artifacts including any rubrics. Students will also provide a reflection for each of the core foundational areas covered that will be included in the file folders. These reflections should demonstrate an increase in knowledge, skills, and dispositions. The portfolio also includes two comprehensive reflections that are based off two prompts. Each section will receive a score of either exceeding (3), competent (2), or unsatisfactory (1). Students must receive a passing portfolio evaluation to be approved for graduation.
• Meet with an advisor to verify, through an audit of courses and grades, that they meet the requirements for earning a Master of Arts Degree in CMHC before petitioning to graduate.
  

CMHC Comprehensive Assessment Plan 

The CMHC comprehensive Assessment Plan addresses program evaluation and student learning assessment.   This assessment plan outlines the goals and objectives of the assessment, methods of assessment, analysis and use of the assessment data for program and curriculum modification and revision.  The assessment plan is focused on the goals and objectives of the Counselor Education program, as reflected in our Mission Statement, as well as specific program evaluation and student learning indicators. The LaGrange College CMHC Comprehensive Assessment plan incorporates both a program evaluation and student learning indicator assessment. The Program Evaluation component of the plan includes several key assessments that incorporate aggregate student assessment data to evaluate specific program objectives.   This includes student knowledge and skill development, using both internal and external assessments.  The plan describes how demographic and other characteristics are measured and assessed yearly, as well as, how data from the graduates, site supervisors, and employers are gathered, measured, and analyzed. 

Student Annual Review

Students are consistently evaluated across all academic, clinical practice, professional development and program requirements.  This evaluation occurs during courses, clinical practice and engagement in professional development activities.   In addition, the Counselor Education Program conducts an Annual Review of Student Progress.  This review is conducted bi-annually on all students.   As part of this process students are required to complete and submit a Student Annual Report via google form. This form will be disseminated to you several weeks prior to the submission date.   This report is requested by the Program Coordinator prior to the Annual Review and is submitted to the student’s Academic Advisor.  After the evaluation is completed the student is provided a copy of their Assessment Rubric for the Counselor Education Programs’ Annual Review.  Students are required to verify receipt of the review. 

Dispositions

Dispositions are defined as core values, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs needed to become an effective and competent professional (Damon, 2007, as cited in Spurgeon, Gibbons, & Cochran, p. 97, 2012).   Assessed in the Annual Review are students’ professional and academic dispositions related to preparation and practice in counseling.   The three areas of dispositions assessed in the Annual Review are:

1. Academic and Professional Behavior
2. Reflective Practice and Behavior
3. Diversity and Respect for Others

Students should be aware that the identification of concerns related to academic, clinical practice, and dispositions may occur at any time in the program.   These concerns may be identified at any point in an academic term and during the Annual Review. These concerns can be addressed through the CMHC Remediation and Retention Policy process.

The Annual Review of Student Progress includes evaluation of:

Academic Indicators and Student Matriculation

This includes student’s GPA, stage in program, and matriculation through program coursework and requirements will also be evaluated.

Majors and Minors

Major Minor

Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

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