The Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) consists of 60 credits along with clinical practicum hours and offers an environment of academic excellence designed to provide a transformational learning experience while preparing and empowering graduate students seeking entrance into the field of clinical mental health counseling. By having access to cutting-edge educational experiences, skilled clinical supervision, and a rigorous academic program of study, students are afforded the opportunity to acquire a comprehensive body of knowledge, professional skills, ethical foundations, and cultural competencies. With an embedded emphasis on issues of social justice and advocacy counseling, this carefully structured training program prepares students for success, responsible citizenship, and lifelong learning in the field of Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC).
The 60-credit CMHC Master's degree coursework prepares students to be license eligible in California and most other states as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC). Students must pass a comprehensive written exam in order to graduate from this program. Please refer to program handbook for additional information and requirements.
Learning outcomes for this program may be found at www.redlands.edu/MA-CMHC/learning-outcomes.
Clinical Training
Clinical Training Students admitted into the CMHC program, upon completing their first year of coursework, are required to perform practicum hours in a clinical setting across three semesters for a total of at least 450 hours (280 hours must be face-to-face counseling). In addition, as part of the CMHC clinical training experience and in keeping with the program's social justice and advocacy focus, all students are required to participate at the student-run Health Clinic approximately 10 to 12 hours per month. Practicum hours must be completed concurrently with the sequence of academic practicum courses. Students who are unable, for any reason, to complete the required practicum hours during the CMHC 699A, CMHC 699B, CMHC 699C courses will need to enroll in additional practicum courses until their required hours are complete. Students are required to pass the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE).
Students will develop a conceptual understanding of the helping process and learn basic counseling and interviewing skills. Practice in applying skills will take place through role-playing and videotape review.
Exploration of similarities and differences that occur within and across cultures, and the conceptual intersection of cultural and social identities. Students explore their own cultural and personal attitudes, beliefs, and biases, which may influence cross-cultural interactions that impact the counseling relationship while developing their own theoretical approach as professional counselors.
This course is an in-depth exploration and examination of legal, ethical, and professional issues facing today’s counseling profession. Students will review the legal and ethical issues they will encounter in practice and identify their role and responsibility in addressing and managing these issues.
This course is designed to explore historical and contemporary perspectives in typical and atypical human growth, development, and learning styles. Utilizing a systemic perspective, the course examines physical, emotional, mental, cultural, sexual, and moral development throughout the life-span.
Prerequisite: current enrollment in the School or Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program.
Introduces a variety of counseling theories used to conceptualize cases in both community and educational counseling environments, including K–12, community college, and university settings, with specific focus on utilizing individual and systemic theory-based techniques for diverse populations across the lifespan.
Prerequisite: EDUC 601 with a minimum grade of at least 3.0 or higher.
This course introduces systems thinking for the helping professional. The systems approach distinguishes itself from the more traditional analytic approach by emphasizing the interactions and connectedness of the different components of a system. Students will learn the basics of thinking systemically.
Prerequisite: EDUC 601 (with at least a grade of 3.0) and EDUC 653 (may be taken as a co-requisite).
This course focuses on expanding the development of counseling skills, with particular emphasis on the knowledge, skills, and awareness needed to work effectively with clients who are in crisis. This course will also place a high priority on each student’s ability to develop a greater sense of self-awareness and introspection.
Prerequisite: EDUC 601 with a minimum grade of at least 3.0 or higher.
This course provides counselors and human service workers with an overview of the addictive process and acquaints students with concepts of chemical dependence and co-occurring disorders that impact the individual, family system, and the community. Course content will include theories and etiology of substance addiction, including prevention, intervention, and treatment.
An opportunity for advanced students to make an intensive study/analysis of selected counseling cases to enhance assessment competencies in case description, problem appraisal, assessment, diagnostic classification, intervention strategies, as well as case consultation and presentation skills.
Prerequisites: EDUC 601 and EDUC 653.
This course allows students to practice the application of psychotherapeutic and counseling techniques and interventions in a group setting. Using a developmental perspective to contextualize treatment approaches, students will be prepared to lead and facilitate a variety of different types of groups with diverse populations within various settings.
Prerequisites: EDUC 601 (with at least a grade of 3.0).
Students develop skills in the selection, administration, and interpretation of standardized tests and other tools used to assess various cognitive, behavioral, and affective modalities.
Prerequisites: EDUC 603 or CMHC 640.
This course will develop students’ excellence in advocacy and social justice knowledge, skills, awareness, and action. Students will be provided opportunities to gain a heightened sense of critical consciousness, and foster a social justice orientation that can be used to inform their roles as counselors, educators, community leaders, and advocates.
This course is designed to acquaint counseling students with the fundamentals of psychotropic drugs. Basics of pharmacology, adverse effects, indications, and drug interactions will be discussed. The overall aim of the course is to provide information, allowing mental health providers to be informed members of the mental health care team.
Students develop counseling competence as they work under supervision to provide direct service to clients in an approved field setting. Particular emphasis will be given to developing students’ skills in assessment and case conceptualization, delivering counseling interventions, professional comportment, and ethical decision making.
Prerequisites: Instructor consent, and EDUC 601 (with a grade of at least 3.0), and EDUC 651, and EDUC 653, and EDUC 655, and EDUC 680, and CMHC 610, and CMCH 613.
Students will become familiar with career development theories, sources of occupational information, the career counseling process, assessment in career counseling, and curricular approaches to fostering career development. They also will become familiar with the impact of diversity and individual differences on career development and choices.
Prerequisite: EDUC 601 with a minimum grade of at least 3.0 or higher; and, for non-counseling majors, by permission.
Students develop counseling competence as they work under supervision to provide direct service to clients in an approved field setting. Particular emphasis will be given to developing students’ skills in assessment and case conceptualization, delivering counseling interventions, professional comportment and ethical decision making.
Prerequisite: Instructor consent and CMHC 699A.
This course provides a basic review of descriptive and inferential statistics and how these techniques are used with research methods appropriate for counseling. Students will become proficient in computer analysis of data sets, designing and evaluating research techniques, and having the skills to understand primary research in counseling literature.
This course examines counseling and other mental health treatments across the globe, focusing particularly on the roles played by both culture and national policies. Through a field component of the course, students will gain direct experience with counseling practices of at least one culture.
Prerequisite: CMHC 610 or permission of instructor.
Students develop counseling competence as they work under supervision to provide direct service to clients in an approved field setting. Particular emphasis will be given to developing students’ skills in assessment and case conceptualization, delivering counseling interventions, professional comportment and ethical decision making.
Prerequisites: Instructor consent and CMHC 699B.
This course is designed for students to advance their theoretical integration and skills in family therapy. The purpose of this advanced practice seminar is to assist students in applying clinical family theories and techniques. Emphasis will be placed on students’ critical assessment of different applications of selected theories and techniques.
Prerequisites: EDUC 653, and EDUC 655.
This course will explore theories and associated techniques of couples and marriage counseling. It will do so in the context of specific developmental issues and social and political factors affecting couples. A range of therapeutic modalities will be surveyed.
Prerequisites: EDUC 653, EDUC 655, and EDUC 601. (EDUC 601 must be completed with a minimum grade of at least 3.0 or higher.)
Students pursuing the CMHC program who wish to add on the PPS School Counseling credential must satisfy all the requirements above for the master’s in addition to the following courses and fieldwork requirements:
Consideration of the philosophical and historical elements of curriculum, as well as emerging issues. Specific attention given to planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating programs. Additional topics include current research in teaching practices, special programs, and the process of change within a school.
This course focuses on the work in which students are engaged in program-approved field placements in schools and other counseling settings. To develop expected counseling competencies, students will participate in supervision with site supervisors and the course instructor. They also will participate with other class members in group supervision.
Prerequisites: EDUC 601, EDUC 685, CMHC 610; concurrent enrollment in EDUC 653 and EDUC 680 or EDUC 624.
This course explores various responsibilities that are required to be an effective counselor in today’s school environment. Additionally, an overview of the identity of the professional school counselor’s role will be addressed to facilitate the knowledge necessary to navigate the current functions of PPS counseling at the various K–12 levels.
EDUC 677 Supervised Fieldwork in Counseling (2) to be taken at least two times, and then as long as the student remains placed at a field site.
Students adding the PPS Credential to their CMHC program will need to complete 400 additional hours of fieldwork in two different (Pre-12) settings.
