The CACREP-accredited Master of Science Clinical Counseling Program is a professional development program. Graduates of this program are employed in a variety of clinical counseling arenas including correctional facilities, mental health centers, psychiatric institutions, and private practices. Upon satisfactory completion of the counseling program, graduates will have met the educational requirements to be licensed in Missouri as a professional counselor.
Mission
To provide a professional development experience wherein students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be prepared to apply for licensure in Missouri as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).
Vision
To graduate competent, socially conscious, reflective, evidence-based counselors who are able to meet the needs of a diverse society and are prepared to meet the highest standards set by the profession and the licensing standards of the majority of states.
Philosophy
The MSCC Program philosophy begins with the belief that individuals are unique, holistic and developing beings with the capacity for thinking, feeling, reflecting and choosing. We further believe that health, a state and process of being/becoming a whole/integrated person, which consists of a continuum from peak wellness to death, is an overriding goal for all helping professions. Counseling assists individuals, families and communities to examine their life and environmental patterns and to attach personal meaning to those patterns. Counseling helps individuals interact more productively with their environment, enabling them to grow and to have more meaningful life experiences. Counselors work within a system of health care delivery and are responsible for collaboratively working with other mental health providers toward positive outcomes for clients/communities. Counseling education is a dynamic and on-going process wherein students, through research and education, synthesize a large body of knowledge from various disciplines, in the process of growing as a professional.
Master of Science in Clinical Counseling Outcomes:
The following program objectives are the outcomes that students are expected to accomplish as a result of successful completion of the curriculum:
Degree Program
A CACREP-accredited degree from the Master of Science in Clinical Counseling (MSCC) program requires a minimum of 60 credit hours and may be completed in approximately three years through a full-time course of study. Students may choose to pursue electives beyond the 60 hours but will not be eligible for financial aid. This program adheres to all policies of the Graduate Program at Central Methodist University. See sections entitled Curriculum Requirements and Graduation Requirements for further information.
Course Delivery
Each semester, students attend class one to two evenings per week between 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The other half of the courses are hybrid courses, which meet face-to-face every other week and on the alternate week they meet online.
Accreditation
Accreditation information for the MSCC can be found here.
Admission Requirements
Application Process
Items 2, 3, 5, and 6, above should be emailed to: cges@centralmethodist.edu or posted to CGES Admissions Office, Central Methodist University, 411 Central Methodist Square, Fayette, MO 65248.
Upon receipt and review of all information and supporting documents, applicants will be notified of their admission status. The University reserves the right to refuse admission to anyone who does not meet standards for admission.
Curriculum Requirements
Graduation Requirements
Note. The academic courses in the program prepare students to take the CECE, which must be satisfactorily completed in order for students to graduate. Students must attempt or be currently registered for the CECE before being allowed to start their internship field experience. Additional information about the CECE will be provided to students by the MSCC Director of Assessment at New Student Orientation, as well as throughout the program in advance of scheduling the CECE test administration.
MSCC Professional Conduct Policy
The MSCC Program is a professional development program. As such, falsifying any documentation including, but not limited to, any program application materials as well as field experience documents e.g., application/s, weekly documentation materials, hourly activities, supervisor qualifications, and supervision activities may lead to formal disciplinary actions by the department.
The MSCC Department will discipline students for infractions of the MSCC Professional Conduct Policy with various sanctions which it deems appropriate, up to and including suspension or expulsion from the MSCC Program. Penalties internal to a course, including grades and expulsion from the course, are at the discretion of the instructor. Students can appeal instructors' internal course penalties to the Graduate Committee (graduate petitions). The decision of the committee is final.
Instructors must report all penalties which they impose for academic/professional misconduct, with a brief account of the offense, to the Advisor/Director, so that all violations are recorded. For serious or repeated offenses, the MSCC Director will notify the Director of Graduate Programs. Either may impose further penalties beyond the course penalty. These penalties include but are not limited to notations in the student's file, remediation, notations on the student's transcript, probation, suspension, and/or expulsion.
Notification provided to the Clinical Counseling department of a student’s criminal involvement while in the program will be scrutinized and may result in immediate removal from the program and/or communication to the state licensing board and other relevant credentialing entities.
National Certification
Central Methodist University participates in the Graduate Student Application Program (GSA-NCC) of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), called the “jump-start program”, in order to allow students to work toward board certification. Through the GSA-NCC, the National Counseling Exam (NCE) is available during the last two semesters of the Master’s Program and within six months of graduation from the program. Upon passing the NCE through this program, providing proof of graduation, and following requirements provided by the NBCC, students may move on to become a National Certified Counselor (NCC). The NCC is the only general-practice counseling credential with nationwide recognition. National counselor certification from NBCC is not a license to practice; rather, it proves to the public and employers that the counselor has met the national standards set by the counseling profession. For more information about the National Board for Certified Counselors and their affiliates, go to http://www.nbcc.org/.
State Licensing Requirements
Counselors must be licensed by the state in which they practice. Every state has different licensing requirements. In Missouri, passing the National Counseling Exam (NCE) is part of the State of Missouri Licensure process, hence, passing the exam while in the program gives candidates a “jump-start” on completing a major component to becoming licensed to practice in Missouri.
Passage of the NCE and completion of state requirements, including acquiring a supervisor, may allow students to become a Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC). When PLPCs complete other Missouri requirements for licensure, including 3,000 hours of postgraduate clinical experience, they may then be eligible for licensure as an LPC.
Applicants for licensure must meet current requirements as established by the State of Missouri, Department of Economic Development, Division of Professional Registration, Committee for Professional Counselors, and RSMo 337.507 Missouri Revised Statutes. For further information, go to http://pr.mo.gov/counselors-about.asp, or do a web search for RSMo 337.525 Missouri Revised Statutes.
If you have chosen to attend CMU and you are planning to become licensed in a state other than Missouri, it is important that you verify licensure requirements in your chosen state. Please find the link to check your state for their educational expectations here: License Disclosures
Clinical Counseling Courses
Note: The counseling domain as required by 20 CSR 2095-2 (Code of State Regulations –which can be found at http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/20csr/20c2095-2.pdf) is indicated in parentheses following each class description. Core (required) classes are also designated.
Major Minor
Master-of-Science-in-Clinical-Counseling Mental Health Certificate