Master's (M.Ed.) Mental Health Counseling

Overview

Lehigh’s Mental Health Counseling program is accredited by the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC). Those who complete it can apply to be a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Pennsylvania. 

The M.Ed. is designed to provide students with an overarching understanding of the role of professional counselors as well as specific skills and interventions they need to work successfully with diverse groups of people in community, work and family settings. 

A low student-to-faculty ratio allows master’s candidates to learn from and be mentored by innovative professors who bring to the classroom a wide variety of experiences in addition to the latest research and advanced techniques in the field. Opportunities to conduct research are available and can be especially valuable for those who plan to pursue a doctorate, as nearly a quarter of the master’s candidates do. 

For the master’s degree, students take courses in areas such as assessments in counseling, therapeutic approaches, human development across the lifespan, research, group counseling, career counseling and multicultural perspectives. Lehigh embraces diversity, and the program emphasizes social justice throughout the curriculum.  

A clinical coordinator assists students in setting up field work and internships, including at the Community Voices Clinic, a local public school-based center, where they can practice counseling skills under the supervision of a Lehigh faculty member and doctoral-level graduate assistants. Students also have opportunities to do practices at mental health centers and college counseling centers.  

Those wishing to apply must complete an online application and provide undergraduate and (if applicable) graduate transcripts. Applicants must have achieved at least a 3.0 grade point average as an undergraduate. They should submit an essay and an acknowledgement they understand the College of Education policy on clearances. Candidates should also provide two letters of recommendation with at least one from a faculty member of an accredited academic institution.    

The deadline to apply is January 15 for a Fall start. 

The degree requires the completion of 20 courses (60 credits).  A typical course load of four courses in the fall, four in the spring, and four in the summer allows candidates to complete the program in two years (two falls, two springs and one summer). 

Practical experience is an important part of the program with a minimum of 100 hours of field work required as well as an internship of 15-20 hours a week for two semesters. Most students do the internship in their second year of courses. 

Classes are held in the afternoons and evenings to make the program more convenient for students who are working professionals. The master’s in Mental Health Counseling has a high completion rate, opening up a wide variety of employment opportunities. 

Opportunities

Graduates work as counselors in community organizations and governmental agencies, as well as at hospitals. Some graduates have gone on to pursue doctoral studies.

The demand for counselors in social services and community organizations is rising. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the field will grow by 14 percent by 2026. 

Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council

Our program is accredited by the Master's in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC) for the period of August 2014 through August 2024 (currently under review for reaccreditation).

The faculty seeks to produce counselors who can conceptualize and intervene in competent preventative, developmental, and therapeutic ways to assist a broad cultural cross-section of individuals to improve their understanding, adjustment, and daily functioning across the life span. Students are sought who will both appreciate and embrace the scientific and empirical underpinnings of the counseling field and work to apply them in culturally appropriate ways. The following competency areas adapted from the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC; 2024) are the guiding policy for our CHS training program and serve as the basis for evaluation of student professional progress and readiness for practicum, internship, and professional practice:

1. Professional counselor identity, ethical behavior, and social justice practices;
2. Human development and wellness across the lifespan;
3. Neuroscientific, physical, and biological foundations of human development and wellness;
4. Ecological, contextual, multicultural, social justice foundations of human development;
5. Evidence-based counseling, consultation, and social justice advocacy theories and skills;
6. Group theory, practice and social justice advocacy;
7. Career and life development;
8. Assessment of human behavior and organizational/community/institutional systems;
9. Tests and measurements;
10. Traditional and social justice-oriented research and evaluations;
11. Theory of psychopathology and relevant classification systems; 
12. Practicum/internship experiences.  

Special notification

School counselors do not require CACREP accreditation to practice in schools in the United States. CACREP accreditation is not required for a license as a professional counselor in many jurisdictions within the U.S. 

Curriculum

This professional preparation program reflects the increasing level of skills and competencies required for certification as a counselor in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as new regulations governing Professional Counselor Licensure in Pennsylvania. The M.Ed. program is designed to provide the basic coursework as well as the specialized counseling "common core" coursework, and practical experience and professional concentration for certification as a school counselor in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; as preparation for further graduate study (i.e., doctoral study [see Ph.D. program manual]). 

Click here to view the course catalog which provides descriptions of the courses.