Aimee Adams Helps Counseling Psychology Foster Online Community

Aimee Adams is a familiar face to many in the COE. She’s been teaching courses as an adjunct in the Counseling Psychology program since 2010. This year, Adams joined the COE faculty as a full-time, visiting assistant professor. In her new role, she serves as clinical coordinator and academic advisor for the new master's degree in Mental Health Counseling. In addition to teaching courses for the online master's degree, Adams teaches on-campus courses in the COE’s Counseling Psychology program.

One aspect of the new online program that stands out to her is its design. “The faculty and staff who developed the program were really thoughtful about making sure the courses that teach counseling skills are all synchronous, which is not the case in all online programs,” she said. “I think that's one of the key components that really distinguishes this program and helps to build a sense of community among the students.” 

To further build that sense of connection, the COE invited the inaugural online class to campus last fall for an in-person tour and meet-and-greet. Some of the students also attended the Lehigh-Lafayette football game and attended a tailgate with other COE faculty, staff and students. “Almost all of the students [from the inaugural class] came to campus to take the tour,” Adams says. “It was so great to see the excitement they had to meet each other in person.” 

“The faculty and staff who developed the program were really thoughtful about making sure the courses that teach counseling skills are all synchronous, which is not the case in all online programs.”  

The feedback she has received from students is that they appreciate both the synchronous class meetings and the opportunities to build community outside of the virtual classroom. “Students are able to have these really active discussions in class and apply what they're learning outside of class,” she says. Adams sees the online cohort continuing those discussions with each other beyond the classroom and providing each other with support. 

The online master's degree in Mental Health Counseling within the Counseling Psychology program is composed of fall and spring cohorts. The students who began with the fall 2024 cohort are primarily located within Pennsylvania. Some students live close to campus in the Lehigh Valley while others are a few hours away. The online program allows students to continue working while taking classes. It’s less disruptive for students with caregiving, family and career responsibilities. For this reason, online study allows access to students who might not otherwise be able to juggle the demands of graduate education. 

“A lot of students are looking for an online program so that they can stay where they are,” Adams said. “Some of them work remotely as well.”  

Expansion into the online realm was a thoughtful process for the COE’s Counseling Psychology program. Foremost in planning the curriculum was ensuring that the quality of education was maintained while presenting material in a different way. 

“I like the idea that this is a program that allows for lots of faculty and student interaction, even in an online setting,” she said, “I don't know that this is a universal component to every online program.” The COE was also mindful in maintaining smaller class sizes for the online program.

Many studies, including a 2022 survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and CNN point to a growing need for mental health providers. The new online Mental Health Counseling master’s degree builds on Lehigh's reputation for quality programming designed to meet this need.

“There is a desire over time to make sure that the students feel a sense of community with each other, with Lehigh and with the other COE programs,” she added, “so we're thinking about ways to invite students to participate in more events on campus and many students have expressed an interest in attending.”

To learn more about the COE’s online master's degree in Mental Health Counseling, please visit https://bit.ly/3ZYRe9l.