There is no doubt that stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, and other mental-health-related issues are on the rise. Our society needs skilled Christian counseling professionals to provide a source of healing and restoration to a hurting world. At Indiana Wesleyan University, students are trained to provide mental health services as highly competent counselors who constantly strive to facilitate change in the lives of the people whom they serve.
The 60-credit hour Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is a licensure track that prepares students to assess and treat individuals, groups, families, and organizations within their ecological context. With a master’s in mental health counseling, students can progress beyond an undergraduate degree and learn to consider the dimensions of wellness and mental health as well as pathology as they develop and implement effective treatment strategies. Faith, learning, and professional practice are interwoven throughout the curriculum of study.
Why Pursue My Master’s in Mental Health Counseling Online at IWU?
It is the mission of the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program to provide a Christ-centered academic community that facilitates the professional and personal development of students to become competent providers of exceptional clinical mental health services to individuals and their related systems within relevant ecological contexts. Our Christian faculty teach from the same biblical worldview valued on our campus, so that students can implement these principles in a fulfilling career.
Clinical experience is the centerpiece of IWU’s master’s in mental health counseling. Skill-building under the careful supervision of experienced faculty begins in the first semester of study, continues into on-site practicums, and culminates with community-based internships. Live supervision and the digital recording of sessions enable clinical training to be tailored to address the specific needs and strengths of the counseling trainee. The division is home to the Graduate Counseling Clinics, state-of-the-art facilities that offer counseling services to the Marion and Indianapolis communities. By serving in these clinics, students are guaranteed to deliver a level of service that is in alignment with diverse populations presenting issues typical of community and university service delivery systems.
What Will I Learn in a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling Program?
When you earn your MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at IWU, you’ll develop and be able to articulate a clear understanding of CMHC professional identity. That means delivering mental health services with multicultural competence, integrating an understanding of normal developmental concepts and processes, and being able to conceptualize the relationship between work, personal relational well-being, and other life roles. Prepare to demonstrate essential counseling skills with competence, including an ability facilitate group therapy sessions, display counseling appraisal skills with validity and reliability, and apply relevant research findings from professional literature to inform developmental of treatment plans and intervention strategies. With our Christ-centered approach, you’ll learn to integrate faith- and spirituality-based principles and strategies in case conceptualizations and interventions when diagnosing mental disorders using accepted diagnostic systems (e.g., DSM, ICD) and applying CMHC paradigm in case conceptualizations (i.e., remediation of pathology and promotion of well-being in clients and their related ecological contexts).
Your Master of Arts in Graduate Counseling may be closer than you think! Learn more about the Graduate Counseling programs at Indiana Wesleyan, and the incredible faculty team dedicated to making helping you take the next steps in your counseling career!
What Makes IWU Different?
IWU has provided on-campus education for more than 100 years.
Faith-integrated curriculum and a commitment to changing the world.
Center for Student Success for counseling, tutoring, and more!
Dr. Robert Atchison
Associate Professor; Chair, Division of Graduate Counseling
Professor Atchison is a graduate of the Indiana Wesleyan University Graduate Counseling program. He began his track as a youth minister but transitioned into the world of counseling as part of his Calling.
Financial aid is available in the form of grants, loans, scholarships, veterans’ benefits, and employer reimbursement.
These courses contain the program-specific knowledge. Upon completion, you should have the tools to conquer your new career with confidence.
* Requires nine (9) credit hours of electives.
NOTE: The graduate admissions committee retains the right to waive an admission requirement for special circumstances. Successful graduate coursework may be substituted for the GRE.
Up to 35% of a program's required credit hours may be transferred from an accredited institution into a graduate-level counseling program at Indiana Wesleyan University.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Indiana Wesleyan University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (HLC), www.hlcommission.org, 312-263-0456. Other accreditations and associations of Indiana Wesleyan University are available at www.indwes.edu/about/iwu-profile/accreditation.
The Clinical Mental Health Counseling specialization is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), 500 Montgomery Street, Suite 350, Alexandria, VA 22314, Phone: 703-535-5990 | Web: www.cacrep.org, an accrediting arm of the American Counseling Association (ACA), 5999 Stevenson Ave., Alexandria, Va. 22304, 800-347-6647.
