Courses
Students in the MA in Mental Health Counseling program take classes as a cohort. All courses are required.
Total credits required to complete the program is 60.
Fall Semester First Year, First Semester
PSY 9811 – Foundations of Mental Health Counseling 3 credits
This course offers the beginning student an introduction to the counseling profession. It is a necessity that counselors not only understand their professional identity but also understand the legal and ethical issues involved in the practice of counseling. According to New York Counselor Law, counselors are legally required to know their Code of Ethics, which are designed to guide and govern the practices, attitudes, and behaviors of licensed counselors. In this course students will begin to familiarize themselves with ethical codes, legal issues, standards of professional conduct, and the various facets of the counseling profession. This course will explore the student’s self-makeup and disposition toward working closely with others of varying socioeconomic, education, ethnic, racial, political, and religious backgrounds. Students will also gain an appreciation of the historical perspectives credentialing, and organizational structures that exist in the professional of counseling. The American Counseling Association, its major subdivisions, and other credentialing bodies will be reviewed. Opportunities will be provided for each student to examine his/her perceptual and value structures as those structures fit what is embodied in the ethical codes of practice of the counseling profession. The American Psychology Association (APA)
PSY 9813 – Clinical Instructions 3 credits
Students will be expected to develop advanced skills in all areas of applied treatment. The focus will be on recent models of clinical case conceptualization using a variety of theoretical orientations and translating them into effective treatment strategies. Video and audio tapes of clinical interviews, case studies and role plays will be utilized to assist students in formulating hypotheses about client difficulties and developing appropriate clinical interventions which address those difficulties. Topics include case conceptualization theories, treatment planning, empirically supported treatments, searching and writing case focused literature reviews, single case research methodology, writing case studies and treatment reports.
PSY 9814 – Ethical and Legal Issues for Mental Health Counselors 3 credits
This three (3) credit hour course is designed to help students in the M.A. Mental Health Counseling Program to identify and examine ethical and legal issues encountered in the counseling process and to explore ways to effectively deal with them. Students completing the course will develop sensitivity to the ethical and legal aspects of counseling process, better appreciate the ethical constraints under which a counselor works, and develop skills to critically examine how they conduct themselves as Counselors.
PSY 9817 – Counseling and Group Process 3 credits
This course is designed as an introduction to the use of groups in counseling practice. Its chief purpose is to help students become more effective group leaders, whether leading a therapy or a training group, and to be able to influence the process of groups in which they are members. To this end, students will participate on several levels of involvement: (1) Principles, theories, concepts, and techniques of group leadership will be investigated; (2) Group dynamics will be discussed and observed in external groups and in the class interaction; (3) Students will lead a group session with a co-leader; (4) Students will be group members and will be asked to self-disclose and give feed-back to other group members in as genuine a manner as possible.
PSY 9819 – Psychopathology 3 credits
This course is aimed at providing an advanced comprehensive overview of psychopathology from an historical and current scientific perspective. Specifically, we will focus on conceptualization issues, systems of classification/diagnosis, research design/methods, core characteristics, clinical symptomatology and etiology of adult (and to a lesser extent child/adolescent) psychopathology. An integrative approach that considers the complex interactions among biological, psychological, behavioral, cognitive, social, environmental, cultural and interpersonal factors across the lifespan that influence major psychological disorders will be applied. We will examine various theoretical models, discuss clinical cases, and review treatment strategies. Throughout this course, we will refer to research findings that inform our understanding of a variety of issues in the field of psychopathology.
Spring Semester First Year, Second Semester
PSY 9816 – Addiction and Dependency 3 credits
This course examines the interaction among biological, psychological and environmental factors in addiction and recovery. Assessment and diagnosis are taught as they relate to the development of an intervention strategy. Treatment methods and patient-treatment matching are covered in detail. The intent is to prepare counselors to work with substance abusing clients and their families.
PSY 9818 – Practicum/Experiential 3 credits
Course objectives are to help students develop effective individual and group counseling skills. Students are expected to demonstrate an effective counseling style based upon personal strengths, sound professional principles, and a personally defined philosophy and system of counseling. This course involves on-site counseling experience and supervision, group supervision by faculty, and weekly seminars.
PSY 9820 – Life Span Development 3 credits
This graduate level course is aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of the major theories of human growth and development across the life span. Topics include perceptual, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Developmental periods include infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood with an emphasis on early development. Students will also be introduced to some conceptual models of developmental psychopathology, major risk and protective factors, and the role of race/ethnicity/culture in developmental pathways. Required readings are selected from 1) a text on theories of development and 2) classic and recent published papers in the field. This seminar heavily relies on student in-class participation such as presentation of reaction papers and final term paper, and active discussion.
PSY 9823 – Career Counseling 3 credits
This course is a practical and theoretical foundation for understanding the relationships of personal and career development theories to counseling practice. Includes vocational choice theory, lifestyle choices, occupational and educational information, decision-making processes and career exploration techniques; all include working with diverse populations and ethical standards.
PSY 9828 – Theories of Counseling 3 credits
This course provides an overview of major theories of counseling with a special focus on gender, culture, counselor preparation, and case formulation strategies. Students will read about historical and intellectual foundations of major counseling theories while observing skills and techniques employed by practitioners representing various theoretical perspectives. Students will be encouraged to explore the major theoretical orientations and their own personal beliefs and values in an effort to deepen their understanding of counseling process and outcome.
Fall Semester Second Year, Third Semester
PSY 9821 – Cognitive and Behavioral Approaches in Health Psychology 3 credits
Health Psychology is the aggregate of the specific educational, scientific, and professional contributions of the discipline of psychology applied to the promotion and maintenance of health, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the identification of etiologic and diagnostic correlates of health, illness, and relation dysfunction (Matarazzo, 1980). This course will examine current empirically validated approaches to addressing health behaviors and illness according to the biopsychosocial model.
PSY 9824 – Assessment 3 credits
Emphasis will be given to use of standardized and non-standardized procedures to assess and appraise human behavior. Use of test and no-test data will also be covered. Emphasis will also be given to the use of appraisal and assessment methods in a variety of settings, including schools, business, mental health, and health services.
PSY 9830 – Mental Health Counseling Internship I 6 credits
This course provides an opportunity for students to have direct experience and interaction with individuals and groups seeking counseling services. Weekly supervision is provided on site, where counseling sessions are held. This course is taken over two semesters with 300 hours per semester at the internship site, each semester, fulfills degree plan requirements for the internship experience.
PSY 9922 – Research and Program Evaluation in Mental Health Counseling 3 credits
A review of the research methods used in counseling. Included are experiences in searching research literature databases, understanding basic statistics and using statistical software, planning research, the application of research strategies to program evaluation, and communicating research findings.
Spring Semester Second Year, Fourth Semester
PSY 9815 – Psychosocial and Cultural Foundations of Counseling 3 credits
This course is an introduction to issues potentially faced by counselors in multicultural settings. Special emphasis will be placed on the psychosocial adjustment, socio/political issues and counseling needs of individuals with physical, mental disabilities as well as persons from diverse cultural backgrounds. The identification of student values and biases that might impact the counseling relationship when working with persons from diverse cultures will be explored.
PSY 9825 – Coping with Grief and Trauma 3 credits
Regardless of the work setting counselors may find themselves in, it is inevitable that some clients will present with difficulties coping with a recent loss or traumatic experience. Particularly in the current political climate, incidences of psychological distress, including PTSD, are being diagnosed more often than before. This course will explore current theories surrounding grief, loss and trauma. Both effective and ineffective coping will be examined from a socio-cultural perspective. Students will be trained in the latest empirically validated interventions to address psychological distress surrounding these issues.
PSY 9826 – Assessment and Treatment of Obesity and Eating Disorders 3 credits
Obesity and eating disorders are two distinct yet overlapping conditions that pose significant physical and mental health burden. This course is designed to introduce students to the basic theory, research, and practice in the area of obesity and eating disorders. Specifically, students will learn about the classification, epidemiology, etiology, assessment, and treatment of these conditions.
PSY 9831 – Mental Health Counseling Internship II 6 credits
This course provides an opportunity for students to have direct experience and interaction with individuals and groups seeking counseling services. Weekly supervision is provided on site, where counseling sessions are held. This course is taken over two semesters with 300 hours per semester at the internship site, each semester, fulfills degree plan requirements for the internship experience.