Online Mental Health Counseling Courses

This course addresses professional practice issues in mental health counseling. It includes history, identity, roles, and trends affecting the field and practice of mental health counseling.

An introduction to developmental theory, developmental characteristics over the lifespan, and developmental assessment for counselors-in-training. Issues in today’s PK-12 schools will be viewed with a developmental focus.

Provides orientation to the etiology, prevalence, symptoms, and basic treatment approaches of the major DSM-5 categories of psychopathology. Instruction will enable students to distinguish between abnormal and normal behavior by recognizing and classifying signs, symptoms, behaviors, and thoughts associated of major syndromes of psychopathology. Course will cover most major diagnostic areas including (but not limited to) Depressive, Anxiety, Psychotic-related, Trauma-related, Substance Use, Childhood, and other Disorders. For the purpose of identifying effects and side-effects of prescribed psychotropic medications, the basic classifications, indications, and contradictions of commonly prescribed psychopharmacological medications are surveyed.

This course is designed to help students develop multicultural and advocacy competencies for working with people of diverse groups on society. Students will have opportunities to develop awareness of their own cultural values and biases, to study prevalent beliefs and attitudes of different cultures, and to develop skills useful for appropriate interactions with particular groups.

A study of basic counseling theories and techniques, followed by application of those techniques to real and role-playing experiences.

This course provides an intensive study/analysis of selected counseling cases to enhance assessment competencies in case description, problem appraisal, assessment, diagnostic classification, intervention strategies as well as case consultation and presentation skills. Emphasis is given to the principles and practices that relate to psychopathy, psychopharmacology, DSM diagnosis, etiology and assessment, systematic treatment planning, interviewing, and short- and long-term interventions.

Studies that provide an understanding of career development, assessment and related life factors.

Studies that provide an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation of all learners.

This course examines various theories of counseling, principles and techniques of counseling and its application to professional counseling settings. The course will provide students the competence to select the form of counseling approach that will be most effective and appropriate for the client’s worldview. Prerequisites: ED572.

A study of group interactions, occasions for group counseling, and techniques of group counseling.

Approaches to preparing for, preventing, responding to, and assessing traumatic events and crises at the individual, group, and systemic levels.

A variety of supervised counseling experiences within the classroom and in the field. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Introductory studies of addiction, including etiology, biopsychosocial factors, impacts, diagnosis, and common approaches to treatment.

This course continues the examination of theories of counseling, principles and techniques of counseling and its application to professional counseling settings begun in ED 672. The course will provide students the competence to select the form of counseling approach that will be most effective and appropriate for the client’s worldview. Prerequisites: ED572, ED672.

This class will provide an overview of community agency counseling, the role of the counselor in communities, prevention, outreach, systemic issues, multicultural issues in community agency counseling, advocacy and social change, and service deliver programs. The course will also focus on the application of community counseling theories and problem solving within the community and agency setting.

Three hundred clock hours of on-the-job experience in all aspects of counseling and guidance with a qualified supervisor. Prerequisites: Counseling practicum and permission of the instructor. Repeatable for credit for up to six hours.

This course explores neurocounseling and psychopharmacological principles in counseling, focusing on the psycho-neurological roots of mental disorders, brain-based treatment techniques, and psychopharmacological treatment options. Emphasis is placed on applied learning to help counselors stay within their scope of practice while deepening the understanding of the brain, medications, and client-centered holistic care.

Advanced studies of addiction, including societal factors, advocacy, systemic change, and specialized approaches to treatment.

This course will emphasize critical review of research in the counseling field. There will be a specific focus on the research process, including problem identification, data gathering, and organization and presentation of a research project.