College of Social Sciences
Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical
Mental Health Counseling
The Master of Science in Counseling degree program with a
specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling provides the
required knowledge and skills for students to become competent
and ethical practitioners. The MSC/CCMH specialization provides
a needed service to the community through collaboration with
agencies and institutions by offering counselor education
programs. Students are involved in a variety of educational and
clinical activities that prepare them to help clients to achieve their
potential. The program encompasses foundations of counseling
and guidance including theories and their application with groups
and individuals; assessment and evaluation; counseling and
consultative relationships; career planning; research methods;
and program development, implementation, and evaluation. The
program addresses critical issues facing mental health
counselors and offers supervised clinical experiences.
In order to practice as a counselor in most states, the student
must be licensed as an LPC (licensed professional counselor),
MFT (marriage and family therapist), or other comparable state
professional license designation. License requirements vary by
state. It is the student’s responsibility to ascertain and meet
licensure requirements in any state in which the student desires
to practice.
MSC/CCMH 01AZ Requirements
The Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical Mental Health
Counseling requires a minimum of 60 credits, which may come
from a combination of required and elective courses.
CNSL502 Graduate Portfolio I
Portfolio I is an admission readiness assessment which samples
and evaluates the student's cognitive, affective, and behavioral
skills in critical areas of the counselor education process. It is a
six-workshop, 24-hour, noncredit assessment that helps
determine student appropriateness for the program and gives the
potential student the opportunity to evaluate his or her aptitude
for the counseling program. Portfolio I must be passed before a
student may be admitted to any graduate counseling program in
the College of Social Sciences. (0 credits)
CCMH504 Individual And Family Development Across The Life
Span
This course presents students with theoretical frameworks to
foster an understanding of the various dimensions of human
development. Emphasis is placed on biological, cognitive, and
psychosocial development within the context of gender, family
systems, social roles, and culture. Students evaluate clinical
situations and assess potential therapeutic interventions in
context. (3 credits)
CCMH506 Personality Theories And Counseling Models
This course enables students to differentiate among the primary
theoretical models of personality theory and counseling practice,
including psychodynamic, affective, cognitive behavioral,
humanistic, interpersonal, multicultural, and systems theory. A
focus on evidence-based practices that incorporate cultural
diversity issues with population-specific approaches is significant
feature of this course. Emphasis is on the importance of students
recognizing belief systems that accurately reflect their own
personal style and to recognize strategies and approaches likely
to be most successful with a particular client population. Students
have opportunities to establish a strong theoretical foundation as
the basis of clinical practice and to evaluate and assess clinical
situations for implementation of therapeutic interventions that are
gender and culturally appropriate. Assessment and intervention
for emergency/crisis is introduced. (3 credits)
CCMH515 Legal, Ethical, And Professional Issues In Counseling
This course covers the legal and ethical responsibilities of the
counseling professional. Students learn to interpret and act upon
situations appropriately and effectively. Content includes issues
such as client rights, confidentiality, duty to warn and protect,
dual relationships, supervision and consulting, ethics with special
populations, and ethical decision-making models. (3 credits)
CCMH525 Research Methods For Mental Health Counselors
This course provides an overview of the fundamentals of
research and evaluation in the counseling profession. Topics
include critical analysis of research literature, statistical analysis,
qualitative and quantitative research methods, needs
assessment, and program evaluation. Emphasis is placed on
understanding connections between research design, theories,
and the utilization of results in the professional practice of
counseling. (3 credits)
CCMH535 Psychometrics
The focus of this course is on tests used in counseling and test
reports, with an emphasis on learning how to integrate testing as
an additional tool in counseling. Tests most commonly
encountered in the counseling field are identified and reviewed,
and the following components are discussed: psychometric
properties of tests, test selection criteria, administration,
interpretation, and reporting of test results. (3 credits)
For more information about this program, including important consumer disclosures, please visit
http://www.phoenix.edu/content/altcloud/en/programs/ge/default/msc-ccmh.html.
Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program Summary | 1
MSC-CCMH-V01AZ
Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical Mental Health Counseling
CCMH520 Biological Basis Of Behavior/physiological Issues
This course examines the biological foundations of human
functioning in relationship to cognition, emotions and mental
health. It includes an overview of neuro-anatomy, biochemistry,
and main effects and side effects of prescription psychotropic
medication. The goal of the course is to learn how the underlying
biological aspects of human functioning affect processes of
adjustment and well-being relevant to client populations. There is
special attention given to issues pertaining to those who are
taking psychotropic medication and the need to monitor them for
side effects and contraindications. Ethics and methods of working
with medical personnel are included. (3 credits)
CCMH544 Introduction To Clinical Assessment
This course introduces students to models and tools of
assessment and diagnosis for the purpose of developing
competency in evaluation and treatment planning for professional
counseling practice. Students learn about and practice intake
assessment techniques, mental status examinations, using the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, outcomebased treatment planning, and behavioral analysis. Emphasis is
placed on writing clear, accurate, and useful assessments and
treatment plans. Multicultural and ethical issues in assessment
are also explored.
(3 credits)
CCMH548 Psychopathology: Advanced Clinical Assessment
Students build on the skills gained in CCMH/544 Introduction to
Clinical Assessment, focusing on the more complex or
problematic disorders with particular focus on personality
disorders. Students enhance their skills by using the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders® for report-writing and
treatment plan development. Emphasis is on accepted treatment
approaches and outcome based assessments; the development
of critical thinking skills; and on multicultural, legal, and ethical
issues. (3 credits)
CCMH551 Individual Counseling
This course focuses on intensive skill building in individual
counseling. The relationship between assessment, theory,
application of strategy and intervention, setting goals with clients,
closure, and referral are emphasized as essential to the
counseling environment. Emphasis is also placed on treatment
plans, ethics, and cultural diversity. (3 credits)
Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program Summary | 2
CNSL556 Portfolio II
Professional Counseling Assessment Portfolio II helps students
integrate and evaluate their learning in the Master of Counseling
program at midpoint. Like an assessment center, Portfolio II
provides an integrative experience requiring the student to bring
together all of what he or she has learned in previous courses in
the program and to demonstrate how that learning has been
applied both personally and professionally. (0 credits)
CCMH510 Multi-cultural Issues In Mental Health Counseling
This course is designed to be a foundation for understanding
diversity among clients in a pluralistic society. Emphasis will be
on integrating awareness, knowledge, and skills related to
counseling differences and similarities based on age, race,
ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliations, gender
identification, sexual orientation, physical/mental limitations,
social class, etc. (3 credits)
CCMH568 Group Counseling
This course provides students with intensive knowledge,
awareness, and skill-building in group counseling. Content
emphasizes such areas as different types of groups, dynamics,
norms and boundaries, leadership styles, leading and co-leading,
and treatment plans. Confidentiality, selection procedures, ethics,
and diversity are included as key components of effective group
counseling practice.
(3 credits)
CCMH565 Family, Couple, And Child Counseling
This course is an overview of models in the intervention and
treatment of children, adolescents, and families. Students
contrast fundamental assumptions of systems theory with
intrapsychic theories, address integrative approaches to
assessment and diagnosis in family therapy, and explore
systemic approaches for the treatment of issues common to
families and children in clinical settings.
(3 credits)
CCMH561 Dependency And Addictions
This course addresses addiction concepts and counseling
practices. Topics include an overview of dependency theories,
major substances of abuse, assessment, diagnosis, treatment
modalities, special topics, and working with diverse populations.
(3 credits)
MSC-CCMH-V01AZ
Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical Mental Health Counseling
CCMH540 Career And Vocational Counseling
This course provides the student with a comprehensive overview
of vocational theory and career counseling. It includes the
historical foundations of vocational theory and the relationship of
these to skills and techniques utilized in career counseling and
vocational development practices. Vocational and career
counseling is examined as an integral component of the overall
assessment and treatment of clients representing diverse
populations found within the scope of community, mental health,
and marriage and family counseling. Emphasis is placed on the
examination of adults in transition and the nature of work in a
changing world. Students develop competencies necessary to
provide career and vocational counseling to clients across the
lifespan. (3 credits)
CCMH592O Orient To Practicum In Clinical Mental Health
Counseling
This course is an orientation to the practicum and internship.
(0 credits)
MFCC566 Advanced Marriage And Family Therapy
This course requires students to apply marriage and family
theory and skills acquired throughout the program and allows
them to gain a deeper understanding of working with diverse
families. Students will go through the process, from intake to
termination, of working with a family in a role-play setting
incorporating practical applications of assessment, treatment
planning, therapeutic interventions, progress notes, and
termination summaries. Family interventions will be emphasized,
including interventions for families in acute and chronic crisis,
and for various ethnic family systems. (3 credits)
CCMH578 Seminar Clinical Mental Health
This course integrates mental health foundations with historical,
philosophical and contextual dimensions of clinical mental health
counseling practice, and reviews the trends in both the
knowledge and skills necessary to practice clinical mental health
counseling. Additionally, this course explores current national
and local issues relevant to the practice of mental health
counseling. Community resources and professional networks are
explored as a means of demonstrating the integration of the
profession in a social context. Issues surrounding the need for
ongoing professional identity development, including membership
in professional organizations, are examined as a strategy for
counselor involvement in advocacy processes. Students will
investigate professional roles, functions, and relationships with
other human services providers. Additionally, application of
counseling models for diverse needs and settings, including crisis
and trauma, are investigated in-depth. (3 credits)
CCMH581 Supervision/management In Clinical Mental Health
Counseling
This course is an overview of supervision and management as
they relate to the practice of counseling. Models of supervision
and counselor development, supervision and management
processes, assessment and evaluation issues, and ethical and
legal aspects of supervision are emphasized. Students explore
their skills in management, supervision, and consultation,
particularly as they relate to recent changes in the mental health
care delivery system. (3 credits)
CCMH592 Practicum In Clinical Mental Health Counseling
This course focuses on the assessment and continuing
development of student counseling skills. Students have a variety
of opportunities to receive feedback and to evaluate their ability
to integrate theory into practice. Students determine their styles
and strengths as professional counseling practitioners, as well as
identify areas needing further development. Individualized
practice sessions and feedback are designed into the course.
(3 credits)
CCMH597A Internship A
Counseling Internship is a 600-hour clinical experience (900
hours in Utah) required of all MSC students. Depending on the
campus, the internship is divided into either 200 or 300 hour
sections, each lasting 15 weeks. Those campuses that offer
CCMH 597 A, B, and C require students to complete 200 hours
for each course (except Utah which requires 300 hours each),
while those campuses that offer only CCMH 597 A and B require
the student to complete 300 hours for each course. Please check
with your Campus College Chair for any clarification or questions
you have. The internship experience comprises Portfolio III of the
counseling portfolio series. Students are placed in community
counseling agencies where they provide clinical services to
clients under the direction of an approved licensed agency site
supervisor. Students are also assisted in their preparation for the
National Counselor Examination.
(3 credits)
Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program Summary | 3
MSC-CCMH-V01AZ
Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical Mental Health Counseling
CCMH597B Internship B
Counseling Internship is a 600-hour clinical experience (900
hours in Utah) required of all MSC students. Depending on the
campus, the internship is divided into either 200 or 300 hour
sections, each lasting 15 weeks. Those campuses that offer
CCMH 597 A, B, and C require students to complete 200 hours
for each course (except Utah which requires 300 hours each),
while those campuses that offer only CCMH 597 A and B require
the student to complete 300 hours for each course. Please check
with your Campus College Chair for any clarification or questions
you have. The internship experience comprises Portfolio III of the
counseling portfolio series. Students are placed in community
counseling agencies where they provide clinical services to
clients under the direction of an approved licensed agency site
supervisor. Students are also assisted in their preparation for the
National Counselor Examination. (3 credits)
University of Phoenix is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (http://hlcommission.org). For more information about University of Phoenix accreditations and licensures, please visit
http://www.phoenix.edu/about_us/accreditation.html.
Please note: A typical schedule, including progression and title of courses, may vary by location and modality. Please contact an Enrollment Representative for more information.
In order to practice as a counselor in any state, you must be licensed as an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor), MFT (Marriage and Family Therapist), or other comparable state license designation.
License requirements may vary. It is your responsibility to ascertain and meet licensure requirements in any state in which you desire to practice. Current students may not be licensed, however, site
supervisors are.
The Master of Science in Counseling program in Community Counseling (Phoenix and Tucson campuses) and the Master of Science in Counseling program in Mental Health Counseling (Utah campuses)
are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; cacrep.org).
Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program Summary | 4
MSC-CCMH-V01AZ