You’re the one
who wants to help people directly – one-on-one or in pairs or small groups – with the struggles, anxieties and issues of their lives, and give them the tools to reach their personal goals.
You might be studying
- psychology
- social work
- teacher education
- Bible and religion
- business
This certificate is an excellent addition to any of these majors, meant to equip you for a career in
- clinical counseling
- community psychology
- school psychology
- pastoral counseling
or
- successful entry into master’s and Ph.D. programs in counseling and psychology
This program is highly focused, with only five essential courses and fairly equal parts theory and practice.
Want to talk more with faculty and current students? Schedule a campus visit.
As part of this program, you will have the opportunity to apply what you have learned in the classroom to a real-world helping profession setting. You will work with your professor to develop a placement that matches your personal interests, such as mental health, developmental disabilities, youth and family services or substance abuse.
In recent years, students in this certificate program have held internships at
- Prairie View Mental Health Services, Newton
- United Methodist Youthville, Newton
- ResCare, Newton
- Mirror, Inc. (substance abuse treatment services), Newton
- Big Brothers Big Sisters Special Needs
The Clinical and Counseling Studies certificate improves your possibilities of obtaining relevant work after graduation (e.g., mental health technician or case management). The coursework also prepares you to continue in graduate programs in the helping professions.
Post-graduate careers include:
- Professional counseling
- Mental health workers
- Psychiatric research associates
Notable Alumni
- Michael Klein – ’03
- Michael is able to use his career counseling degree every day as an optometrist who must find the most effective way to communicate both good and bad news to his patients and their families.
- Sheena Walter – ’06
- Sheena entered the master’s program in professional counseling at Argosy University.
- Jennifer Ankney-Gundy – ’06
- Jennifer became a mental health worker with plans to go to graduate school in clinical psychology.
- Requirements for a Clinical and Counseling Studies Certificate:
- 16–17 hours, including a 2-credit-hour supervised practical experience.
The courses making up this certificate program are both independent and interrelated. This allows you to appreciate the essentials of clinical and counseling work, while also highlighting the differences in the various disciplines represented in each of the courses. This program can enhance or strengthen a helping professions-oriented course of study.