Program Overview

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MA in Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral Medicine Program

The Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral Medicine is a CACREP-accredited program designed to meet the requirements for independent licensure in clinical mental health counseling in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and other states across the nation. The primary objective of the program is to prepare students for careers in clinical mental health counseling and to provide them with a complementary background in behavioral medicine, health psychology, and neuroscience.

Program Description

The Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral Medicine Program is a two-year, full-time Master of Arts program. Our graduates provide direct clinical and mental health counseling services to clients across a wide range of medical, mental health, and independent practice settings.

Mission

The mission of the Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral Medicine (MHCBM) master’s degree program at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine is to provide exceptional academic and clinical fieldwork experiences that emphasize the core competencies of clinical mental health counseling with complementary training in behavioral medicine, health psychology, and neuroscience.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Experiences

The program requires that students gain direct experiences in clinical mental health counseling and receive close supervision and support throughout their training. We have training relationships with more than 100 agencies across greater Boston, which provide a wealth of opportunities in which students can develop and refine their counseling skills, in accordance with their interests, and students complete approximately 1,000 hours of supervised clinical experience over the course of their two years of study.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of the MHCBM Program, students are able to:

• Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that uniquely embody clinical mental health counselors.
• Collaborate with persons of varied backgrounds, identities, and experiences as part of a vibrant learning environment that reflects the diverse communities in which they will be working.
• Establish that they possess the requisite knowledge to become licensed to practice as mental health counselors within the healthcare workforce.

Program Requirements

Candidates are required to complete a minimum of 60 unit hours of coursework, as well as fieldwork experience, which constitute our clinical practicum and internship. Students can expect to complete the program in two academic years as full-time students. We accept students only for a September start. In addition to required courses, described below, students choose a minimum of two electives from those available in our program.

Capstone Project

All students are required to complete a capstone project during the last term of their internship training. The purpose of the capstone project is to provide an opportunity for the student to demonstrate, and the program to evaluate, the integration of learning and experience gained throughout the student’s participation in the MHCBM program.

Curriculum

The emphasis of our program is on preparing students to provide effective and ethical clinical treatment for a variety of populations, disorders, and settings. Coursework is designed to augment on-site clinical experience and to prepare students for their work, as well as to promote insight of students’ relative strengths and weaknesses, values, areas of interest, and identification of roles and opportunities for clinical mental health counselors. A skills-based focus characterizes all our courses.

Year 1 (Fall Term)

• GMS MH 703 Counseling Techniques (3 units)
• GMS MH 705 Psychopathology (3 units)
• GMS MH 707 Research and Evaluation (3 units)
• GMS MH 710 Basic Mental Health Assessment (3 units)
• GMS MH 715 Professional Orientation and Ethics (3 units)
• GMS MH 717 Theory and Practice of Child and Adolescent Counseling (elective, 3 units)
• GMS MH 814 Clinical Field Research Seminar (elective, 3 units; dependent on availability)

Total term hours: 18 units

Year 1 (Spring Term)

• GMS MH 701 Counseling Theory (3 units)
• GMS MH 704 Group Work Dynamics and Process (3 units)
• GMS MH 706 Social and Cultural Foundations (3 units)
• GMS MH 709 Neuroscience for Mental Health Professionals (3 units)
• GMS MH 810 Psychopharmacology (3 units)
• GMS MH 902 Practicum Supervision (3 units)
• GMS MH 814 Clinical Field Research Seminar (elective, 3 units; dependent on availability)

Total term hours: 15–18 units

Year 1 (Summer Session I)

A minimum of two academic courses are offered during Summer Session I each year. Specific courses vary from year to year, depending on students’ interests. Summer courses are optional in our program. Most students who elect to take summer courses take both of the courses that we offer. Students may also elect to complete their Practicum training during the summer rather than spring.

Total term hours: 3–6 units

Year 2 (Fall Term)

• GMS MH 708 Human Growth and Development (3 units)
• GMS MH 714* Behavioral Medicine & Applied Health Psychology (3 units)
• GMS MH 718 Psychological Trauma Across the Lifespan (elective, 3 units)
• GMS MH 812 Addictions (3 units)
• GMS MH 921 Internship Supervision (3 units)

*This course is offered online and in person.

Total term hours: 15 units

Year 2 (Spring Term)

• GMS MH 803 Advanced Ethics & Ethical Decision-Making (3 units)
• GMS MH 712 Marriage and Family Counseling (elective, 3 units)
• GMS MH 713 Human Sexuality (elective, 3 units)
• GMS MH 716 Career & Vocational Counseling (3 units)
• GMS MH 922 Internship Supervision (3 units)

Total term hours: 12–15 units

Practicum and Internship Requirements

• GMS MH 902 Practicum Supervision (3 units)
• GMS MH 921 Internship Supervision (3 units)
• GMS MH 922 Internship Supervision (3 units)

Practicum and internship training is provided in a wide variety of sites, including Boston Medical Center and programs throughout the greater Boston area. Some of the presenting issues for which our students provide care include:

• Child, Adolescent, Adult & Geriatric Populations
• Emotional, Behavioral, & Developmental Disorders
• Severe & Chronic Mental Illness
• Acute/Crisis Intervention
• Trauma Recovery
• Dual Diagnosis
• Substance Abuse Recovery
• Psychiatric Sequelae of Medical Conditions
• Mood Disorders
• Personality Disorders
• Autism Spectrum Disorders and ADHD
• Oppositional and Conduct Disorder
• Forensic Psychiatry
• Psychotic Disorders
• Domestic/Interpersonal/Community Violence and Rape Crisis

Clinical training sites also differ by the nature of the site including severity of mental health issues and populations served. Examples include:

• Inpatient Psychiatry
• Hospital Settings
• Community-Based Outpatient Behavioral Health
• Integrated Healthcare Settings
• Addiction and Recovery Services
• Residential Treatment for Children and Adolescents
• Home-Based Services
• Partial Hospitalization Programs
• Elementary, Middle, and High School Settings
• College Counseling Centers
• Eating Disorder Settings
• Trauma Services (acute and ongoing)
• Prison Settings

Students in the program are trained in a variety of modalities of treatment based on their interests and the settings they conduct their clinical training. Some examples include:

• Crisis counseling
• Individual counseling
• Group counseling
• Family therapy

Accreditation

Boston University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).