The Mental Health Counseling Master's Program at the University of Tennessee
Statement of Purpose
In the Mental Health Counseling Program at UT, we aim to make the world a better place for those in need through educating excellent counselor-leader-scholars for clinical mental health settings.
Statement of Expectations
From the UT Mental Health Counseling Program (MHCP) you should expect:
- High standards, experiential learning, and self-development for practical application
- Faculty interests and passions across a wide range of counselor work settings and client concerns
- Special expertise for counseling at-risk children, youth and families
- Specialized course work and internship opportunities in play therapy.
Degree
Master of Science (MS) in Counseling with Concentration in Mental Health Counseling
Primary Program Information Links
Mission Statement and Overview
The focus of the Mental Health Counseling Program is the preparation of excellent counselors and scholars to serve in agencies providing counseling to adolescents, children, and adults (such as programs serving at-risk children, youth and families; mental health treatment centers; residential treatment centers, drug and alcohol treatment programs; hospitals; private practices; detention centers; and mental health counseling programs in schools). Our graduates are self-aware counselors and scholars whose life-long learning continually informs their practice and development.
The Mental Health Counseling Program at the University of Tennessee is a 60-credit hour program, accredited by the Counsel for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The program of study includes at least 1000 hours of closely supervised practicum and internship counseling experiences in clinical settings. Each student’s program is customized to support individual goals as well as to provide a common core of counselor preparation. Graduates of the program will have completed the educational and graduate clinical preparation requirements qualifying them to apply for the National Counselors Exam (this is the exam for National Counselor Certification and for licensure in Tennessee and many other states). Graduates of the program will also have completed the educational and graduate clinical preparation requirements for licensure as a professional counselor with mental health service provider designation (LPC-MHSP) in Tennessee. Our CACREP accreditation helps ensure the portability of the degree. For example, the counselor licensure requirements of many states match the CACREP standards for Mental Health Counseling Programs.
The faculty provides a rigorous, experiential, practical educational experience, aimed at maximizing the professional and personal-development of our graduates. It is important that our graduate students learn and develop in a challenging and supportive learning community.
Goals
The goal of the Mental Health Counseling Program is the preparation of graduates as:
- Strong, effective, self-aware counselors
- Persons ready to develop deeply healing therapeutic relationships
- Professionals well-skilled in the full range of task areas needed from mental health counselors
- Scholars with a solid background of understanding and a personal and professional curiosity to guide their life-long study of counseling, mental health, and human development
- Persons and professionals ready to thrive in and embrace the increasingly diverse world in which we all live and work.
Additional Program Information Links
Updated 04/05/2012
Contact Person for Mental Health Counseling Application Questions
Program Administrative Assistant Joy DuVoisin
865-974-1319
JDuv@utk.edu
535 Jane & David Bailey Educational Complex
1122 Volunteer Blvd
Knoxville, TN 37996-3452
Contact Person for Program Information
Jeff L. Cochran, Ph.D., NCC, LMHC
Program Coordinator
865-974-4178
Jcochr11@utk.edu
Contact EPC
535 Jane & David Bailey Education Complex
1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-3452
Phone: 865-974-8145
Fax: 865-974-0135