Fairfield University’s Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree is a Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited 60 credit hour program which offers counseling courses under the guidance of faculty members who are nationally recognized in the field. The program fulfills the 60 credit hour requirements for licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Connecticut. We also offer a Sixth Year Certificate of Advanced Study (SYC) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. The SYC is a 30-credit hour degree designed for students with a master's degree in a counseling field seeking to be licensed as a Professional Counselor in Connecticut.
What is Professional Counseling?
Counseling is a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals (American Counseling Association, 20/20 Consensus Definition of Counseling). This degree is unique in the mental health marketplace in that the emphasis is on the helping relationship and the client's ability to heal promoted through a mental wellness perspective.
How are Professional Counselors Trained?
Professional Counseling framework is based on culturally relevant, normal life span development with a focus on wellness to empower individuals to reach their potential. Within this perspective, licensed professional counselors are trained to build authentic, therapeutic relationships, to empower clients through identification of strengths, and to provide appropriate diagnoses when necessary to facilitate client development. Professional Counselors incorporate work and personal client goals into treatment planning.
The Fairfield University Clinical Mental Health Counseling program training centers on the nationally recognized nine core areas of knowledge and skills:
In addition to these basic training, we offer courses on Trauma and Crisis Intervention and Addiction required for Connecticut Licensed Professional Counselors as well as Grief and Loss, Spirituality and Wellness, Co-Occuring Disorders and other specialized courses.
Where do Professional Counselors Work?
Our students are provided with an excellent educational foundation that leads to licensure (i.e., LPC) and work in counseling settings including mental health agencies, college counseling centers, hospitals, and private practice. The LPC license is a broad license that facilitates providing counseling services to individual groups, couples, and families. Further, Professional Counselors are the only mental health providers trained in career counseling.
Application deadlines for the Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling programs are October 1 and January 15.
Fall admission in-person interviews will be held during the 3rd week of February on Thursday and /or Friday
Spring admission in-person interviews will be held during the 3rd week of October on Thursday and/or Friday
You are required to attend an in-person interview on one of these two days as part of the application process for admission.
We are extremely proud of our student body in the Counselor Education Department. They are dedicated and consistently achieve at the very highest levels. Our graduates:
View the Counselor Education Department Fairfield University Program Outcomes Report (PDF) for the Academic Year End Report 2023-2024.
