Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an Emphasis in Childhood and Adolescence Disorders
Overview
Become a Mental Health Counselor for Children
Grand Canyon University’s Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an Emphasis in Childhood and Adolescence Disorders degree program prepares counseling professionals to enter the next level of their healthcare career by developing a specialty in treating children with a wide range of issues. By completing this degree program, you may strengthen your skillset to change the lives of adolescents through the understanding of counseling theories, cultural diversity, psychopharmacology, psychopathology and young individuals at all developmental levels. This program, within the College Humanities and Social Sciences, focuses on identifying, assessing and addressing developmental disorders, problematic child-parent relationships, school life issues and DSM-specified disorders.
Curriculum is designed to follow the academic requirements established by the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners, Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor credential (CCMHC) and National Board for Certified Counselors for the National Certified Counselor credential (NCC).
Degree Outcomes
Train to Counsel Adolescents
Graduates with a masters in clinical mental health counseling degree will possess the training to earn national certification and licensure in Arizona as a licensed counselor. Within this mental healthcare role, licensed counselors may experience occupational growth and the career rewards of serving clients in overcoming disorders, addiction, abuse, trauma or a crisis. This childhood and adolescence disorders program also provides a faith-integrated approach based on a Christian worldview, which highlights the importance of compassionate and ethical care driven by values and integrity.
What You Will Learn
Learn How to Identify and Treat Childhood Disorders
This graduate clinical mental health counseling degree program explores counseling theories, principles and techniques that influence helping processes, so professionals are equipped with the knowledge and tools to promote optimum development and adolescent wellness. Emphasizing the study of childhood and adolescence disorders, you can gain specialized competency in identifying factors affecting childhood development, assessing and diagnosing DSM disorders in adolescents and formulating treatment options. Through practicum and internship courses, you further strengthen your learning with clinical fieldwork experience under expert supervision.
Career Outcomes
Help Change and Improve Lives
By completing this program, you will be able to meet the academic requirements for Arizona licensure and pursue positions as Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC) or Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). The Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an Emphasis in Childhood and Adolescence Disorders degree program leads to an excellent career path where you can meet the demand for qualified, master’s-prepared practitioners who are called to help children find hope and change.
Program DomainsProgram Core Courses
Course Description
This course is designed as an orientation for the graduate learning experience at Grand Canyon University. Students have opportunities to develop and strengthen the skills necessary to succeed as graduate students in counseling. Emphasis is placed on utilizing the tools for graduate success.
Course Description
This course provides a broad understanding of counseling ethics, legal standards, and responsibilities, including professional identity, report writing, record keeping, and service reimbursement for professional and substance use disorder counselors. Also covered are the history of and current trends in counseling. Important goals of this course are to help students develop a strong personal and professional ethic, as well as an appreciation of the value of professional collaboration and identity.
Course Description
This course provides a comprehensive survey of the major counseling theories and principles. Coursework includes the following theories: psychoanalytic, Adlerian, existential psychotherapy, behavioral, cognitive behavioral, person-centered, reality therapy/choice theory, and rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT).
Course Description
This course provides a broad understanding of the stages, processes, and effects of substance use disorders, social and psychological dynamics of substance use disorders, and the professional's role in prevention, intervention, and aftercare, including recovery and relapse prevention. This course explores theories and models of treatment of substance use disorders, drug classification, and assessment. It also continues building foundational knowledge, utilization of professional resources, and exploration of standards to help students prepare for licensure/certification within the counseling industry.
Course Description
This course provides a broad understanding of counseling processes, including characteristics and behaviors that influence the helping processes. Included are age, gender, ethnic differences, verbal and nonverbal behaviors, personal characteristics, and orientations. The development of counseling techniques is emphasized, including establishing and maintaining the counseling relationship; diagnosing and identifying the problem; formulating a preventative, treatment, or rehabilitative plan; facilitating appropriate interventions; and successfully terminating the counseling relationship.
Course Description
This course provides a broad understanding of issues and trends in a multicultural and diverse society. Studies in this area include the following: attitudes and behaviors based on such factors as age, race, religious preference, physical disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity and culture, family patterns, gender, socioeconomic status and intellectual ability; individual, family, group, and community strategies for working with diverse populations; theories of multicultural counseling and identity development; multicultural competencies; and issues such as substance use disorders. Students examine a variety of cultural populations in multiple regions of the United States, exploring issues and trends that are associated with each population. Cultural considerations for immigrants, refugees, and undocumented citizens are also addressed.
Course Description
This course provides a broad understanding of group development, group dynamics, group counseling theories, and ethical standards with reference to professional and substance use disorders counseling. The course addresses group process components, appropriate selection criteria, developmental stage theories, group members’ roles and behaviors; and group leadership styles and approaches. The course includes didactic and experiential group learning. Required synchronous group experience: 12 hours.
Course Description
This course introduces students to the basic principles of psychopharmacology and the effects of psychoactive substances. Students examine the behavioral, psychological, physiological and social effects of psychoactive substance use, and learn to recognize symptoms of intoxication, withdrawal, and toxicity. The class covers various screening options, limitations, legal implications, and the utilization of pharmacotherapy as part of substance addiction treatment.
Course Description
This course is divided into two distinct and separate sections. The first part of the course examines human sexuality and systems of sexual therapy. Psychological, biological, social, and moral perspectives on sexual development and functioning are also examined. The last part of the course provides an understanding of the nature of aging and the elderly. Theories and strategies for facilitating optimum care of the elderly are addressed. Elder abuse, dependent adult abuse, and neglect of the aging and elderly are explored. Sexuality, mental health, physical health, the role of substance use disorders, and family issues are also addressed.
Course Description
This course provides an understanding of the nature, needs, and differing abilities of individuals at all developmental levels. Theories of individual and family development, transitions across the life span, theories of learning, theories of personality development, and ethical and cultural strategies for facilitating optimum development over the life span are addressed.
Course Description
This course provides a broad understanding of the structure and dynamics of the family, which may include assessment and methods of marital and family intervention and counseling.
Course Description
This eight-topic course is divided into three distinct and separate sections. The first three topics examine crisis intervention and trauma counseling; Theories and strategies of trauma counseling and facilitating crisis interventions are also addressed. The second three topics examine spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection, and intervention strategies. The legal and ethical issues, the role of substance use disorders, and children in families where domestic violence and abuse occur are also addressed. The last two topics examine child abuse assessment and reporting. Legal and ethical issues and specific California child abuse assessment and reporting codes are also examined.
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to basic tests and appraisal in counseling. Individual and group approaches to testing, assessment, evaluation, behavioral observations, computer-managed and computer-assisted methods are addressed. The following statistical concepts are also addressed: scales of measurement, measures of central tendency, indices of variability, shapes and types of distributions, correlations, reliability, and validity.
Course Description
This course provides a broad understanding of career development and related life factors including psychotherapy, career counseling techniques and processes, career development theories, decision-making models, issues of diversity, and interrelationships between work and family.
Course Description
This course introduces research methods and basic statistical analysis, including the following: the importance of research, opportunities for research, and difficulties in conducting research. Research methods such as qualitative, quantitative, single-case designs, action research, and outcome-based research are addressed.
Course Description
This course provides a conceptual framework for the use of assessment and diagnostic tools for the development of appropriate treatment interventions for a variety of behavioral health and substance use disorders. Included is an introduction to the use of the diagnostic tools, including the DSM, and the integration of diagnostic and assessment information, in the development of treatment plans.
Course Description
This course introduces the study of mental illnesses and the science of psychopathology. The goal is to provide counseling students a conceptual understanding of psychological and behavioral dysfunction that occurs in mental illnesses. The course includes a survey of major psychiatric disorders and their causes.
Course Description
Students in this course are introduced to a variety of testing instruments used to determine a client's emotional or mental status. Assessment procedures are explored within the context of diagnosis and treatment planning. This course focuses on the administration and interpretation of individual and group standardized tests of mental ability, personality, and measurement.
Course Description
This course provides a broad understanding of the theories related to child and adolescent development. Also covered are the variables that directly impact children and adolescents throughout their personal development. Students gain the knowledge to advance understanding of childhood and adolescent disorders.
Course Description
This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of the developmental disabilities occurring in children and adolescents, as defined in the DSM. Students examine the following disorders and disabilities: specific language and learning disorders, intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, sensory processing, and physiological developmental disorders, while learning assessments and measurements used in diagnosing. Students receive an overview of the neurological and cultural perspectives of developmental disabilities, and the unique needs of the families.
Course Description
This course provides a broad understanding of trauma related issues during childhood and adolescence. Students examine the various types of trauma, including neglect; physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse; family trauma; parental substance use; and domestic violence. Students learn assessment and treatment approaches designed for trauma occurring during childhood and adolescence.
Course Description
This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of common disorders among children and adolescents, as defined in the DSM. Studies in this area include the following: disruptive, impulse control and conduct disorders, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, separation anxiety and selective mutism, trauma and stressor related disorders, PTSD, and adjustment disorders. Students also gain the required knowledge and skills needed for treating these disorders.
Course Description
The practicum course is a distinctly defined, supervised clinical fieldwork experience in which the student develops basic counseling skills and integrates professional knowledge under the supervision of a faculty member or an on-site clinical site supervisor approved by the college or university with a minimum of 1 hour per week of individualized and/or triadic supervision throughout the practicum. Practicum students participate in an average of 1 ½ hours per week of group supervision with a counseling faculty member or student supervisor who is under the supervision of a counselor education program faculty member on a regular schedule throughout the practicum. Documentation of a minimum requirement of 100 hours of counseling-related activities, which includes 40 direct client contact hours, is submitted to Typhon and monitored by the Office of Field Experience. The practicum is completed prior to the internship; therefore, students may not progress to CNL-664A without the required amount of hours submitted to Typhon, the required amount of individual and group supervision, and proper approval. This course has multiple synchronous required activities. Students must be prepared to be flexible in meeting the demands of this course in order to progress to the internship. Practicum/field experience hours: 100. State licensure requirements may mandate additional hours. Students must review and adhere to their state board's additional requirements. Prerequisites: Completion of all didactic coursework in the program; a GPA of 3.0 or better; and maintenance of student professional liability insurance in the amount of $1 million, $3 million.
Course Description
The internship course is a distinctly defined, supervised clinical experience in which the student refines and enhances basic counseling and student development of knowledge and skills, and integrates and authenticates professional knowledge and skills related to program objectives. The internship is performed under the supervision of an on-site clinical site supervisor approved by the college or university with an average of 1 hour per week of individualized and/or triadic supervision throughout the internship. Internship students participate in a minimum of 1 ½ hours per week of group supervision with a counseling faculty member or student supervisor who is under the supervision of a counselor education program faculty member on a regular schedule throughout the internship. Documentation of 300 hours of counseling-related activities, which includes a required minimum of 120 direct client contact hours, is submitted directly to the college’s Office of Field Experience for verification and tracking. Internship hours: A minimum of 300 total hours of which 120 is total direct hours. Students must successfully complete CNL-624 before progressing to the internship. This course has multiple synchronous required activities. Students must be prepared to be flexible in meeting the demands of this course in order to meet the internship requirements. Practicum/field experience hours: 300. State licensure requirements may mandate additional hours. Students must review and adhere to their state board's additional requirements. Prerequisites: CNL-624; a GPA of 3.0 or better; maintenance of student professional liability insurance in the amount of $1 million, $3 million; and college approval.
Course Description
The internship course is a distinctly defined, supervised clinical experience in which the student refines and enhances basic counseling and student development of knowledge and skills, and integrates and authenticates professional knowledge and skills related to program objectives. The internship is performed under the supervision of an on-site clinical site supervisor approved by the college or university with an average of 1 hour per week of individualized and/or triadic supervision throughout the internship. Internship students participate in a minimum of 1 ½ hours per week of group supervision with a counseling faculty member or student supervisor who is under the supervision of a counselor education program faculty member on a regular schedule throughout the internship. Documentation of 300 hours of counseling-related activities, which includes a required minimum of 120 direct client contact hours, is submitted directly to the college’s Office of Field Experience for verification and tracking. This course has multiple synchronous required activities. Students must be prepared to be flexible in meeting the demands of this course in order to meet the internship requirements. Practicum/field experience hours: 300. State licensure requirements may mandate additional hours. Students must review and adhere to their state board's additional requirements. Prerequisites: CNL-664A; a GPA of 3.0 or better; maintenance of student professional liability insurance in the amount of $1 million, $3 million; and college approval.
Online
Evening
* Please note that this list may contain programs that are not presently offered as program availability may vary depending on class size, enrollment and other contributing factors. If you are interested in a program listed herein please first contact your University Counselor for the most current information regarding availability of the program.
* The Department of Education defines how an institution must calculate a program's On-Time Completion rate for federal disclosure purposes. The On-Time Completion rate is based on a program's published required number of months to complete all degree requirements as provided in the institution's catalog. Completion statistics are updated every January and are based on the cohort of students who started the program in the same year and then graduated within the published program length.
Online and Evening program disclosures (55 months)* Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Program subject to change.