College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Frequently Asked Questions

The Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling prepares students to become licensed mental health counselors (LMHC) in the state of Washington as well as in other capacities. LMHCs can provide face-to-face mental health counseling and are qualified to diagnose mental health disorders. LMHCs are likely to work in private practice or in community health agencies. They can work with individuals, groups, couples, families, and all ages.

Licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT) are trained to work with a range of client issues related to relationships. Typically, the work they do has to be related to an issue of relationship—i.e. marriage, children, co-workers, etc.

A school counselor will have specific training to provide services and testing in schools and only schools.

Licensed mental health counselors (LMHC) or licensed professional counselors (LPC) tend to have the most flexibility with the types of issues with which they work. While there is a wide range of possibilities for LMHCs and LPCs, the actual work they do, or niche, is determined by the clinical training and specific program a person attends. LMHCs and LPCs can work with school-aged children but will not work in the school setting. They can work with individuals, groups, couples, families, and others.

It takes two years (six semesters) of full-time enrollment to complete the program across three annual terms (fall, spring, and summer semesters). For information about the courses and when they are offered, see the Course Sequence and Descriptions document.

See the Admissions Requirements page.

Yes, we encourage you to apply for the program even if you do not have a BA in Psychology or previous experience in the field. Our students’ ages have ranged from 22 to 66. Many of our applicants have worked in different fields and now want to make a career change later in life. Our cohorts are very diverse, and we welcome your unique experiences and perspective.

Current costs for the MA in CMHC program can be found on our graduate costs page.

Yes, each semester the students should expect to pay about $200 in fees.

Yes, we have a financial services team who can provide financial information specific to this program as well as resources for financial aid. You may contact them by email at financialservices@northwestu.edu or by phone at 425-889-5210.

We teach in a cohort format, which means all the students go through the program together at the same pace. This is often something that our current students as well as our alumni state as their favorite aspect of the program. Students build trust, become a support system for each other, and often form lifelong friendships. Many network well beyond graduation, and some have even started a joint private practice together.

The group interview is a chance for faculty to meet the applicants and get to know them more. You can read about it on our blog.

Please contact Daniela Steinkamp at daniela.steinkamp@northwestu.edu with additional questions.

Apply by January 31 for an acceptance decision in March. Apply by April 1 for an acceptance decision in May.

Transcripts may be sent electronically to admissions@northwestu.edu or mailed to:

Northwest University
P.O. Box 579
Kirkland, WA 98083-0579

This program starts once a year in early September.

Students may transfer up to six credit hours of eligible graduate-level coursework, with prior approval from the program director.

After graduating with an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, students must complete 3,000 hours under supervision and pass a state exam before they can obtain licensure to be a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Washington. Alumni of our programs may begin working in their own private practice or in another professional setting while acquiring the 3,000 hours of supervision.

Additional information may be found via the American Counseling Association (ACA) (www.counseling.org) and its divisions, the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) (www.nbcc.org), and Chi Sigma Iota (CSI) (www.csi-net.org). The Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and available online (www.bls.gov/ooh) is an excellent resource providing information and statistics pertaining to the counseling profession.

The online program is designed to take three years, and the on-campus program takes two years. The internship occurs during the third year of the online program and during the second year of the on-campus program. Both prepare you for licensure in the state of Washington and both teach the same courses.

This varies greatly as students read and complete their assignments at different paces. However, students should expect to devote 10 to 20 hours a week. Please note that the first year has more credits per semester (12 credits each), whereas during the second year students only need to complete eight credits each semester.

Since we teach at a cohort format and courses are built to be taken sequentially, it is not possible for students to alter the pace of the program. However, we do allow our campus students to complete their internship hours during a third year.

The program is designed to meet Washington state standards for mental health counselors. For other states, please see our Licensure by State.

We serve a diverse age range. Some of our students enroll in our program right after completing their bachelor’s degree. Others return to school after some time developing their careers or starting families. We also have students who join us as they are about to retire. Here is a breakdown of the age categories of NU’s 476 graduate students enrolled in 2023.

Practicum is a distinctly defined clinical training experience in which students develop and practice basic counseling skills under the supervision of a qualified supervisor. Practicum is the first of two clinical training experiences. Practicum is one semester long and must be completed before the internship, typically during the summer semester of the first year. The practicum requirement is to log 100 hours. Some students also complete their internship at the same site as the practicum.

Like practicum, the internship is a clinical training experience performed under the guidance of a qualified supervisor but requires more hours of experience over two semesters. The internship occurs during the second year of the program and includes 600 clinical hours.

The clinical director works very closely with each student to help them find a site. Additionally, the second-year students will host an internship fair for the first-year students during the first semester. This will give the first-year students an overview of all the various sites available. While it is the student’s responsibility to apply to a site, interview, and be accepted, the CMHC staff and faculty are available to guide and support the student during this process.

See the CMHC Clinical Training page for more information.

See the CMHC Clinical Training page.