Skip Navigation
Request Info Apply Now Give to NU
Northwest University Logo
    • Undergraduate
    • Graduate
    • Online
    • Northwest Partnership Program
    • International
    • Center for Calling and Theological Formation
    • Concurrent Credit
    • Request Information
    • Apply Now
    • College of Arts and Sciences
    • College of Business
    • College of Education
    • College of Ministry
    • College of Nursing
    • College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
    • Center for Leadership Studies
    • Creatio Center for Technology, Media, and Design
    • Registrar and Transcripts
    • Faculty
    • Scholarships
    • Undergraduate
    • Graduate
    • Online
    • Northwest Partnership Program
    • Veterans Benefits
    • Glossary of Terms
    • Cost Information
    • NU Calendar
    • Campus Tour
    • Campus Ministries
    • Eagle Store
    • NU Library
    • Student Housing
    • NU Blog
    • Men's
    • Basketball
    • Cross Country
    • Soccer
    • Track & Field
    • Women's
    • Basketball
    • Cross Country
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Track & Field
    • Volleyball
    • Give Now
    • Learn About Giving
    • Endowed Scholarships
    • Alumni
    • Prospective Student
    • Current Student
    • Parent
    • Alumni
    • Donor
    • About Northwest University
    • COVID-19 Updates
    • Campus Locations
    • Office of the President
    • Master Plan
    • Upcoming Events
    • Student Consumer Information
    • Conference and Event Services
    • Job Opportunities
    • Contact Us
Search
Request Info Apply Now
  • College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
      • Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
      • Doctor of Psychology in Counseling Psychology
      • Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
      • Master of Arts in International Community Development
      • Online Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
      • Online Master of Arts in International Community Development
      • Online Master of Science in Applied Research Psychology
      • Online Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
  • Admissions Requirements
    • Scholarships
    • Financial Aid
    • Program Costs
  • Faculty
  • Blog
    • Licensure by State
    • Read Our Viewbook
  • Contact Us

Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Program Also Offered Online ›

People in this world are emotionally hurting. Fortunately, there are those who feel called to help them. At Northwest University, we can transform your desire to help others into a meaningful and effective career.

Our graduate counseling programs are rigorous and comprehensive. They combine lecture, discussion, research, and internships with a multicultural focus, uniquely preparing you to serve individuals with widely different backgrounds and needs. You’ll learn from skilled practitioners who have deep academic and real-world experience.

While demanding, the counseling programs at Northwest University are designed for flexibility, meeting at night and on weekends. So contact us for more information. Much like you, we’re here to help.

Program Quick Facts

  • Next start: August 31, 2021
  • 60 credits
  • $805 per credit
  • $24,150 average annual tuition costs (2021–22)
  • 24 months
  • Evening classes 6–10pm, usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays
  • Fully accredited university

Virtual Information Session

Join us for a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling information session:

  • May 5, 2021 at Noon
  • June 29, 2021 at 5:00pm

Looking for quick answers to your questions? Frequently Asked Questions

Why Choose Our Counseling Program?

Licensable Degrees for the State of Washington

Our graduate counseling programs meet the requirements for licensure in Washington State. Graduate knowing that you can become a fully licensed counselor. Good news: Jobs in counseling are projected to grow by 22% over the next several years, (source).

Highest Institutional Accreditation Possible

Our regionally accredited university represents the gold standard. You’ll strengthen your professional credibility and graduate knowing that your degree is widely recognized and deeply respected.

Learn to Treat the Whole Person

We teach you how to engage your clientele from a holistic approach: biologically, psychologically, spiritually, and culturally. The result is even greater effectiveness as a counselor.

Unique Multicultural Focus

Our programs are presented in the context of a multicultural and globalizing world. You will learn how to apply the latest counseling methods to a wide variety of clients.

Local and Global Immersion Experiences

You will deepen your skills and understanding by participating in local or international immersion experiences. These experiences will not only equip you for your career, but they have also proven to be life-changing.

Integrate Faith with Learning

Our programs are taught within the framework of a Christian worldview. Students are challenged to incorporate their understanding of faith with academic theory and applied skills.

Distinguished Faculty

Our professors draw from their academic studies and real-world professional experiences to provide students with the tools and skills they’ll need to be successful in counseling.

Learn Within a Diverse Cohort

Learn with other students who share your interests and your goals. It’s a supportive environment of peers who will encourage you, challenge you, and become a fundamental part of your professional network once you graduate.

Hear Directly From Students

So my name is James Gibson and I graduated from the Masters of Arts in Counseling Psychology Program from here, at Northwest University in 2018. Born and raised in Oregon, and held odds and ends jobs until I found my true calling. And that was joining the United States Army where I served for twenty one years. Multiple deployments, multiple combat deployments, and retired in August 2016 as a master sergeant—realized that mental health was a big portion to me.

I came back from a deployment in 2006, a different person, a changed person, and I didn't like who I was. I was having difficulty with work. I was having difficulty with family. And that's when I went and got help. And through that help sparked a passion of psychology in my own self. I decided at the time I was working on an undergrad degree and just general studies because I didn't know where I wanted to go with it and dove into psychology.

And I found I was really, really passionate about it. So when I got out of the military and retired from the military, I thought, this is a way I can give back. I know mental health care works. I know that coming from the depths of the darkness of where I was to moving towards the light and being happy and chasing that happiness, I can still do that.

With a gentle push of my wife, she said, why don't you get in psychology, become a counselor? And it just made perfect sense. And so I did. And I hunted around and I found Northwest University. I was teaching at Purdue University when we had made the decision that, hey, I need to go to grad school. And so it was simple online search. And I found a few of them and I didn't want to put all my ducks in one basket. And so I applied for for multiple programs throughout the Pacific Northwest, up from south as far south as Lacey up in here and to Seattle, Kirkland.

Through the admissions process, it was one of the easier ones. It was pretty straightforward, cut and dry. Some of the things that lean me towards Northwest right off the bat was no GRE. And for us enlisted guys coming out of the military, getting a bachelor's degree is pretty tough. OPTEMPO is usually really high in the military. And so finding the time to even dive down and get a bachelor's degree, let alone, now I've got to study and prep for a GRE and pass a GRE. And it's really time consuming. But it was lack of GRE, the single cohort concept that I absolutely—like it intrigued me at the beginning. And then through the two years that I was here doing this program, I couldn't fathom doing this program in any other way than the single cohort system that they've got. I had a couple of unique perspectives or unique scenarios or situations with the single cohort system. What it does is it provides it truly provides a safe space where I could fully say what my beliefs were without being looked down upon without anybody—

I'm not going to say challenge because that's exactly what that cohort system I believe a big portion of it is, you do, you challenge each other's views and you challenge your own internal way of thought. Now, I'm in a complete different group of people that think differently than me and challenged me to think differently. That's number one. And number two, another beautiful portion of it is you get to know everybody there and you learn what the different strengths, the benefits of working with different people in that group because they think differently. They have different cultures, have different upbringings, different backgrounds. And you really get to know that group. They become family essentially because you are spending a lot of time with a certain amount of people. It really provides some really good cohesion and continuity when you're doing group projects and moving from one class to the next to the next to the next, because then you understand what strengths, what weaknesses these people have in different groups. And it just it makes it a lot easier. And then you feel a whole lot more comfortable. The classes or nighttime classes. So I remember 6:00 to 10:00. They're hard work. I'm not going to say it's easy work.

Grad school is very difficult and it's time consuming, but a good time management skills. And the professors are very it's one of the beautiful things about going to brick and mortar school is the professors are available, you call them, you can email them and you're getting responses back pretty quick, which is a complete flip from when I was doing online classes in the army where you'd send a send a question to the professor and you might not get an answer for five or six days. Grad school, the age of the students tends to be a little bit higher.

There's a lot of us that have families, a lot of us, all the professors understood that. They understood. A lot of us are holding jobs, working 40 hours and coming to this class and doing these monster papers and reading hundreds of pages a week and trying to absorb as much information as we could. They understood that. So if you're having difficulty with something, it was just a talk with the professor and they will work something out because it wasn't about making you feel as if you had to maintain a certain standard.

It was, it seemed every professor provided you with this feeling that, hey, I'm going to draw 100% of you and I'm not going to judge your performance off of somebody else's performance. I'm judging your performance off of you. And that's kind of the way the whole program was, like that's the way it felt. So my dream role, I'm living it right now and I'm working it right now. In fact, I'm a child and family therapist with the Steven A. Cohen Military Families Clinic at Valley Cities where we provide free to low cost mental health counseling to post 9/11 veterans and their families. Through the internship program that was here, plus the internship fair and the guidance that was given by professors.

It was, it opened my mind to see, hey, it's not just PTSD. There's so much, you've got to look holistically and see that in military families are more than that. They're hey, you can do couples, like who better to do couples than you, James, because you're married for twenty two years and you spent twenty one of them in the army and working with kids. I've got three beautiful, amazing kids and Dr. Leggett and family systems changed my family because one of the things that when I came into grad school, I came out with open mind and said, whatever you teach me here and tell me that I am supposed to be doing my clients, I will do myself. And so all of this family information, all of this stuff I wrapped into my family and I started to implement in my family and I live a dream. And in fact, I think I told you when I walked in here, I do. I live a dream because I work my dream job. And the only reason I open my eyes to start looking for something in that was this program helped me say, don't pigeonhole yourself into this. And in fact, there was times where I had a couple of professors talk about two years, give yourself two years, because your passion you'll find over a couple of years is going to not be at the level that it was when you first started it. And clients deserve your 100% passion. And so I found this job.

Amazing program, amazing supervisor there. And it was because I was motivated by my counselor, by my professors here to, don't pigeonhole yourself into one thing, expand your horizons and chase your happiness. And so that's what I did. And now I found this job at this clinic. And it's a beautiful. Couple of things I know for a fact. Number one, you're going to be challenged and you're going to challenge yourself and the faculty are going to challenge you in ways that you didn't think were possible.

But they do it in a way that you don't really necessarily know you're being challenged until after the class. And you look back at where you were. The professors challenged us that on a daily basis, there's so many, so many memories I have of going, no, that's not how it works. No, no, no, no.

And then three weeks later going, you know he's right or she's right. It is like, oh, man, I never thought of looking at it like that. Or one of my favorite memories was, like I said, I was the only guy there. And I had mentioned that, you know, talk about safe space. This is an example of the safe space was I had shared something and I had said and then I cried like a little schoolgirl and my classmate sitting next to me, looks over to me and she goes, James you didn't cry like a little schoolgirl. You cried like a 41 year old combat vet. I was like, you know, you're right, because that's what I am. Expressing emotions isn't a weakness. Expressing emotions is what our body is supposed to do. That's what our mind's supposed to do. And in fact, that's probably that's top three thing that this program helped me learn was expressing your emotions is OK. And that's where that's what they're for, is to express them, is to feel them and get to understand them and know it's OK if you want to cry and know if, it's OK to be angry, it's OK to cry, it's OK to be sad. It's when we try and stuff those down that we have problems. And this program really opened my mind to that and saying, hey, it's it's OK.

And that's one of the beautiful things about that single cohort system is, you know, at the beginning it's a little awkward. But after a while you get to know each other and you understand that everybody is there for a common purpose and we're there to support each other. And you get comfortable expressing your emotions and processing some of the tough stuff that you've been through in life.

Go to NU. Go to NU! Go to this program. This counseling master's in counseling programs are just beautiful.

The process is easy, like they make admissions so simple and so easy and so like, they allow you to focus on the school work and learning. It provides truly a learning environment where I was paying for my school through the GI Bill. They would sign me up for scholarships and grants that automatically where they'd be like, oh, hey, James, here's the Yellow Ribbon Fund. Seven hundred dollars. Where did this come from? Oh, it's this scholarship program that we have for veterans. Oh, well, great. Beautiful, wonderful. And really just made it so easy to where all I had to focus on was showing up at my class, doing the work and learning. Learning and then doing the work. And that was another beautiful thing. This program never, never made me feel like it was get this assignment done and do the assignment. It's hey, let's learn some things, learn this stuff, understand and demonstrate your understanding and then we'll test you on.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program students will achieve competence in the following areas:

Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice

  • Develop comprehensive understanding of the identity of the professional counselor including history, roles, advocacy, credentialing, and ethical practice in a variety of private, interorganizational, and interdisciplinary settings.

Sociocultural Diversity and Social Justice

  • Demonstrate culturally competent socially aware counseling skills through the integration of scholarly research, application of multicultural counseling theories, and the examination of the concepts of social justice and privilege.

Scientific Foundations

  • Integrate knowledge of biological, cognitive, emotional, personality, and social development across the lifespan into the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of mental health issues.

Counseling Theories, Skills, and Helping Relationships

  • Incorporate knowledge of counseling skills, case conceptualization, suicide prevention, and treatment planning into counseling practice in both in-person and technology assisted settings for general populations and those in crisis.
  • Integrate theories and research of career development, assessment, and planning into the practice of career guidance for diverse people groups in a wide range of vocational fields.
  • Apply group counseling theory in the creation, recruitment, and facilitation of culturally relevant groups.
  • Utilize differential diagnostic processes and systems.

Assessment and Testing

  • Apply basic statistical concepts, principles of test design and selection, interpretation of psychological reports, and demonstrate ability to select appropriate assessments relevant to education, employment, and personal situations.

Research and Program Evaluation

  • Evaluate counseling interventions and counselor education programs and develop outcome measures by utilizing knowledge of the principles of statistics, research methods and design, and current models of evidence-based practices.

Today my work has real meaning. I love what I do. It’s amazing to watch couples come in with little hope and leave with a stronger marriage than they’ve ever had before.

–Justin Monuteaux

Licensed Mental Health Counselor

Course Format

While classes are scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (6pm–10pm) and on some weekends, this program is academically rigorous and requires considerable time outside the classroom devoted to assignments. Each applicant should carefully consider if he or she can successfully complete this program with his or her lifestyle and commitments.

Special Courses

Periodically, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences offers students the opportunity to register for courses that do not meet in a traditional classroom format. Special topics may be offered in a variety of formats to enrich the curriculum. Other times, a student may desire to work with a faculty member through an independent or directed study in a specific discipline. In all cases, the professor will ensure the proper quantity and quality of work. The Director must approve the registration schedule, including special courses. Ultimately, the student is responsible to ensure that special courses satisfy degree requirements.

View Course Descriptions

You can explore program details and course descriptions for this program in our academic catalog.

Go to the Catalog
Daniela Steinkamp

Questions about this program?

I would love to answer any questions about the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program that you may have.

Daniela Steinkamp, M.A.

Director of Student Services
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
425-889-5249

Ready to Join the NU Community?


Take your next step today.

Request Information Schedule an Undergrad Visit Apply Online Now
NU Sheild Logo

© 2021 Northwest University

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) · Privacy Policy

Northwest University admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally afforded or made available to students at the university. Northwest does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national and ethnic origin, age, disability, or status as a veteran in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, or scholarship and loan programs and athletic and other school-administered programs.