School of Human Services and Sciences

Overview

Web: Department of Counseling

Professor SooHyun Tak, Program Director

Fowler Hall, Room 118

**Currently not accepting new students**

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program prepares graduates to be multiculturally competent professional counselors, able to work skillfully with deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and hearing clients of diverse backgrounds in a variety of mental health settings. Our training model emphasizes the development of cultural self-awareness, sensitivity, knowledge, and skills essential to becoming effective and ethical practitioners who are able to promote health and well being for all persons in the context of social justice and multiculturalism.

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program offers students the opportunity to have a clinical or community counseling emphasis through the fieldwork placement. Practicum and internship opportunities typically include state, local, and private mental health agencies, addictions programs, psychiatric hospitals, and educational programs serving the mental health needs of deaf and hard of hearing persons and their hearing family members. The program is a hybrid program with the first year (including the summer session) being in residence at Gallaudet with courses taught primarily in the traditional classroom setting and the second year being a fieldwork placement out of the DC metropolitan area with continued coursework online.

The master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling consists of a minimum of 71 credit hours and requires two academic years, including one summer to complete. The program of study is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Students are eligible to take the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE) during their last semester of studies.