Mental Health and Wellness
School of Adult & Graduate Studies
Classes start April 29, 2024
Advance Your Mental Health and Wellness Career
The Master of Arts in Mental Health and Wellness program will provide awareness, knowledge, and skills in the areas of ethical and cultural considerations, theory and counseling skills, career and assessment tools, scoring, and interpretation, and community mental health administration. This program could lead to careers in community service, a non-profit agency, and mental health agencies at various levels.
Mental Health and Wellness Degree Highlights
- A 100% online program that can be completed in five semesters.
- Provide mental health professionals an opportunity to increase their skills and knowledge without the necessity of licensure.
- Courses that align with community mental health agencies, treatment centers, career planning, and pastoral care.
- Training in skills in areas for mental health workers such as QPs, Intake specialist, and Behavioral Specialist.
- A rigorous education with a Christ-centered foundation.
For over 25 years, Montreat College’s School of Adult and Graduate Studies has been helping adult students acquire essential skills, complete their degrees, and take their career to the next level. Montreat offers undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs in a classroom or online.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When are the start dates for the Master of Arts in Mental Health and Wellness program?
Please see the admissions page for specific enrollment and start dates.
How long does it take to complete the Master of Arts in Mental Health and Wellness program?
The Master of Arts in Mental Health and Wellness program requires completion of 30 credit hours and can be completed in 5 semesters.
How much does the Master of Arts in Mental Health and Wellness degree program cost?
The cost is $595 per credit hour plus a $225 student fee per semester. Keep in mind that there are multiple college and government financial aid programs available to help mitigate the cost of your education. You can learn more about your financial aid options.
What are the length of online courses?
The courses for this graduate program are eight-week sessions. There are 2 sessions in a semester. To be considered a full-time graduate student, a student must take 6 credit hours per semester. The student must take 1 course (3 credit hours) the first eight-week session and 1 course (3 credit hours) the second eight-week session. Semesters in this program are Spring, Summer, and Fall.
What jobs can you pursue with a Mental Health and Wellness degree?
After completing this degree, career paths would include, QP, Clinician level I, II, and II, Intake Specialist, Behavioral Tech, Behavioral Specialist, Group Leader, Campus Counselors, Leadership team, ministry leader, and Peer Support Specialist Coordinator.
Additional training and certification may lead to other career paths including Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Medical and Health Services Manager, Emergency Food and Emotional Support AmeriCorps Associate, Community and Social Services Specialist, and Social and Human Services Assistants.
What is the job market like for people with a Mental Health and Wellness degree?
The nationwide job growth for this occupational area over the next 10 years is high and projected to be 16.21%. North Carolina ranks seventh of the top 10 states with the most job postings over the last 12 months. Between 2014 and 2018, total conferrals nationally were 275 which was a 1,209% increase over the previous four years.
What are the admissions requirements?
To qualify for admission into the Master of Arts in Community Mental Health and Wellness (CMHW) degree program, the following conditions must be satisfied in addition to the standard graduate admissions requirements:
- Have a minimum bachelor degree GPA of 3.0 from a regionally accredited program*
- Submit a current resume or curriculum vitae that includes both academic and employment history
- Submit official transcripts for all colleges attended
- Complete and pay for a National Background Check
If the applicant has a GPA below 3.0, a “Low GPA” essay can be submitted, for students. The essay should cover challenges that contributed to the low GPA, as well as specifically what the applicant will do to maintain a 3.0 overall GPA in the MHW program.
An accepted student into the MHW program who may be interested in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program will become eligible to transfer to the CMHC program and not be required to take the GRE once 18 hours of coursework has been completed. MHW students transferring into the CMHC program will be responsible to complete a drug test when entering into the CMHC program as is required by all new CMHC students.
Courses
COUN 5211 Professional Orientation to Counseling
This course will be an introductory exploration of the history of counseling as a profession as well as current trends in the practice of clinical mental health counseling. Students will begin to explore the various settings in which counseling can take place and the specialties within the profession, in addition to professional counseling licensure and credentialing. Additional topics covered in this course in an introductory way include counselor self-care, consultation, professional counseling organizations, advocacy, ethics, and multicultural competency.
COUN 5212 Ethics and Ethical Practice in Counseling
This course will examine ethical standards and ethical decision making for the practice of counseling. Applicable codes of ethics will be examined and case studies will be used to challenge students to think critically about ethics and ethical decision-making. Ethical issues in individual, group, family, and couples counseling will be covered, as well as multicultural considerations. The course will also address confidentiality, informed consent, boundaries, multiple relationships, supervision, and consultation within an ethical framework.
COUN 5221 Counseling Skills
This course will provide students an opportunity to continue to develop counseling microskills as well as foundational skills in interviewing in the helping professions. Students will videotape role-played sessions and participate in peer review as well as review with course instructor.
COUN 5214 Counseling across the Lifespan
This course will provide an overview of human development across the lifespan, from birth until death and explore critical considerations for counseling individuals across these stages of development.
COUN 5215 Multicultural Counseling
This course will provide students an opportunity to begin to develop skills for multicultural competency when providing counseling services to clients of diverse backgrounds. Multicultural competencies will be reviewed and students will explore their own identity as a cultural being.
COUN 5241 Career Counseling
This course will provide an introductory exploration of career development across the lifespan, career-counseling theories, assessments relevant to career counseling, and occupational information sources. The course will allow students opportunity to role-play, consider case studies, and create a career intervention for a chosen population.
COUN 5216 Assessment in Counseling
This course will provide an overview of assessment methods and tools used in counseling, including intakes as well as standardized assessments. Ethical standards for the use of assessments in counseling will be reviewed. Students will experience taking an assessment as well as provide a critical review of assessments.
COUN 5251 Crisis Intervention/Crisis Counseling
This course will provide students with an overview of counseling skills for working in crisis and trauma situations as well as crisis intervention theory. Students will review case studies and create a crisis resource for a client population or counseling setting of interest. This course will also provide an overview of the nature of substance use, abuse, and dependency. Education, prevention, treatment, and recovery will be addressed.
COUN 5223 Group Counseling
This course will provide an overview of theory and principles of effective group work provide students an opportunity to develop skills in using group techniques, and plan activities for groups. Students will participate in a group experience during this course. Ethical standards for group counseling will be reviewed. Prerequisites: 5211, 5212, 5214, 5215, 5221
MMHW 5291 Community mental health topics and administration
This course will provide an overview of community mental health, legal considerations, administration and billing and program evaluation. During the course students will learn de-escalation techniques, CPR and First Aid, and the daily responsibilities required to work in community mental health.
Faculty
Dr. Gregg Blanton
Professor of Psychology, Human Services, and Clinical Mental Health
gregg.blanton@montreat.edu
Dr. Anna Lee Brown
Assistant Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling
annalee.brown@montreat.edu