Lesley Announces Maine Scholars Program
The Maine Scholars program gives students prioritization by Maine employers as well as opportunities for financial aid and scholarship benefits.
Counseling & Psychology

Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Master of Arts (MA), full-time or part-time graduate program

Listen with purpose.

Develop the understanding, social justice perspective, and clinical expertise needed to become a creative and effective mental health counselor. Gain comprehensive training and eligibility for your counseling license by completing one or two internships for a total of 700 to 1,300 hours of field experience. Through coursework and supervised contact with clients, become versed in the ethical and professional guidelines for practice, and leave fully prepared to counsel individuals, families, and groups.

In our graduate clinical mental health counseling program, you’ll examine the human condition from multiple angles, from the physical and behavioral to the cultural and spiritual.  

You'll be guided and supported in gaining a nuanced understanding of yourself as an instrument of therapeutic benefit to others—that is, how your lived experience impacts your values, beliefs, and perspectives on the nature of well-being. Both in the classroom and in the field, you’ll apply a social justice lens to mental health care and investigate issues of access and equity.

Our Cambridge location is a springboard to field placement opportunities, where you’ll put your learning into practice. You’ll work in clinics, schools, and community agencies alongside innovative mental health practitioners and activists. Our program emphasizes multicultural understanding and fosters the skills and abilities to work competently and respectfully with diverse populations. 

Program Structure

Full-time or part-time on-campus program

60 Credits

Learn more about our Partnership Programs designed to bring affordable, educational opportunities to students while helping to solve the need for mental health professionals and teachers in our communities.

FAQs

 

Have questions about the clinical mental health counseling master's program? View our frequently asked questions to find your answer.

group of women working at table
700 hours of field experience

One-Internship Option

The one-internship option is the most flexible way to complete your 60-credit master’s degree program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. If you choose to do one internship, over 2 semesters, you’ll engage in 700 hours of supervised internship/field experience in a clinical setting. You’ll earn 6 graduate credits through the supervision courses you take while completing your internship and you will meet the minimum requirements for licensure in Massachusetts. Because you’ll be doing one internship, you’ll take 18 credits in electives.

school guidance counselor
1,300 hours of field experience

Two-Internship Option

You might choose the two-internship option to gain experience in an organization that will only accept students who already have internship experience in a clinical setting, or if you want to gain experience in a variety of settings. Over four semesters, you’ll engage in 1,300 hours of supervised internships/field experiences in clinical or school settings. You’ll earn 12 graduate credits through supervision courses while completing your internships, and you'll exceed the minimum requirements for licensure in Massachusetts. Because you’ll be doing an additional internship, you'll take 12 credits in electives.

Where Students Intern
Our field training office will guide you in finding the best placement to grow your skills, match your career goals, and meet requirements for licensure. With over 450 sites in the Greater Boston area and beyond, and new sites added every year, you'll have the opportunity to explore the variety of roles that professional counselors serve, including:

Expected Program Competencies and Outcomes

Learn more about the expected competencies and outcomes that our clinical mental health counseling programs meet:

man walking in harvard square, cambridge

Cambridge, MA

A nexus for higher education and mental health counseling practice and research, each year 250,000 students arrive to Cambridge from around the globe. The intellectual and cultural capital runs deep, and so do your opportunities addressing barriers to wellness. From Lesley’s location, access innovative community, hospital, and school-based mental health programs.

Licensure Information

Depending on your professional goals, where you reside or plan to practice, and the licensure requirements within that state, there are different pathways toward licensure or credentialing that may be relevant. In accordance with Lesley University’s institutional participation in SARA (State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement) and with federal regulations, we strongly encourage prospective applicants who intend to pursue licensure in a state other than Massachusetts to visit the Lesley University Licensure and Credentialing webpage and review the “Licensure Information for Students and Applicants” document for their specific program.

1,005
Counselors, therapists, and other mental health practitioners were trained at Lesley University in the last 5 years, making us the largest provider of training for licensed mental health counselors in New England.
#1
Massachusetts is the best state in the nation for mental health care according to Mental Health America, with excellent access to care for both youth and adults.
22%
Careers in mental health counseling are expanding, with projections for a 22% increase in job openings from 2018 to 2028. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Careers
Jobs You Could Have
The field of mental health counseling is expanding rapidly, making this an exciting time to pursue graduate study. Common job titles for people with master's degrees in mental health counseling include:
Careers
Where Graduates Work
Massachusetts and the Greater Boston area have a large concentration of medical, healthcare, and mental health-related facilities and organizations. Graduates find careers in a wide range of places, including:
Total approximate cost for this master's degree program. Tuition and fees are for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Use our step-by-step guide to apply for federal and university funding. Scholarships, grants, Work-Study, and loans. It’s all right here.

Next steps to apply

Ready to get started? We're here to make the application process as smooth as possible. Just answer a few quick questions, and get your customized application guide.