The demand for mental health counseling is increasing. With new stresses and challenges for everyone, the field has experienced major growth in the last few years. Saybrook has responded by creating accredited counseling degree programs, offering students the training and skills they need before licensure. Saybrook’s programs help students increase their understanding of the systemic causes of mental illness, preparing them to provide effective clinical mental health counseling.
About our counseling degree programs
We currently offer two graduate degree programs in counseling:
- M.A. in Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling Specialization
- Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision
These counseling degree programs give students the confidence to be effective in their respective mental health fields. Read on for a deep dive into our degree programs.
M.A. Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling Specialization
Students in this program will learn to help others understand their acute and ongoing trauma, how to intervene in a crises, and how to address community suffering. Counselors work to give patients methods to improve their relationships with family, friends, and themselves. Further, students will build on interconnectivity and holistic improvements to their patients’ lives, meet residency requirements, and work toward becoming a licensed professional counselor.
Saybrook’s hybrid program for clinical mental health counseling combines class instruction with real-world experience through residency requirements (700 hours in the field), preparing students for a variety of career options.
This counseling degree program is 60 credits and is expected to be completed in three years.
Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision
The doctoral degree program in Counselor Education is intended to prepare graduates to utilize leadership and research skills to make positive contributions to the knowledge base in the field of counseling. Graduates will be prepared to become advocates and leaders in humanistic, social transformation and build confidence in their ability to inspire transformational change. Course topics will include:
- Counselor education
- Leadership, advocacy, and ethics
- Instructional theory and practice
Students in this program will not only enhance their expertise in counseling but become leaders in their field. They will aid and mentor and empower other clinicians to truly make a difference, drawing from intervention theory and practices and building skill sets. As a result of this degree program, graduates will guide others to treat and help patients’ inner lives and positively impact entire communities.
What can you do with your degree in counseling?
Our alumni work in several roles, including:
- Mental health counselors, clinical or private practice
- Family counseling
- Addiction counseling
- Rehabilitation counseling
- School counseling
- Clinical mental health supervision
- Assistant professor and full-time higher education
- Researchers
These programs are designed and credentialed for students to learn, adapt, and ask the big questions to help others’ mental and emotional health, to counsel them on how to live a more fulfilling and satisfying life.
What sets Saybrook counseling programs apart?
Saybrook University was established by leaders in the field of humanistic psychology, with the understanding that human beings maintain an innate connection to the world around them and each other. These programs are designed to better examine interconnectivity, to relate better to one another in responsible and curious ways. The program sets itself apart by incorporating distinct counseling theory, practice, and topics, applying them to relevant fields. And specializations in multicultural counseling and substance abuse counseling provide an empowered degree program for the counseling profession. Our faculty adhere to a strict standard and exhibit the following personal and professional qualities:
- Holistic perspective
- Unconditional positive regard for individuals and communities
- Understanding multiple perspectives
- Commitment to academic rigor
- Challenging of existing assumptions and belief in new possibilities
- Conduct our work and relationships with integrity
- Wish to foster personal, relational, and social transformation
- Support the potential of others to thrive in a just, inclusive, healthy, and sustainable world
Our approach to higher education is this—all our programs are either remote or hybrid, accessible anywhere in the world. Saybrook provides you with the assets you need to get started and truly affect the world for the better. With 50 years of history, Saybrook is built to empower graduates to change the world.
A note on licensure
Our M.A. in Counseling aligns with the certification requirements of the California Board of Behavioral Sciences for Professional Clinical Counseling, (sections 4999.32 and 4999.40(a) preparing them for counseling licensure examination. Different states have different licensure requirements. Faculty will work with students from the beginning of their degree to understand their state’s requirements. Any courses that satisfy a licensure requirement should be discussed with the Financial Aid Office before registering for the course. Students will locate practicum, internships, and supervision in their area while working simultaneously with Saybrook staff.
Find Your Community at Saybrook
Saybrook University embodies distance learning, but nothing can substitute for the joy of sharing an in-person experience with your community. Our Residential Conferences bring students, faculty, and impactful speakers together for a week of safe and supportive academic, professional, and personal exploration that can change your life.
Listen to the Unbound: Saybrook Insights Podcast
We recommend checking out Unbound: Saybrook Insights Podcast to explore imperative and thoughtful topics on mental health counseling, complementary health care approaches, stress relief, and more. Learn more about Saybrook’s approach to training counselors in this podcast episode with Jennifer Preston, Ph.D., NCC, LPC, department chair for our M.A. in Counseling and Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision programs.
Listen to a previous episode with Dr. Preston.
Learn more about the next steps
For more information on counseling graduate study and our other programs we encourage you to complete the form below and our admissions counselors will reach out to you.