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Department of Counseling

When you talk to graduates of the Department of Counseling, you’ll quickly learn about how rewarding and fulfilling it is to work as a counselor. Our students are often drawn to be counselors because they want to help people grow, heal, recover, or find meaning in their lives. There are many ways to describe the clinical work that we counselors do, but at the heart of our work lies the intersection of skill, passion, and relationship.

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CACREP Accredited

See the CACREP website for more detailed information.

Programs of Study

The Department of Counseling offers Master's Programs: Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling or School Counselors.

We also offer a Substance Use Disorder Online Certificate.

Our accredited programs lead to license eligibility in the State of Ohio.

Graduate

Certificate

The Substance Use Disorders Counseling Certificate program, open to current undergraduate students or any student with an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree, prepares you to become license eligible as either a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC) or a Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor (LICDC), depending on prior academic work.

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Master's

The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is designed to meet the current academic requirements of the State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board for the licenses of Professional Counselor (PC) and Professional Clinical Counselor (PCC). It also meets the academic requirements for the National Counselor Certification (NCC) of the National Board for Certified Counselors.

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The John Carroll University School Counseling program helps you contribute to the greater good by assisting children and adolescents with their academic, personal, and career development. Our CACREP-accredited School Counseling program leads to licensure by the State of Ohio.

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The Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is designed to meet the current academic requirements of the State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board for the licenses of Professional Counselor (PC) and Professional Clinical Counselor (PCC). It also meets the academic requirements for the National Counselor Certification (NCC) of the National Board for Certified Counselors.

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Concentration/Option

The Substance Use Disorders concentration, available to current students in John Carroll’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s program, provides in-depth training and work toward license eligibility. The three-course concentration prepares you for LICDC licensure.

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100%

Employment Rate

2021 Employment Rate

Employment rate of 2021 Clinical Mental Health Counseling Graduates

Counseling session between a female counselor and a female client

Career Opportunities

Counselors work in schools, hospitals, clinics, community agencies, and private practices. In the Department of Counseling, we train students to be either Clinical Mental Health Counselors or School Counselors. Both of our accredited tracks lead to licensure by the State of Ohio. Clinical Mental Health Counselors provide many services, including psychotherapy (i.e. talk therapy), assessment and diagnosis, treatment planning, substance abuse treatment, crisis management, and prevention programs. School counselors work with students, teachers, and parents to help students in their academic, personal, and career development.

Students in the Substance Use Disorder Counseling programs are prepared for license eligibility as either a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC) or a Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor (LICDC), depending on prior academic work.

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The John Carroll Experience

U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks John Carroll among the top ten master’s-degree granting universities in the Midwest. When you wander the halls of the Counseling Department, you’ll find that our doors are open. Our faculty is committed to developing deep and meaningful teaching and mentoring relationships with our students. We bring a diverse set of skills, knowledge, and experience to our teaching and supervising. Our classes are small – none larger than 20 students, and many with as few at 15 or 8. Our courses involve discussion and practice, rather than solely lecture. Typically, in the second year of enrollment, students begin their practicum and internship Practicum and Internship) fieldwork. In a clinical or school setting of their choice, students begin to practice the science and art of counseling. During this time, students receive formal supervision on site and at John Carroll. At graduation, the outlook for our students is bright because of their strong reputation in the community. This, and the numerous connections our faculty has with local employers, positions our graduates as top candidates on the job market.

Some of our graduates continue their education in doctoral programs, typically in the fields of counselor education or counseling psychology.

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CACREP-Accredited Programs

In 2023, John Carroll’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling Programs received the maximum eight-year re-accreditation after submitting a two-year interim report, meaning that John Carroll's program is currently accredited into 2029. This fact reflects the Department’s commitment to excellence and demonstrates that the Department of Counseling meets or exceeded all accreditation standards. In February 2024, John Carroll University's Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program received accreditation by CACREP.

Gaining and maintaining CACREP accreditation is essential for any counseling program, especially in Ohio. In 2014, the Ohio State Legislature passed legislation requiring all counseling programs to be CACREP-accredited by 2018. In addition, several insurance carriers will reimburse only for counselors who earned degrees from CACREP-accredited programs.

John Carroll University has determined that its counseling curriculum meets the state educational requirement for licensure/certifications in the State of Ohio. John Carroll University has not made a determination that our counseling curriculum meets state educational requirements for licensure/certifications in any other state, territory, or country. Please check with your state licensing board to determine if our curriculum meets requirements in your state.

For Fall 2023, the total enrollment for the two master’s programs was 212: 165 in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and 47 in School Counseling. Of the students admitted to the fall 2020 cohort, 90% completed the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program in the expected three-year time period and 86% completed the School Counseling program in the expected three-year time period. The programs had 68 graduates from Summer 2021 to Spring 2022: 46 in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and 22 in School Counseling. Our graduates have consistently achieved high scores and high pass rates on licensing examinations. During this academic year, the graduates of the Clinical Mental Health Program had a pass rate of 97% on the NCE examination. School Counseling graduates achieved a 91% passing rate for school counselor licensure. Our graduates also have been extremely successful in obtaining employment in positions in recognized occupations for which they were trained. For Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduates the employment rate was 100%. School Counseling graduates had a 68% employment rate. The figure for School Counseling is complicated by the fact that several students are looking for employment only within their school or in a specific geographic area, and some graduates are already employed in the field of education as teachers who may choose to pursue a school counseling position at a later date.

 

News and Events

January 19

Students of Color Meet & Greet

April 14

Five Insights from John Carroll Alumni Leading Federal and Local COVID Response

January 28

Annual Counseling Department Networking Event

January 14

Save the day: Networking event

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