Mental Health Counseling, AC
Gain the skills to change lives while pursuing the qualifications you need to become a licensed mental health counselor in New York State.
Bridge the Gap
This online program allows you to balance life, work and school while advancing your career goals. By the time you graduate, you’ll have the necessary skills and experience to sit for New York State’s licensing exam in mental health counseling. Join a program dedicated to diversity, justice and inclusion, where you’ll learn to demonstrate multicultural awareness while developing the knowledge, skills and principles inherent to social justice practice.
The Value of an Advanced Certificate
In today’s dynamic professional environment, continuous self-improvement is essential for career success. Advancements, competition and evolving landscapes require professionals to maintain current, industry-relevant knowledge, skills and competencies. Advanced certificates can complement completed degrees or serve as standalone credentials. Regardless of your chosen path, an advanced certificate offers additional knowledge and opportunities to refine professional skills, facilitating career advancement. They offer a flexible, accessible and cost-effective educational route to pursue career goals and remain competitive.
Points of Distinction
You’ll build 600 hours of experiential contact across a wide range of settings, such as hospitals, mental health centers, substance abuse disorder treatment centers and other institutions.
We’ll encourage you to lean into your own personal and professional growth in this program, which emphasizes respect for human diversity, multicultural competence, social justice, client strengths and ethical responsibility.
This program prepares you to become a mental health counseling practitioner able to help clients from diverse backgrounds in a wide variety of settings. Here, you’ll learn the skills needed to change lives for the better.
Program Summary
Find details about application deadlines and requirements, courses and more. Have questions? Contact our admissions office.
| Academic credential granted | Advanced Certificate (AC) |
|---|---|
| Credits required for completion | 15 to 27 |
| Time to completion | Varies by student plan of study |
| Course delivery | Online |
| Experiential contact hours | 600 clock hours (see program requirements) |
| Application deadline | The application is CLOSED for the 2024 - 2025 academic year. |
Required Courses (12 credits)
- CEP 521 Introduction to Mental Health Counseling
- CEP 541 Human Growth and Development or CEP 615 Legal and Ethical Concerns in Counseling
- CEP 586 Assessment in Mental Health Counseling
- CEP 695 Psychopathology and Evidenced Based Interventions
Clinical Experience (18-24 credits)
If you have not completed a minimum of 600 hours of clinical internship experience under a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), or NYSED approved equivalent in a previous program, you are required to complete 12 credits in CEP 600 MH Internship – Mental Health Counseling (minimum of 600 clock hours).
If the internship requirement has been previously met during your master's degree, (i.e., their prior internship meets or exceeds all of the current NYSED guidelines for internships), 6 internship credits may be waived, thus allowing the Certificate to be earned with 18 rather than 24 credits.
Submit your completed online application, which includes:
- Application fee: A $50 non-refundable application fee, submitted electronically through UB's ePayment system.
- Contact information for at least three individuals who will each be asked to provide an electronic recommendation letter. Academic or professional references are required.
- Academic transcripts: Upload scanned copies of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts, including the English translation, if applicable.
- Proof of a master's or doctoral degree in a counseling field (or designated equivalent) showing a minimum of 48 graduate credits.
- Applicants must have previously completed coursework that meets some of the New York State educational requirements for mental health counseling licensure.
- Statement of intent regarding why you want to become a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC). Include in this statement a description of how you have been involved in efforts that commit to cultural diversity and/or social justice. Lastly, describe your work experience in the counseling field.
Former/Maiden Name: Please provide us with your former/maiden name if you have one. When requesting transcripts, please ask the sending institution to indicate your current name and former/maiden name.
Admissions Decision: The admissions decision will be communicated to you as soon as review is complete. The decision is based on a number of factors and is the result of a thorough and deliberate process. All decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
In-State Residency Tuition
In order to qualify for the in-state residency tuition rate, you must provide residency documentation indicating you have lived in New York State (NYS) 12 months before your semester start date.
If accepted, you will need to upload three documents to qualify for the in-state tuition rate. See Required Documents for Residency Application for more information.
International Applicant Additional Requirements
- Official original proof of your degree
- A copy of your passport biographical page
- Official test scores—dated within two years of submitting your application—for either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Academic Test, the PTE (Pearson Test of English) Academic, or DET (Duolingo English Test).
- TOEFL minimum score is 250 for computer-based test, 600 for paper-based test and 79 for internet-based test
- IELTS Academic Test minimum score is 6.5 overall
- PTE minimum score is 55 overall
- DET minimum score is 120 overall
- Financial documentation: International graduate applicants must document their ability to pay for all costs incurred while studying in the U.S.
- An official bank statement
All financial forms and supporting documentation with required signatures must be uploaded with your application and dated within one year of your intended enrollment date.
Career settings include:
- Hospitals
- Mental health centers
- State government agencies
- Substance abuse treatment facilities
New York State prides itself in the high quality of its licensed and certified professionals. For the protection of its citizens, each license and certificate has requirements that individuals must meet in order to be licensed or certified in New York State. SUNY’s academic programs leading to licensure or certification are carefully designed to meet and exceed these State requirements. This is a role SUNY plays in protecting the public. Other states frequently have their own requirements, so if your goal is to practice in another state, this disclosure will help you check to see what that state requires.
Enrolled students and prospective students are strongly encouraged to contact their state’s licensure entity using the links provided in the full disclosure document to review all licensure and certification requirements imposed by their state(s) of choice.