Mental Health Counseling Graduate Certificate
NLU’s Mental Health Counseling Certificate program is designed to assist individuals who graduated from a counseling related field but lack specific courses or credits to be eligible for licensure as an Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Florida to complete those required courses. The Mental Health Counseling Certificate program at NLU Florida provides coursework that when combined with their existing master’s degree meets the educational standards for licensure as an LMHC in Florida as well as many other states. It also meets the educational requirements for certification as a Board-eligible National Certified Counselor. The program prepares students to sit for the National Counselor Exam (NCE) and the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam (NCMHCE), the two most popular state licensure exams.
This certificate is offered in an online and blended formats.
In addition to the College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Graduate Admission Requirements, applicants must:
- Have completed a Master’s degree in Counseling, School Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, Social Work, Psychology or a related field with a minimum of 45 semester credits or equivalent and a GPA of 3.0 or better
- Submit a written statement of academic and professional goals. This statement is one of the criteria used to evaluate the person’s application. The applicant should present reasons for selecting the certificate program. Reasons should include a review by the Florida Board and the specific courses needed to complete licensure requirements.
- Submit at least two signed and sealed letters of recommendation, academic in nature, regarding the applicant’s capacity for graduate work
- Undergo a faculty review
Program Details:
- Requires 12-15 SH for completion (specific courses needed are determined by a review of the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling)
- Requires completion of all courses in the certificate with a grade of "B" or better
- Requires completion of min of 9 SH at NLU
- A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required
Required Courses
Mental Health Counseling - 12-15 SH
| HSC 501 | Fundamentals of Counseling | 3 |
| HSC 504 | Clinical Techniques of Counseling | 3 |
| HSC 505 | Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis | 3 |
| HSC 506 | Introduction to Theory and Practice of Family Therapy | 3 |
| HSC 511 | Professional Practice and Ethics in Counseling | 3 |
| HSC 512 | Theories and Techniques of Group Counseling | 3 |
| HSC 514 | Counseling for Career Development | 3 |
| HSC 519 | Psychological Assessment in Counseling | 3 |
| HSC 520 | Human Sexuality | 3 |
| HSC 541 | Trauma and Crisis Intervention Theory, Response Models and Techniques | 3 |
| HSC 582 | Counseling Internship II | 3 |
| HSS 534 | Perspectives on Substance Abuse | 3 |