MA in Clinical Counseling
Integrative clinical compassion. CACREP accredited.
Master’s Degree in Clinical Counseling Overview
Clinical mental health counseling, like many of the helping professions, is vital to building a healthy and prosperous society. If you want to join this field as a professional mental health counselor, start your higher education with a CACREP-accredited master’s in clinical counseling (MACC) degree at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant today.
In your master’s in clinical counseling (MACC) degree program, you’ll develop skills and expertise in professional counseling, diagnosing, treating, and guiding individuals and groups as they work to overcome disability, grow, and embrace change. In the program you’ll gain valuable, hands-on experience counseling individuals who are struggling with anxiety, depression, grief, loss, anger management, infidelity, and other issues. Throughout the graduate program, you’ll receive the training and preparation you need in the counseling profession to become an outstanding clinical mental health counselor.
Program Highlights
CACREP-Accredited Program
The master’s degree program in clinical counseling is CACREP-accredited, the recognized training standard for certified counselors by the Institute of Medicine and the Veteran’s Administration and its curricula content areas are the required educational training for counseling licensure in most states, making CACREP-accreditation a pathway to portability.
Credential Preparation
The master’s program prepares you to earn your California Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) credentials by providing the tools you need to enter this rewarding field.
Hands-on Experience
You’ll get field training in your counselor education through an internship with supervised practice, where you’ll spend 700 hours gaining valuable experience, with a minimum of 280 hours under direct supervision and guidance.
Cultural Competence
In the graduate program you’ll develop methods of thinking critically and reflectively, breaking down walls of bias, and learning to help people of all cultures, communities, and backgrounds.
Clinical Counseling Residency Weekend, San Diego – May 2025
Over 100 clinical counseling students from our online campuses gathered on our San Diego campus to practice presentation skills, paired up to practice fundamental and group therapy skills, participated in group exercises, observed each other’s practice, and provided and received feedback from our faculty and fellow students. This comprehensive experience helped enhance understanding of the theory concepts and increased awareness of self as a therapist.
Admissions
Learn About Admissions Requirements
Faculty
Get to Know Our Diverse Faculty
Marriage and Family Therapy or Clinical Counseling; Which Path is Best for You?
Degree Information
Professional Training Through Supervised Clinical Experience
Starting in your first year of the CACREP-accredited master’s in clinical counseling, or MACC, program you can acquire real-world experience through unique observations of clients in clinical settings. As you progress in the MACC program, you’ll build on this initial exposure and develop your portfolio of clinical skills, gaining professional confidence along the way. The curriculum includes psychopharmacology, couple and family counseling, crisis, trauma and emergency response issues in counseling among others.
You’ll receive a total of 700 hours of clinical experience in individual counseling, family counseling, and group counseling. Of these, a minimum of 280 hours will be directly supervised clinical experiences.
Through your fieldwork as an intern of the MA counseling program, you’ll have opportunities to engage in clinical training experiences that serve a broad range of client populations. You’ll grow through experience with individual, family, group, and couple therapy, as well as psycho-diagnostic and neuropsychological assessment services. You’ll also gain experience with adults, children, families, and couples, learning and developing your counseling skill to counsel individuals who are struggling with ADHD, anxiety and depression, social skills, difficult behavior, anger management, grief and loss, relationship problems, sexual concerns, divorce, infidelity, intimacy and emotional closeness, and more.
Your Opportunity to Help Those in Need
Graduates of a masters clinical mental health counseling program are well-prepared to work in diverse community and healthcare settings. This health counseling degree equips students with the skills to assess, diagnose, and treat various mental health conditions. There are a variety of career paths available to clinical mental health counselors in the field of mental health counseling. Your counseling psychology skills may apply in the following:
- Community mental health clinics
- Couples and family services
- Outpatient and inpatient substance abuse centers
- Hospitals and health care agencies
- Government agencies and funded programs
- Public and private schools, universities and training programs
- Private and group practices
Clinical mental health counseling specialties provide the expertise and ethical practices to support clients in need of treatment, crisis intervention, and long-term therapy. Many professionals are planning to use their graduate education to specialize in areas such as trauma therapy, family counseling, or addiction treatment.
Links and Downloads
Annual Post of Vital Statistics
Being a professional counselor with an MA degree may give you an advantaged position among other certified counselors, and your credentials qualify you for high-demand jobs. Not only can you pursue a private practice, you’ll also have versatility in terms of opportunities such as rehabilitation counseling, family and school counseling, and other related fields.
“Alliant creates a foundation of not only clinical skills, but of duty to diversity and advocacy in its students. The education I received and the networking opportunities prepared me to become successful in my field.”
Suzette Garcia | CSPP alumna