Build a career helping others.
Online Graduate Programs in Counseling
Promote mental health, improve lives, and advance social justice with a graduate degree from an accredited university. Antioch University’s CACREP-accredited online counseling programs prepare you to help people address the personal, family, and social issues that interfere with their ability to lead healthy and productive lives.
Antioch’s programs accept students from all undergraduate degrees looking to learn how to make a positive impact on those who need help the most. Our programs prepare you to work as a professional counselor to promote mental health, well-being, and social justice for a diverse, multicultural, and global community.
Employment of mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists projected to grow 24.7% in the next decade.
— Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019-2029)
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Accreditation
CACREP
Time to complete
3-3.5 years
Modality
Online, with Residencies
Antioch’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program is devoted to training students from diverse backgrounds, endorsing the principles of social justice by confronting oppression and injustice, and working with underserved populations. The program develops students in eight core areas: professional counseling orientation and ethical practice, social and cultural diversity, human growth and development, career development, counseling, and helping relationships, group counseling and group work, assessment and testing, and research and program evaluation.
By completing Antioch’s Master of Arts program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Art Therapy Concentration you will receive comprehensive clinical training, making it one of the few online degree programs in the U.S. featuring both art therapy and clinical mental health counseling competencies within a social justice lens.
The Addictions Counseling concentration prepares students to help those affected by addiction to live healthier, happier lives. Graduates will meet the academic requirements for licensure as clinical mental health counselors in most states, as well as the academic requirements for certification and licensure as alcohol and drug counselors in most states which have such certification or licensure.
This counselor education program, with a specialty area in School Counseling prepares students, to serve k-12 students, their families, and their communities by providing culturally responsive services to address the academic, social/emotional, and career needs of their k-12 students while advocating to remove barriers embedded in the education and other social systems and to promote mental health and well being for all.
This program trains students in eight (8) core areas: professional counseling orientation and ethical practice, social and cultural diversity, human growth and development, career development, counseling and helping relationships, group counseling and group work, assessment and testing, and research and program evaluation.
START TODAY
Are You Ready to Make a Difference in the Lives of Others?
Committed to Progress
Since our founding in 1852, Antioch University has stayed at the forefront of social justice, inclusion, and equality for all people, regardless of ethnicity, gender, creed, orientation, or ability. Throughout our 165-year history, we’ve attracted students who took the Antioch values out into the world, have stood for social and environmental justice, and made a difference in the policies and ideologies of the world to the betterment of all.
FINANCIAL AID
Many Antioch University students take advantage of our financial aid options to fund their education. Our Financial Aid team can design an aid package based on your eligibility and personal level of need. We’ll help you explore a variety of federal, state, and institutional financial aid options. You’re welcome to either contact the Financial Aid Office or apply now to see what choices are available for you.
licensure & accreditation
Licensure Information
Graduates of the CMHC Program may apply for professional credentials recognizing their level of training and experience. Credentials may be granted by national professional boards/organizations or by state regulatory boards.
The CMHC Program recognizes the importance of licensure and certification for professional practice. The legislature in each state establishes the criteria for licensure and an appointed board determines if an individual’s education and experience meet their standards. The AP Department has designed its programs to be consistent with the standards of the representative professional organizations. Individual states, many of which base their legislation on professional organization’s standards, vary as to specific coursework, number of hours of supervised practice, supervisor qualification, and other required criteria. While the department offers coursework and internships that allow students to put together a licensable portfolio, it cannot guarantee licensure. Students with any negative results on a criminal background check should inquire with the state board in advance to determine if the results of their background will hinder their ability to become licensed in their state.
As graduates of a CACREP accredited program, students are eligible to obtain full certification as a National Certified Counselor (NCC) upon graduation after passing the National Counselor Exam offered in April of their final year and completing the required applications. See the NBCC website for information on this process. Graduates self-reported pass rate on the NBCC exam is 80%.
Students will learn about the steps to licensure for the state in which they plan to pursue licensure in the Professional Orientation and Ethics course, however, students are responsible for knowing the expectations of the state in which they plan to apply. Students should actively consult their state’s counseling board for the most recent information about professional licensure. Faculty are available to consult with students and the following websites are helpful when navigating the licensure process:
National Board of Certified Counselors
American Counseling Association
American Mental Health Counseling Association
American Association of State Counseling Boards
To locate contact information, available licenses, and required examinations per State, visit the NBCC’s State Board Directory.
For information on individual state requirements, see the NBCC State Licensure page
Antioch University is a founding member of the Coalition for the Common Good, the first national higher education system of affiliated universities organized around a shared mission of educating students not only to advance their careers, but to promote our pluralistic democracy, social, racial, economic, and environmental justice, and the common good.
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