M.S. in Mental Health Counseling

Become licensed to treat adults/children with emotional, mental, and physical challenges through Fisher’s master’s in mental health counseling program.

The program prepares you for work in a variety of settings, including:

• Community agencies
• Clinics
• Hospitals
• Managed behavioral health care organizations
• Outpatient mental health programs
• Residential treatment and rehabilitation settings
• Substance abuse treatment programs
• Schools and corporations with employee assistance programs
• Colleges and universities
• Private practice

Two options exist within the program. You can earn either your master's degree or advanced certificate in mental health counseling. The latter is ideal if you already possess a master's degree in counseling or a related discipline but wish to build upon your educational foundation in the field.

Join Us for a Virtual Information Session

See Success at Fisher

Join us for a virtual information session to learn more about the M.S. in mental health counseling program offered by the Wegmans School of Nursing at Fisher, and get your questions answered.

Upcoming Sessions

• Monday, November 18 at 12 p.m. | Register for the 11/18 session
• Wednesday, December 18 at 12 p.m. | Register for the 12/18 session
• Monday, January 13 at 5 p.m. | Register for the 1/13 session

Program Overview

The mission of the program is to deliver culturally-informed, personalized instruction to a diverse student body regarding essential counseling knowledge and skills while facilitating the development and enhancement of personal qualities and characteristics necessary to become an outstanding professional mental health counselor.

The curriculum examines the psychological foundations of mental health and related developmental issues. The role of diagnostic assessment, including both its strengths and limitations, is a focal point of the program.

Courses offer you in-depth, practical insight into counseling areas such as:

• Professional identity
• Social and cultural diversity
• Human growth and development
• Helping relationships
• Career development
• Group work
• Research
• Program evaluation
• Evidence-based intervention skills

Sixty credit hours—which can be obtained in two years of full-time study or 3.5 years part-time—are required for the master's degree. The advanced certificate is awarded after the successful completion of 18 credit hours of required classes.

Late afternoon and evening classes help you work toward your degree or certification with minimal interruption to your busy schedule.

Program Objectives

The curriculum is designed to prepare students to:

• Demonstrate professional skills and personal qualities required for working as an effective counselor in an integrated setting;
• Utilize a variety of differential diagnostic assessment skills consistent with the most current diagnostic manual;
• Apply a diverse range of evidence-based intervention strategies;
• Develop appropriate intervention plans based upon knowledge of culturally relevant variables in client care including ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic levels, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status; and
• Exhibit professional behavior consistent with ethical guidelines of mental health counseling professional organizations and regulatory agencies.

Rochester Regional Health's Preferred Education Partner

Rochester Regional Health employees are eligible for generous tuition discounts in addition to employer tuition assistance in our Wegmans School of Nursing graduate programs. Take advantage of the preferred education partnership today.