PSYCHOLOGY

The M.A. in Psychology: Clinical Counseling

THE CITADEL

The M.A. in Psychology: Clinical Counseling

The Citadel's Master of Arts in Psychology: Clinical Counseling program offers graduate education for those interested in becoming professional counselors in community agencies, including college counseling centers, hospitals, mental health, and social services agencies. The program requires completion of 54 credit hours of coursework, typically completed in 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 years. The curriculum has been developed according to guidelines set forth by the Council of Applied Masters Programs in Psychology (CAMPP) and the program is accredited by the Master's in Psychology Accreditation Council (MPAC). Coursework is consistent with requirements for licensure as a Professional Counselor in the state of South Carolina. The curriculum reflects current knowledge and perspectives concerning psychological counseling and human development needs of a diverse multicultural society.
  • Philosophy and Mission
  • Admission Requirements
  • Program Description
  • Alphabetical Listing of Field Placement Sites
  • Requirements for Graduation
  • Application Materials

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    For Current Students:

    Important Forms:

            Useful Links

  • Council of Applied Masters Programs in Psychology website
  • Northamerican Association of Masters in Psychology (NAMP)
  • American Psychological Association
  • American Counseling Association
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    Philosophy and Mission

    The Department of Psychology espouses a philosophical perspective of training and practice which stresses an empirical and applied approach to addressing psychosocial problems of clients. Most faculty members are engaged in clinical practice, research efforts, or both. Faculty members' activities are guided by a scientist-practitioner model, which emphasizes a scholarly approach to applications of psychology.

    The mission of the Master of Arts in Psychology: Clinical Counseling program at The Citadel is to prepare students to become scholarly practitioners of psychosocial counseling in community agencies, including college counseling centers, hospitals, mental health centers, and social services agencies. The program emphasizes the application of theories of human development, psychopathology, and behavior change to psychosocial problems of a diverse population of individuals and families seeking mental health services in the community. The program's model blends didactic and experiential training to facilitate students' ability to utilize an empirical approach to assessment, goal development, intervention, and evaluation of services for a wide range of individuals and families experiencing a variety of psychosocial difficulties. It is the expectation of the program that students will be trained to be competent and ethical professional service providers who will a scholarly perspective as well as compassion and caring to their work.

    Admission Requirements

    Admission to the Program is based on a competitive review of application materials. All applicants must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. Minimum requirements for consideration for admission include an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.75 (or graduate GPA of 3.0) and a score of 50 on the Miller Analogies Test or combined score (verbal and quantitative) of 1000 on the Graduate Record Examination (minimum of 450 on each section). MAT and GRE scores over 5 years old are not accepted. Students requesting a transfer from another Masters Program must provide documentation of a GRE or MAT score (copies are acceptable) to complete requirements for application to the program.

    Program Description

    The MA in Psychology: Clinical Counseling is awarded after successful completion of 54 semester hours. It is the mission of this program to prepare students to function as scholarly-practitioners. In order to achieve this goal, the program is divided into three distinct course blocks, each building upon the one before.

    The first block focuses on training students as scholars and consists of core counseling and psychology courses. These courses are designed to enhance student understanding of individual differences, theories of development and behavior change, and professional roles and functions from a scholarly perspective. To that end, courses address biological and environmental factors influencing normal and abnormal human development, theories of personality and counseling, learning theory and application, social/multicultural influences on behavior, scientific approaches to understanding human behavior, and ethical/professional issues. All courses emphasize an empirical approach toward gaining and evaluating knowledge. Students completing this core of courses should have a firm theoretical grasp of normal and abnormal development and of factors influencing such development. They should understand the major theories of personality and behavior change. Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of foundations of psychology and counseling, basic assessment skills, and good communication and listening skills. Additionally, students will appreciate the importance and utility of the scientific method for advancing knowledge and clinical practice. Finally, students will have a firm grasp of ethical/legal and other issues essential to professional practice.

    Block I -- Core Courses
    PSYC-500 Human Growth and Development
    PSYC-501 Application of Learning Theory
    PSYC-507 General Psychopathology: Assessment and Differential Diagnosis
    PSYC-508 Counseling and Personality Theories
    PSYC-514 Ethics and Mental Health Law
    PSYC-523 Statistics and Research Design
    PSYC-525 Basic Counseling Techniques
    PSYC-549 Applied Measurement Techniques
    PSYC-553 Introduction to Family Dynamics
    PSYC-561 Multicultural Awareness & Counseling

     Following a demonstration of competency in the content of core courses as indicated by a passing score on a comprehensive examination, students will move on to the second block of courses. These advanced, clinically focused courses build upon the basic foundation established in the first block of courses. These courses prepare students to be practitioners and specifically address interventions designed to facilitate behavioral, cognitive and affective functioning. Students will be exposed to theory and practice of group and individual counseling. They will learn about the process of counseling from diagnostic assessment and treatment planning through selection/evaluation of intervention strategies and termination. Students also learn about psychopharmacologic approaches to treatment. Through electives, students may choose to address theory and practice of family systems approaches to treatment or treatment of children/adolescents. The courses in this advanced clinical block are applied, and blend didactic and experiential components to facilitate the development of therapeutic skills.

    Block II -- Advanced Clinical Courses
    PSYC-552 Group Counseling Techniques
    PSYC-611 Clinical and Professional Issues in Counseling
    PSYC-643 Contemporary Psychological Assessment and Psychotherapy
    PSYC-644 Advanced Counseling Techniques

    The final block of courses consists of two field experiences. The practicum and internship courses reflect the culmination of the program and provide students with structured, supervised experiences with actual clients in community agencies (see link to Alphabetical Listing of Field Placement Sites for a list of current field placement opportunities). It is during these experiences that students are able to integrate and apply their coursework to actual clinical problems by conducting psychosocial and/or diagnostic assessments and implementing intervention strategies. Students are expected to develop awareness of professional and clinical strengths and weaknesses (and begin to address these), a personal style of counseling, and to develop as professionals.

    Block III -- Field Placements
    PSYC-629 Practicum
    PSYC-651/652 Internship: Clinical Counseling (total of six credit hours)

    Students are required to take at least one elective. Electives may be taken at any point during the course of study (though some have prerequisites). Electives should be selected in consultation with the student's advisor.

    Selected Electives (others are acceptable with approval from the advisor)
    PSYC-555 Alcohol and Substance Abuse
    PSYC-555 Family Violence
    PSYC-558 Marital and Family Systems
    PSYC-636 Sexual Issues in Counseling
    EDUC-550 Career Counseling (required if seeking licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor)

     Course descriptions can be found in the 1999 - 2002 Graduate Catalog which may be obtained from the College of Graduate and Professional Studies (CGPS) in Bond Hall.

    Requirements for Graduation

    Students must complete all course requirements within a 5 year period from the date of initial enrollment. Appropriate degrees will be conferred on students who have successfully completed the requirements for their program with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

    Application Materials

    Application materials can be requested from The Citadel Graduate College, The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina: (843) 953-5089. If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can click here to obtain a Graduate Admissions Application. The Clinical Counseling Program also requires a specific admissions questionnaire in addition to the application found on the web site. The admissions questionnaire can be found at http://www.citadel.edu/graduatecollege/forms/index.shtml. Application materials are submitted to The Citadel Graduate College and all materials must be received by March 15 for the applicant to be considered for Fall Admission.

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