Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts (BS/MA)

Training students to instill hope and healing within others.

Study Clinical Mental Health Counseling at LBC

Help Bring Stability and Hope to Struggling Individuals

Statistically speaking, you probably know someone or are personally affected by a mental health issue of some sort. Mental illnesses such as depression, eating disorders, anxiety disorders and more affect the daily lives of millions of people. You can respond to this need by getting the training you need to professionally care for the hurting.

Through our mental health counseling degree, students will learn about the multifactorial causes of and research-based treatments for various mental health struggles, all undergirded by a curriculum centered around biblical truth. On top of all that, students are taught by experienced, caring and licensed mental health professionals who work as counselors in a variety of professional and faith-based settings – like private practices, inpatient hospitals, public and private schools and church counseling offices.

While all of our counseling majors are expertly trained in the delivery of mental health treatment, this concentration offers students a chance to delve deeper into the hallmarks of mental health counseling, placing an added emphasis on learning how to perform and interpret intellectual, personality and psychological assessments and to deliver empirically-validated psychotherapy to specialized diagnostic populations. Effectively support clients with unique struggles.

LBC’s clinical mental health counseling degree allows our students to build their knowledge and skills through internships, assessment protocols, theory of personality development and mental health treatment, learn therapeutic interventions for a wide variety of struggles and graduate prepared to take the state licensure exam to become a licensed professional counselor.

Why Study Clinical Mental Health Counseling at LBC?

  • Earn both your undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years.
  • Study under professors and experienced professionals that specialize in mental health counseling.
  • Learn how to become a licensed clinical mental health counselor and graduate prepared for professional certification and licensure.
  • Earn your degree in clinical mental health counseling from an accredited Bible college in Pennsylvania.
Your Journey

Program Credits: 163

Locations: Lancaster


Degree

Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts with majors in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Biblical Studies
Learn about licensure/certification for this major


Internships
Here are some examples of internships completed by students in the past:

  • Private Practice Intern
  • Psychiatric Hospitals Intern
  • Church Counseling Center Intern

Options

  • Traditional
  • Online & Evening (Adult Education)
  • Available as Minor

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” – Psalm 32:7-8

A Closer Look: Counseling

Ryan Kuehner.

Get an overview of Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School’s counseling programs, hear from our faculty and students in the counseling programs, and see if LBC | Capital is where God is leading you.

Meet the Faculty

1

Day Butcher, EdD

Assistant Professor

“Teachers possess the power to create conditions that can help students learn a great deal or keep them from learning much at all.” Parker, P. J. (2007). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life.” – San Francisco: Jossey Bass/Wiley

Read Bio
1

Jon Shacklett, MA

Assistant Professor

“We can get beyond merely embracing the tensions between piety and learning by fostering a piety for learning, by becoming the kind of people who see deeply into the reality of things and who love that reality–for the Savior who shed his blood for us also descended into the deep places of the creation so that he might fill all things. Jesus not only rules over every square inch of the creation, he also loves those square inches.” -Richard Mouw

Read Bio

Sample Course Outline

PCN 122 – Group Experience & Self-Evaluation

The course provides students with an in depth self-evaluation for both personal development and professional development for the human services field. Student learning occurs through in-class instruction and group participation during class. The teaching method is experiential in nature. The course consists of an off campus weekend seminar during the first semester of the freshman year. Students will be required to read a textbook on spiritual formation and complete a reflection journal post seminar.

PCN 201 – Systems of Counseling I: Christian

This course examines the history of Christian counseling as it relates to the integration of theology and psychology. Consideration is given for the broad range of approaches including: biblical counseling, levels-of-explanation, integration, and Christian psychology. Course content includes study and application of the principles and methods for effective biblical change.

SOC 228 – Principles & Techniques of Counseling

This introductory course aims to apprise students of the basic tools necessary for effective counseling. As might be expected, the course covers a broad range of topics ranging from professional ethics to specific techniques used in therapy. Although most of the current theories and techniques are not necessarily derived from specific scriptural texts, a biblical worldview is foundational to the views advanced in this class. To that end, students are encouraged to interact with several sources outside the classroom setting in order to provide rich illustrations for the benefit of their classmates.

PCN 212 – Systems of Counseling II: Psychology

This course surveys the various psychological systems of counseling beginning with the early pioneers extending to the most recent therapeutic methodologies. Consideration is given for an eclectic approach that utilizes a foundational methodology with intervention strategies from various schools of thought.

CPS 541 – Group Counseling Leadership Skills

This is a clinical course designed to give students their first training in the theory and practice of group psychotherapy. Emphasis will be given to identifying and developing group leadership skills. Practical group experience outside of class will be required.

CPS 520 – Applied Counseling and Psychological Methodologies

This course will introduce the student to a variety of traditional counseling methodologies along with our appraisal from an evangelical biblical perspective. Students will also have opportunities to develop a breadth of concrete and functional skills to facilitate helping of the “whole” person. Consideration will also be given to contemporary issues facing the practitioner.

CPS 525 – Counseling and Psychological Assessment Techniques I

This course is designed to be a primer in psychological testing and assessment. Students will be familiarized to the salient clinical and ethical concerns surrounding the assessment process and not only to the content areas of specific testing techniques. The “hands on” nature of this class will furnish students with resources that will strengthen their diagnostic skills and ultimately their clinical effectiveness.

CPS 520 – Applied Counseling and Psychological Methodologies

This course will introduce the student to a variety of traditional counseling methodologies along with our appraisal from an evangelical biblical perspective. Students will also have opportunities to develop a breadth of concrete and functional skills to facilitate helping of the “whole” person. Consideration will also be given to contemporary issues facing the practitioner.

CPS 505 – Research Design and Statistics for Counselors

This course provides an introduction to research issues and methodology in the field of professional counseling. Emphasis is placed on gaining the knowledge necessary to evaluate the conclusions of published research. Students will be introduced to a variety of professional counseling research strategies in order to assist in evaluating and incorporating relevant findings in professional counseling practice. To that end, basic knowledge of research methodology, research design, sampling, measurement, statistics, and ethical issues for conducting research will be addressed.

CPS 551 – Counseling and Pschological Assessment Techniques II

An in-depth examination of the usefulness of formal mental and personality measures will guide the student to develop a useful description of a particular counselee. Students will conduct an extensive and intensive case study analysis using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Million Multiaxial Clinical Inventory, various Wechsler intelligence scales, and some of the neurological tests. A special focus of the case study analysis will involve the use of rapid assessment protocols as a less formal means of developing a useful description of the counselee. This course has a required Test Material fee.

Careers and Jobs in Mental Health Counseling

  • Counseling Pastor
  • Family Therapist
  • Licensed Professional Counselor
  • Marriage Therapist
  • Mental Health Counselor
  • Mental Health Therapist

What’s your next step?