Mental Health Counseling (Advanced Certificate)
Welcome to the Mental Health Counseling (Advanced Certificate) program home page. Use this page as a guide to the program from acceptance to graduation.
This advanced certificate program will allow graduates from our Rehabilitation Counseling program to acquire additional knowledge and training in Mental Health Counseling, which will make them eligible for the Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) credential in New York State.
Academic Plan
MENHC-AC
Total Credits
Earn at least 17 credits
Advisors
- Jen Yung-Chen Chiu, Faculty Advisor
- Valerie Lyons, Administrative Advisor
- Michelle Lask, Clinical Placement Specialist
Newly Accepted Students
Getting Started and Orientation
New Student Checklist
Welcome to the School of Education! Visit the Newly Accepted Students page for a checklist to get you started at Hunter College.
New Student Support
If at any point you need support, please reach out to our New Student Liaison at newsoest@hunter.cuny.edu or make an appointment.
Orientations
Students will attend three orientations to cover all the information needed to start your program:
- General New Student Orientation
- Program Advising Session
- Clinical Experiences and Fingerprinting Orientation
See “Program Related Events” for details about upcoming sessions.
Financing Your Degree
Visit the Financing Your Degree page for information.
Program Sequences
Consult the program sequence for a suggested order of courses for the program based on start date. It also includes when to take certification exams and apply for clinical experiences in addition to other important non-course requirements. For technical registration support and troubleshooting, please visit the Register for Classes page.
Hunter College Catalog
Use the Hunter College Course Catalog to review descriptions of specific courses and academic progress standards for the program along with exit requirements.
Clinical Experiences
Students in the Mental Health Counseling (Advanced Certificate) program students are required to complete two semesters of fieldwork experiences during their academic program.
For information on the courses associated with these fieldwork experiences, consult the course catalog in conjunction with the program sequence.
Internship
Upon successful admission to the program, students begin internship in the field of mental health counseling and need to be supervised by a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC). Internship is a two-consecutive semester experience, which starts in the fall semester and is completed in the spring semester. Internship requires students to be in the field a minimum of 300 hours per semester (approximately three full days each week). Students are responsible for finding a field site with appropriate supervision to complete the internship. Students can utilize their current or past worksites as their fieldwork placement as long as they meet the internship requirements.
Note: Internship hours that were completed during the studies in the clinical rehabilitation counseling would not count.
Placement and Registration
Registration permission is required to register for Internship courses. Counseling students are responsible for identifying their placement in collaboration with the fieldwork coordinator. Once placement has been approved, registration permission will be granted.
Application
Students must apply for internship by submitting a complete internship application by the specific deadline announced by the fieldwork coordinator, which will be the semester prior to starting.
Note: If students could not submit the fieldwork application, they will not be allowed to begin the program.
Certification and Licensure
This program leads to eligibility for the Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) credential in New York State. Professional licensure is required to practice mental health counseling.
Students applying for licensure for Mental Health Counseling can upload their required forms to the Out of State Certification and Licensure Form.
Graduation
Graduation is the official completion of your program and conferral of an academic degree. In order to graduate, students must apply for graduation using CUNYFirst the semester before the semester of their planned graduation and complete any outstanding requirements by the stated deadlines. Visit the Graduation and Commencement page for complete information.