Mar 29, 2024  
2023-24 Western Washington University Catalog 
    
2023-24 Western Washington University Catalog

Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Non-Thesis, MS

Location(s): WWU - Bellingham


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Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Graduate Faculty

Bell, Angela, PhD, intergroup dynamics and the experiences of being a member of a stigmatized group.
Byrne, Christina, PhD, psychological trauma and intimate partner violence.
Ciao, Anna C., PhD, risk factors for developing eating and weight concerns, eating disorder and obesity prevention and early intervention, barriers to seeking psychological treatments, dissemination of evidence-based interventions.
Czopp, Alexander M., PhD, negative implications for intergroup relations of “positive” stereotypes of groups, prejudice reduction through interpersonal confrontation.
Delker, Brianna, PhD, psychology of trauma and abuse perpetrated within close relationships, social and cultural contexts of trauma, developmental psychopathology.
Devenport, Jennifer, PhD, legal psychology, jury decision-making, factors influencing erroneous eyewitness identifications.
Du Rocher Schudlich, Tina, PhD, developmental psychopathology, marital conflict and children, parent-child emotion regulation.
Fast, Anne A., PhD, cognitive development; development of prosocial behavior; motivations for prosocial behavior; development of socio-moral reasoning; perceptions of intellectual property infringement; gender cognition and identity development.
Gonzalez, Antonya, PhD, cognitive development.
Graham, James M., PhD, adaptive processes in romantic relationships, romantic love, measurement, multivariate statistics.
Grimm, Jeffrey W., PhD, animal models of drug taking and drug seeking, neurobiology of drug taking and drug seeking.
Gruman, Diana, PhD, school counseling, child and adolescent development, educational psychology.
Hyman, Ira, PhD, memory, cognitive psychology, social cognition.
Jantzen, Kelly J., PhD, behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, human environment interactions.
Kaplan, Joshua, PhD, behavioral neuroscience.
Lehman, Barbara, PhD, childhood family environment and social/psychological health, research methods and statistics.
Lemm, Kristi, PhD, implicit attitudes.
Mallinckrodt, Brent, PhD, attachment in adults, affect regulation, the counseling relationship as a catalyst for client change, social support, training students for social justice advocacy.
Matsukura, Michi, PhD, cognition, perception.
McCabe, Jennifer, PhD, women’s wellness.
McLean, Kate, PhD, adolescent identity development.
Riggs, Anne E., PhD, social cognition, cognitive development, educational psychology.
Rose, Jacqueline K., PhD, molecular mechanisms of learning, memory, and plasticity.
Sattler, David, PhD, natural disasters, social dilemmas, small group research.
Scollon, Christie, PhD, science of well-being, memory for emotions, culture and emotion.
Smith, Aaron, PhD, treatment of psychological trauma and the causal mechanisms of posttraumatic growth; veteran mental health.
Sowell, Shaun, PhD, school counselors’ advocacy role, training school counselors with social justice focus, school counselor professional identity development.
Symons, Lawrence, PhD, perception.
Villicana, Adrian, PhD, intergroup relations, identity processes and social issues.
Warren, Michael, PhD, mindfulness in adolescence, virtue and moral development, allyship towards marginalized groups, positive psychology and positive youth development.

Graduate Program Coordinator: Cindy Savage, Academic Instructional Center 453

Program Description

The MS clinical mental health counseling program prepares students for careers in the field of mental health and is accredited by CACREP. The program provides a general foundation in theoretical and applied perspectives which are used by mental health professionals. Special emphasis is placed on skill development, supervised practica with adults and children and internships in various community and mental health clinics.

Goals

The program prepares knowledgeable, skilled, collaborative, and ethical counselors who value diversity, equity and social justice and meet the relevant licensing or credentialing standards for practice in mental health and public and private educational settings in the State of Washington.

Prerequisites

Prior to applying to the program, applicants must have successfully completed a course on research methods in psychology. We also strongly recommend applicants complete the following psychology courses: abnormal or clinical/counseling; developmental or social; and cognition or neuroscience.

Application Information

Deadlines: Program faculty will begin reviewing application materials after February 1 and will continue to review materials until the enrollment limit is reached or June 1, whichever comes first. Because maximum student enrollment in the program is limited, all applicants are strongly encouraged to submit application materials by February 1. Documentation of personal suitability of applications for counseling is required through a statement of purpose with specific questions and letters of reference. Top-ranked applicants will be invited to interview.

TA Deadline: To be considered for a graduate teaching assistantship, applicants must submit their application materials by February 1.

Program Requirements (91 credits)


Retention


The department has requirements affecting retention in the clinical mental health counseling program which are in addition to the Graduate School scholarship standards. Full, continuing enrollment in the required courses must be maintained. Grades lower than C- are unacceptable. More than 10 credits of C+ or lower grades removes a student from the master’s program. Any course in which an unacceptable grade is earned may be retaken only with permission of the admission/retention subcommittee, following consultation with the program advisor. It is necessary to maintain at least a 3.00 (B) grade point average for all graded work in order to be retained in the program. Retention in the mental health counseling curriculum is also dependent upon the development of professional competence in interaction with clients and other professionals. Development of professional counseling competencies is monitored and evaluated on a quarterly basis by the Counseling Program Committee of the Department of Psychology.

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