Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

MA in MHC

Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling

Preparing students to be Gospel-centered, professionally licensed counselors.

The Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling prepares students to be professionally licensed counselors. In addition to preparing you for certification, the MA in MHC helps students foster self-awareness, gain greater insight into the nature of human persons, develop the clinical skills necessary for professional counseling, and develop a framework for integrating biblical-theological truth with social sciences and counseling theory.

Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling

Where can this degree take me?

The MA in MHC is a licensure track program designed to prepare students for a variety of counseling-centric vocations that require professional credentials. Our graduates have gone on to both private practice and positions within larger organizations. Potential fields include, but are certainly not limited to, addictions counseling, marriage and family therapy, grief counseling, sexual identity counseling, spiritual abuse counseling, and adolescent therapy. Additionally, our MA in MHC provides an excellent foundation for doctoral work in counseling psychology and related fields.

What will I study?

A mental health counseling core is coupled with biblical and theological courses and finished off with an internship (for licensure) or capstone options for students anticipating either international work or PhD work. Your courses will include the following:

  • Biblical and Theological Foundations - 12 hours

    ID 5000 Biblical Theology and Interpretation 3 hours
    ID 5010 Foundations in Biblical Studies 3 hours
    ST 5000 Survey of Doctrine 3 hours
    CO 6710 Counseling and Theological Worldview: Faith and Practice 3 hours

  • Mental Health Counseling Core - 33 hours

    CO 5210 Counseling Skills Training 3 hours
    CO 5400 Foundations of Mental Health Counseling 3 hours
    CO 5310 Counseling Theories 3 hours
    CO 6110 Career Counseling 3 hours
    CO 6130 Group Counseling 3 hours
    CO 6510 Personality Development 3 hours
    CO 6650 Multicultural Issues in Counseling 3 hours
    CO 6720 Ethics and Issues in Counseling 3 hours
    CO 7210 Assessment and Evaluation 3 hours
    CO 7450 Psychopathology 3 hours
    CO 7900 Research Methods 3 hours

  • Electives, Formation Group & Capstone

    Mental Health Counseling Electives (11-13 hours)

    Formation Group

    ID 5080 Formation Group (two semesters) 0 hours

    Capstone in CP (CO 6950 is required, and select one of other three options) (6-8 hours)

    CO 6950 Counseling Practicum 2 hours
    (1) Internship Option (Note: This is the only option leading to possible licensure.)
    CO 7961 Mental Health Counseling Internship I 3 hours
    CO 7962 Mental Health Counseling Internship II 3 hours
    (2) International Counseling Experience (Note: Non-licensure option; by department consent only.)
    CO 7969 International Counseling Experience 4 hours
    (3) Thesis Option
    CO 7905 Advanced Research Design 2 hours
    CO 7485 Thesis 2 hours

Counseling Faculty

You’ll take courses with some of our biblical and theological studies faculty, but your main mentors will be found in our Counseling department.

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What are the prerequisites for admission to this program?

In addition to the requirements for general admission, you’ll need the following:

  • An undergrad major that includes 9 hours of psych courses, including intro to psych, statistics, and either abnormal psych or a developmental psych course.
  • An undergrad GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  • Scores from either the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT).
  • An interview may be requested by the TEDS Counseling faculty.