College of Education Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Preparing National Leaders and Advocates in Counseling

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Seattle University prepares mental health counselors to be ethical, reflective, and multiculturally competent leaders and change agents to work in clinical mental health, hospital, agencies, and college settings. 

Seattle University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program is a national leader in preparing mental health counselors. The program holds the distinction of being the first counseling program in Seattle to be accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). CACREP is the leading accrediting body for master’s level counseling programs in the country. The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program is also ranked as the top graduate counseling program in Seattle, based on program completion rate, job placement rate, licensing exam pass rates, accreditation length, research productivity of faculty, and cost of tuition and fees by Top Counseling Schools, a website for counseling students and professionals.

The counseling faculty are national leaders in their respective areas of research. Counseling faculty are also involved at the state and national levels regarding clinical mental health counseling issues. The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program is the only program in the nation where graduates are eligible to pursue Washington State substance use disorder certification upon graduation. This distinction positions our clinical mental health counseling graduates to provide integrated care. Graduates of the program are able to provide both substance abuse and mental health counseling. Graduates of the program leave with a deep understanding of mental health and substance abuse issues, strong clinical skills, and possess a commitment to social justice.

 Program Features

• Accessible faculty
• Courses that begin at 4pm and later, Monday through Thursday evenings.
• Faculty who are leaders in the field and nationally recognized for their research
• Our field placement courses have small class sizes of no more than 12 students
• Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)

Counseling Graduates

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program prepares students for work in various community settings, such as youth service agencies, mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals and correctional facilities.

We believe that effective counselors have:

• a sense of personal identity and an understanding of the process of identity formation that guides their work and governs their professional ethics
• a commitment to social justice and working with diverse populations
• a thorough grounding in basic counseling skills compatible with any theoretical orientation
• knowledge of a variety of classical and contemporary counseling theories and ability to integrate these into their own evolving theoretical foundation
• managed the stresses of a demanding profession by developing effective coping skills
• developed a professional and personal support system to nourish and sustain them