Pfeiffer University’s new Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MA-CMHC) program will launch in August, aiming to meet the growing demand for mental health clinicians in hospitals, mental health clinics, private and group practices, and non-profit agencies.

The demand is rooted in CDC-reported “increases in anxiety, depression, trauma, and suicide rates,” said Dr. Deborah Lung, an Associate Professor at Pfeiffer who serves as the Program Director of Clinical Mental Health Counseling. “We feel confident that the time is right for Pfeiffer to launch the MA-CMHC program. As a service-oriented university, we’re excited to begin training clinicians and get them out there in the communities.”

The MA-CMHC program takes 2.5 years to complete. It includes both synchronous and asynchronous online instruction, with a core curriculum focusing on subjects such as Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Multicultural Counseling, and Advanced Human Growth and Development. Other areas of study include Evaluation and Appraisal in Counseling and Research and Program Evaluation. And because MA-CMHC confers a clinical degree, students are required to intern at an agency for 20 hours a week over the final two semesters of the program. Students of the Pfeiffer program must also pass a Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE) to graduate. Passing the CPCE strengthens students’ readiness for the National Counselor Examination (NCE), which is required for provisional licensure.

Post graduation, students of the MA-CMHC program who have received provisional status can begin counseling as an associate under supervision while preparing for full licensure as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor. In North Carolina, this process requires at least 3,000 hours of supervised counseling experience, with at least 100 hours of direct supervision. This takes approximately two years, Lung said.

Lung said she’s hoping that the first cohort of MA-CMHC will have between 24 and 36 students. She said she’s looking for students with strong interpersonal and analytical skills.

She added that “to be an effective counselor, you need to deeply understand yourself so you can genuinely walk alongside others.”

Lung stressed that MA-CMHC “welcomes students from a wide variety of undergraduate and professional backgrounds” — including psychology, human services and social work, all of which “provide a strong foundation in understanding human behavior.”

“But we also have successful applicants who come from fields like education, nursing, pastoral ministry, business, or even the arts.”

“We are interested in people who are passionate about supporting others and bring diverse life experience to the counseling profession,” she said. “What matters most is a demonstrated interest in mental health and human connection, a readiness for graduate-level academic work, and a commitment to becoming a thoughtful, ethical, and effective clinician. We believe that students with a wide range of academic and life experiences enrich our learning community and bring valuable perspectives into the counseling field.”

The fall semester start date for MA-CMHC is Aug. 25. Applicants for the program’s first cohort of students are encouraged to complete their applications by Aug. 1. The free graduate application is available at explore.pfeiffer.edu.