MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Online CACREP Accredited

60

Credit Hours

View Courses

Online* with required intensives

Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total

Liberty University’s Master of Arts (MA) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree online is designed to equip you with the specialized training you need to gain state licensure and become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).**

An LPC is a licensed mental health professional who is trained to work with individuals, families, and groups in treating mental health and behavioral problems. By earning this online counseling degree, you can enhance your understanding of human psychology through field-tested techniques and learn best practices for promoting the mental health and holistic wellness of clients in diverse communities.

Our master’s in counseling degree online can help you become an ethical, well-trained mental health counselor with the knowledge, values, and skills you need to empower others to make positive changes in their lives. Completing Liberty University’s counseling degree online prepares you for counseling practice through rigorous academic courses, dynamic interaction with mentors and faculty, and a carefully structured practicum and internship process.

*Some exclusions apply. Please refer to our exclusions page for more information.

**Liberty maintains strict compliance with all licensure requirements for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Not a Virginia resident? We want to help find the best program for you! To view educational requirements and whether a specific program aligns with the licensure requirements for your state, please review our licensure/certification requirements webpage.



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What Sets Us Apart?

  • Private Nonprofit University
  • 600+ Online Degrees
  • No Standardized Testing for Admission
  • Transfer in up to 75% of an Undergrad Degree
  • Transfer in up to 50% of a Grad/Doctoral Degree

Do you want to empower others to conquer their challenges and become healthy and productive? Liberty University’s online clinical mental health counseling degree can help prepare you for a rewarding career as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Learn evidence-based, field-tested skills from professors who not only have years of real-world counseling experience but who are also committed to mentoring their students.

Counseling is a unique calling that requires a special kind of person. As a counselor, you’ll seek to help people overcome challenges that can seem insurmountable. At times, you will serve as a place of solace for your clients – a beacon of hope in a world that can seem ruthless, endless, and devoid of meaning.

The clients you serve may have just come stateside from a long tour in the Middle East, from an impoverished area, or from the highest echelons of society. Indeed, mental health challenges don’t discriminate – they affect people from all walks of life. Your clients may be broken, disheartened, depressed, or angry. They may also appear to be high on life – but on the inside, masquerading deep, shut-away feelings of insecurity, mental duress, and regret.

Fortunately for your future clients – and for you – people do not have to face their challenges alone. Just as your clients will depend on you, you can depend on Liberty University to help equip you with the skills, knowledge, experience, and credentials needed to offer hope to the hopeless and refuge to the restless.

At Liberty, our professors can be a tremendous asset to you. You’ll have the opportunity to meet with some of them personally during your visits to Liberty’s beautiful campus, located in Central Virginia, for 2 on-campus intensives. You’ll also observe professional counselors in their own practices during your counseling practicum and start honing your counseling skills throughout a 2-semester internship.

Once you complete your master’s degree in counseling online and pass your state licensure exam, you’ll be equipped to pursue a fulfilling professional counseling career. You may be able to pursue roles in many areas such as healthcare, community agencies, education, social services, or private practice. Liberty University’s online master’s in professional counseling degree provides you with a flexible, effective pathway to licensure – while preparing you for a rewarding career.

CACREP Accreditation

Our online mental health counseling degree is also CACREP-accredited. You may be wondering what this means for your degree and why CACREP accreditation is important.

Here are a few reasons why:

  • The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is the nation’s foremost accrediting group for determining the quality and rigor of a graduate-level counseling program. 
CACREP Badge
  • In order to earn CACREP accreditation, a graduate program must be evaluated by CACREP and found to meet or exceed national academic standards set by the counseling profession. Liberty’s MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling online degree fits that bill.  
  • CACREP accreditation also ensures that a degree program can help prepare you for licensure. Though licensure requirements may vary by state, earning a CACREP-accredited MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling can help you pursue a career as a licensed mental health professional. 
  • Though it may be possible to pursue a career as a licensed mental health professional without a CACREP-accredited graduate degree, CACREP is largely accepted as the standard that employers in counseling professions require. Becoming a professional counselor is much simpler with a CACREP-approved degree under your belt. 

If you’re looking for a CACREP-accredited mental health counseling degree online that allows you to prepare for a career as a licensed professional counselor and gain valuable skills from the comfort of home, look no further than Liberty’s master’s in clinical mental health counseling.


Our master’s in clinical mental health counseling degree online provides a foundational series of courses designed to cover the most essential studies in human behavior. These courses are designed to train you in ethical and legal issues in counseling, multicultural counseling, theories in counseling, and many other areas of study for evidence-based best practices. To meet private counseling practice requirements and become a licensed clinical counselor, your online counseling classes meet specific advanced counseling content areas. Our program is designed to help you receive the hands-on training you need.

Our online LPC degree focuses these critical knowledge areas into group counseling, psychopathology, and other important assessment and practical skill areas. With these skills, you can become equipped for another part of the degree program: your practicum and internship requirements.

The practicum and internship requirements embedded into our LPC online program allow you to gain valuable, real-world experience under the supervision of a professional counselor. At Liberty, we believe in the value of real-world experience because it allows you to see, experience, and learn things that may not be fully covered in a textbook or a lecture.

These courses are designed to give you the necessary skills and knowledge to be an effective mental health caregiver in your chosen field. By pursuing our clinical counseling degree online, you can earn a career-enhancing credential and confidently pursue careers in the helping professions.

Degree Completion Plan


Licensure Information

The 60-hour Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree is designed to lead to professional licensure as outlined by individual state boards of counseling. Before enrolling in a licensure program at Liberty University, students should consult the rules and regulations regarding professional counseling for their particular state. More specifically, students should be aware of the following before enrolling in one of Liberty University’s counseling programs:

  • State regulations regarding licensure opportunities if an applicant has a previous felony conviction.
  • State regulations regarding the type and number of academic courses and practicum/internship hours.
  • The state accreditation requirements for educational institutions.
  • The state regulations and requirements for online graduate education programs.

Individual state licensure requirements may vary and are subject to change without notice. View your state’s requirements here: licensure/certification requirements.


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Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.

Graduate Full Time $565/Credit
Graduate Part Time $615/Credit
Military Graduate $275/Credit

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Military

Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe.

Who May Qualify?

  • Active Duty
  • Reserve/National Guard
  • Veterans/Retirees
  • Spouses of Service Members and Veterans/Retirees
  • Current Department of Defense Employees

Available Benefits:

  • Tuition discounts – $275 per credit hour for graduate courses
  • Additional discount for veterans who service in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $625 per course)*
  • 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)

*Not applicable to certificates.