MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Online

Credit Hours

Online* with required intensives

Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total

Empower Others to Create Positive Change by Earning a Licensure-Track Master’s in Counseling Online

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.

What is an LPC degree?

An LPC degree is a “license for professional counseling” degree, or a degree designed to help graduates obtain a professional counseling license. Liberty’s Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is an LPC degree.

You may also be able to use your state’s approved pathways to transition from a general LPC to a specialized field. See your state’s board of counseling website for details.

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Top 10 Reasons to Choose Liberty

Why Choose Liberty’s Online Master’s in Mental Health Counseling?

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.

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.

What Will You Study in Our Master’s in Counseling Online?

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.

Potential Career Opportunities

Featured Courses

Degree Information

This program falls under the School of Behavioral Sciences.
View our Graduate Behavioral Sciences Course Guides (login required).
Two 3-credit hour intensives with flexible scheduling are required.
One 3-credit hour practicum that requires 100 hours – 40 of which are direct contact hours.
6-credit hour internship taken in two 3-credit-hour courses over 2 semesters. For more information, please contact academic advising at (800) 424-9596.
Review the background check and comprehensive exam information.
The MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program may lead to licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in most states. See which states have unique board requirements.
You can read more about the National Counselor Examination on our counselor education page.

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.

State Licensure Requirements

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

Speak to one of our admissions specialists to help you choose the program that best fits your needs.

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Tuition & Aid

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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Financial Aid & Scholarships

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Scholarship Opportunities

Admission Information for the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Online

Admission Requirements

Apply online or over the phone with an admissions counselor by calling (800) 424-9596.
- A non-refundable, non-transferable $50 application fee will be posted on the current application upon enrollment (waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required).
Send official college transcripts (mailed as sealed, unopened copies or sent via a direct electronic transcript system). A regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 2.7 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work. Please note – once accepted into the program, a 3.0 graduate GPA is needed to maintain good academic standing in the program.
- Unofficial transcripts can be used for acceptance purposes with the submission of a Transcript Request Form.
Students must have 3 credit hours in statistics (can be MATH 201) either on their transcripts or must complete this requirement as a prerequisite to specific graduate courses.
Contact information for 2 recommenders from professional sources (i.e., not family/friends). This form can be submitted online (login required) or to luoverify@liberty.edu – 1. Name 2. Position/Title 3. Email 4. Phone 5. Place of Employment 6. Mailing Address. These individuals should be qualified to address the applicant’s ability to complete the graduate-level work, disposition, ability to become a counselor, and their maturity, motivation, and ethics. Some examples of individuals that may be suitable include professors, employers, or leaders in an organization where the applicant volunteers. Please note: This contact information must be less than 1 year old.
Statement of Purpose
- Please describe in 200-250 words why you desire to become a counselor and indicate the type of counselor certification you plan to seek after graduation.
- Describe in 200-250 words an occasion in which you have interacted with an individual or a group of individuals from another culture. Identify the cultural differences which were present and how you demonstrated respect for those differences.
- Describe in 200-250 words how you form effective interpersonal relationships with others in individual and group settings.
Complete the form agreeing to the Department of Counselor Education and Family Study’s Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Mission Statement and Diversity Statement.
Students seeking to be admitted into this program and planning to finish it outside of the U.S. will be required to sign an International Disclosure Agreement (login required).
Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit official scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an approved alternative assessment. For information on alternative assessments or TOEFL waivers, please call Admissions or view the official International Admissions policy.

Bridge Program

Students who do not meet the required 2.7 GPA can potentially be placed into the Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Studies.* Upon successful completion of this certificate with at least a 3.0 GPA, these students can be reevaluated for the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program.

*In order to be eligible for the alternate pathway, admission requirements for the graduate certificate must still be met.

Preliminary Acceptance

If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:

Be in your final term and planning to start your master’s degree after the last day of class for your bachelor’s degree.
Complete a Bachelor’s Self-Certification Form confirming your completion date. You may download the form from the Forms and Downloads page or contact an admissions counselor to submit the form on your behalf.
Submit an official/unofficial transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show a minimum of 105 completed credit hours.
If you are a current Liberty University student completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to submit a Degree/Certificate Completion Application.
Send in an additional, final official transcript with a conferral date on it by the end of your first semester of enrollment in the new master’s degree.

Transcript Policies

Unofficial College Transcript Policy

Unofficial transcripts combined with a Transcript Request Form can be used for admission. Official transcripts are required within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first, and will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.

Before sending unofficial college transcripts, please make sure they include the following:

Your previous school’s name or logo printed on the document
Cumulative GPA
A list of completed courses and earned credit broken down by semester
Degree and date conferred (if applicable)

Official College Transcript Policy

An acceptable official college transcript is one that has been issued directly from the institution and is in a sealed envelope. If you have one in your possession, it must meet the same requirements. If your previous institution offers electronic official transcript processing, they can send the document directly to luoverify@liberty.edu.

If the student uses unofficial transcripts with a Transcript Request Form to gain acceptance, all official transcripts must be received within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first. Failure to send all official transcripts within the 60-day period will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.

Admissions Office Contact Information

Submit your application online or over the phone.

Start Online Application

Apply by phone: (800) 424-9595

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.

View Military Benefits

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of Liberty University’s clinical mental health counseling degree online?

One benefit to Liberty’s online clinical mental health counseling degree is that it can help you prepare for in-demand careers. The U.S. Department of Labor projects overall growth for mental health counselors – learn more.* Insurance companies offer more coverage for mental health services than in the past. This change means that the federal government, community clinics, and local hospitals are expanding their mental health counseling staff to provide effective treatment for patients.

After completing Liberty University’s master’s in clinical mental health counseling degree online, you will have many opportunities to choose your preferred area of practice or specialize your field of expertise. This change can be completed later through state-specific alternate pathways.

Highlights that set Liberty’s clinical mental health counseling degree apart from others:

Our award-winning online learning environment means you can complete your coursework on a schedule that fits your life.
Our flexible, on-campus intensive options give you the opportunity to visit Liberty University’s beautiful campus in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia when it fits into your schedule. You also may be able to use financial aid to pay for a hotel room during your week-long intensive. For more information, contact academic advising at (800) 424-9595.
The practicum and internship provide hands-on, marketable experience working directly with hurting people in your community.
Our mental health counseling degree is taught by a cadre of expert professors with years of experience in the helping professions.

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, (Viewed online October 26, 2021). Cited projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth.

How do I know the master’s in clinical health counseling is right for me?

You need flexibility. Liberty’s online mental health counseling degree is offered in mostly 8-week sections. You’ll be able to complete the vast majority of your degree from the comfort of home, and you’ll be able to complete your field experience requirements at a location near you.
You want to gain experience. Our online mental health counseling degree features a practicum and an internship — allowing you to gain real-world experience, learn valuable skills, put what you learn into practice, and build professional connections.
You want an online counseling degree that is CACREP-accredited. This means that you can have confidence that your online counseling degree from Liberty has met the highest academic standards. A counseling degree from Liberty can help you stand out to hiring managers, serve clients with excellence, or equip you with the confidence to start your own counseling practice.
You want to study under industry experts. Our clinical counseling degree is taught by a group of expert professors with years of experience. Our instructors are passionate about the subjects they teach, but they’re even more passionate about helping you achieve your goals. By choosing Liberty for your MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, you choose professors who have a vested interest in your success.
You want to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. Our clinical mental health counseling degree online is designed to help you become a licensed mental health professional.
You want a Christ-centered education. Since 1971, Liberty’s mission has been to Train Champions for Christ. We don’t want to just train the next generation of clinical mental health counselors – we want to train principled, ethical professionals whose dedication to clients is preceded only by a love of Christ.

What can you do with a Master’s in Counseling Online?

Liberty’s online Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling provides the training, knowledge, and experience you need to become a professional counselor. With a professional counseling licensure and an LPC degree that is accredited by CACREP, your training and expertise can be recognized as meeting a high standard of excellence. There are opportunities for counseling in many areas, including:

Addictions and recovery counseling
Community counseling
Ministry-based counseling
Private counseling practice

Our online counseling degree assists students in pursuing required state licensure areas of knowledge and practice. This allows students to pursue state-regulated counseling positions to work in private, public, and nonprofit roles where counseling and human services skill sets are required. After completing Liberty’s online degree in counseling and satisfying state licensure requirements, students may be able to start their own private practices in counseling.

As a licensed professional counselor (LPC), you may be qualified to work in the following types of treatment centers:

Hospitals
Inpatient mental health treatment facility
Mental health agency
Private practice

With additional licensure requirements, graduates may also pursue roles as school counselors, addiction counselors, marriage and family therapists, and many other counseling roles. Please review your state’s licensure requirements for more information about counseling licensure requirements.

What is professional counseling?

Professional counselors or mental health counselors are licensed professionals who use expert knowledge in human psychology to help people heal from emotional trauma, overcome harmful behavior, and offer mental health guidance.

The act of counseling itself may be performed by non-licensed professionals who have experience in helping people overcome emotional and psychological struggles. However, licensed counselors have met specific, rigorous standards for training. LPCs have also undertaken a broad-based, in-depth study of psychological conditions and their treatment. This background better prepares counselors to handle a wider variety of issues, utilize one of several counseling techniques, and use the chosen technique to help clients get the help they need.

How can you earn a counseling degree online?

Many students looking for how to get a counseling degree are confused by online formats. While these programs are online, state-recognized counseling licensure requires hands-on experience showing many hours of counselor-patient experience. With Liberty’s online LPC program, the hands-on experience is handled through a practicum and internship in or near your local community.

Can you get a counseling license without a master’s?

No. If you want to become a licensed professional counselor, earning a master’s degree is a must. That’s why Liberty offers an online masters in mental health counseling — so you can take the next step towards your career goals without relocating. By partnering with us, you can earn your mental health counselor degree and pursue your dream of becoming a licensed professional counselor.

Can I start my own practice with Liberty’s master’s in professional counseling?

Is getting an LPC worth it?

Becoming a licensed professional counselor (LPC) is a rewarding, in-demand career path that can empower you to guide struggling people through various difficulties. As an LPC, you’ll be able to diagnose and treat emotional disorders, and provide direct guidance to individuals and groups. You’ll also be able to work in a variety of settings such as mental health facilities, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, or your own private practice.

If you’re interested in becoming a counselor and in the process of exploring LPC online programs, Liberty’s online MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling can help you become a licensed professional counselor. While some masters in counseling online degrees may have not been created with licensure requirements in mind, our online mental health counseling degree was designed to satisfy licensure requirements.

Through completion of this degree’s rigorous curriculum and field experience requirements, you can graduate from our mental health degree online as an ethical, principled professional who can confidently pursue licensure.

Will I be required to attend any courses on campus?

Our clinical mental health master’s in counseling online requires 2 residential courses. Occasionally these are also offered as synchronous online courses and offers can vary per semester. Please refer to the Course Registration Tool for current listings. The courses, COUC 505 and COUC 512, will still require online students to be present for class virtually between the hours of 8:00 and 5:00 pm EST for one week. For more information, please contact academic advising at (800) 424-9596.

What is the difference between a life coach and a counselor?

Though there are several differences between a life coach and a counselor, one of the largest differences is that counseling is more narrow in focus than life coaching. Counselors help their clients cope with issues such as addiction, eating disorders, and numerous other challenges.

On the other hand, life coaches do not seek to help clients overcome serious mental challenges. Life coaches focus more on motivating their clients to reach certain goals while counselors seek to guide clients through their current life circumstances.

What is the difference between a lay counselor and a licensed professional counselor?

While a licensed counselor must go through years of educational and professional training and testing to licensed, little to no training is required to become a lay counselor. Lay counselors are commonly non-degree-holding, non-credentialed, and non-licensed people who work in the helping professions.

Licensed counselors also tend to earn considerably larger salaries than lay counselors.

How do our counseling degree’s field experience requirements work?

Our master’s in clinical mental health counseling has 1 practicum and 1 internship. Both are semester-long courses.

The practicum requires 100 hours of field experience – 40 of those direct client hours, and 60 of those related activities such as reading literature, creating and examining case notes, and crafting treatment plans. The practicum, which also requires a few set login times, should be completed near the end of our mental health degree online – but before the internship. In order to register for the practicum, students must complete all required prerequisites and have at least a 3.0 GPA.

The internship requires 600 total hours of field experience. Because it may be difficult to complete all of these hours in 1 semester, students are required to complete the internship over the course of 2 semesters. One other difference between the practicum and the internship is that the internship requires group supervision while the practicum does not. However, we recommend group supervision as part of the practicum, if possible.

MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Online CACREP Accredited

Empower Others to Create Positive Change by Earning a Licensure-Track Master’s in Counseling Online

What Sets Us Apart?

Why Choose Liberty’s Online Master’s in Mental Health Counseling?

CACREP Accreditation

What Will You Study in Our Master’s in Counseling Online?

Potential Career Opportunities

Featured Courses

Degree Information

Licensure Information

State Licensure Requirements

Not sure what to choose?

Tuition & Aid

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Admission Information for the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Online

Admission Requirements

Bridge Program

Preliminary Acceptance

Transcript Policies

Admissions Office Contact Information

Ready to Apply?

Military

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of Liberty University’s clinical mental health counseling degree online?

How do I know the master’s in clinical health counseling is right for me?

What can you do with a Master’s in Counseling Online?

What is professional counseling?

How can you earn a counseling degree online?

Can you get a counseling license without a master’s?

Can I start my own practice with Liberty’s master’s in professional counseling?

Is getting an LPC worth it?

Will I be required to attend any courses on campus?

What is the difference between a life coach and a counselor?

What is the difference between a lay counselor and a licensed professional counselor?

How do our counseling degree’s field experience requirements work?

Are you ready to change your future?

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