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Mental health struggles affect over 10 million people a year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Out of that group, only about 50% seek treatment, and within that group, it affects 18 to 25-year olds at a rate of 29%. These are alarming statistics that raise awareness resulting in a need for educational programs in this area.

Grand View has added a new graduate degree that prepares students for a career in the growing field of mental health counseling. The Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree focuses on preparing students for earning not only a degree but also their licensure as a counselor. The program concentrates on helping students and working professionals advance their knowledge and expertise in the area of mental health.

Mental health counseling is an in-demand field as the needs of individuals, couples, and families appear to be growing. Currently, one in five adults lives with mental health issues, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. This breaks down to about 19% of adults in the United States that are experiencing mental health issues (approximately 47.6 million people) with about 5% of those being serious mental health issues (approximately 11.4 million).

Many mental health issues have been steadily growing in the last five years. Due to the pandemic, there have been large increases just since January of 2020, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

GV’s Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling addresses these needs by helping those in the program to further develop their counseling skills in client-counselor relationships. This program delivers a high-quality education while developing students’ scientific and interpersonal skills and providing them with the latest knowledge in the area of mental health counseling.

Dr. Amy Mooney, a faculty member of the new graduate program at GV, said this is an intense academic work program with a high learning curve. Students earn 60 credit hours in the area of mental health counseling. The program requires over 3,000 hours of study, postgraduate work in practicums, a one-year internship and preparation for the national exam and licensure.

“Undergraduate faculty Dr. Josh Woods, Jill Sudak-Allison, Jim Hanson and Kris Owens researched for the need and where the job projection for the future was,” Mooney said.

Faculty member Guy Cunningham was also involved in this process. The group realized that there are both career opportunities and a need for more mental health programs in this area.

In building this program, professors had to determine what the focus of the classes would be and how many hours would be needed for completion of the program.

The most unique aspect of this program is that it is offered online with only two in-person weekend residencies. The coursework involves a large amount of student-to-student and faculty-to-student engagement in their interactions, despite being online. The program also keeps students working and engaging at their internships in their local area.

Jade Dillner, who completed an undergraduate degree at GV last spring, is now a student of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. When she started pursuing her undergraduate degree at GV, she was originally a nursing major, but Dillner changed her mind and decided she wanted to be an advocate for mental health.

“I never thought about grad school or getting a Ph.D.,” Dillner said.

However, she found that this new graduate program fit perfectly.

“This program was new, and they were figuring things out, but the professors were understanding of students’ work and balancing the course loads,” Dillner said.

It has given Dillner the opportunity to balance a busy life, work and pay her way through Grand View as she earns her master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. This particular degree program has allowed Dillner to continue her work in the field of mental health while also helping her on her journey toward earning her Ph.D.