Johns Hopkins University Offers graduate degrees in Education:

Master of Science in Counseling
Clinical Community Counseling

This program is designed to prepare counselors to work in a wide range of community and human service settings. The preparation enhances the development of prevention and intervention strategies in clinical counseling.

Applicants to the program must submit a resume or curriculum vitae, personal statement of goals, two letters of recommendation, and undergo an admission interview. In order to assess applicant dispositions, department faculty will review the required goal statement and evaluate responses in the interviews. The departmental admission committee reserves the option to require that applicants successfully complete prerequisite course work prior to admission. Before being admitted, students must meet with an adviser to plan the sequence of courses to meet all program requirements.

Requirements

The program's plan of study requires a minimum of 48 graduate credits to be completed within five years. With the approval of the program adviser, a student may transfer a maximum of three graduate credits from an accredited college or university if the course is directly applicable to the student's degree requirements and is taken within the five-year time limit. Students complete a 600-hour internship and earn six credits of electives in an area of specialization.

Program Plan

Number of Credits Required: 48

See the Program Notes section below for specific course prerequisites and sequential ordering.

Electives

Six credits of electives must be selected with approval of an adviser.

Program Notes

861.507 Introduction to Counseling as a Helping Profession is a required prerequisite for all counseling courses. Exceptions must receive approval of a counseling faculty adviser.

Students may take 861.511 Career/Life Development and Planning; 861.605 Human Development and Counseling; and 863.681 Research and Evaluation for Counselors, along with 861.507 Introduction to Counseling as a Helping Profession.

861.502 Counseling Theory and Practice is a required prerequisite for all other courses.

A minimum of 18 hours of required coursework, including 861.503 Group Counseling and Group Experience, is a prerequisite for 863.795 Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Clinical Community Counseling.

Students must take lab courses subsequent to Introduction to Counseling as a Helping Profession in the following sequence: 861.502 Counseling Theory and Practice, 861.503 Group Counseling and Group Experience, and 863.603 Couple and Family Therapy. All laboratory courses must be completed with a B or above before enrolling in 863.809 Counseling Practicum. A minimum of 39 credits of required course work, including 863.795 Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Clinical Community Counseling and 863.809 Counseling Practicum, must be taken before enrolling in 863.824 Internship in Clinical Community Counseling.

Students must receive grades of B or better in all laboratory course, practicum experiences, and internships to remain in the program.

Students must attend the mandatory clinical community counseling internship meeting held every January in the spring before their fall intership. A passing grade on the CPCE is required during the last semester.

 

  • 861.507 Introduction to Counseling as a Helping Profession

    This course provides an overview of the history and philosophy of professional counseling, with special attention to the roles, functions, and limitations of school, community, and organizational counselors. Included is an understanding of the essentials of basic counseling skills; attending, listening, and interviewing stages of clinical treatment; and client/counselor relationships. Students learn about professional counseling organizations, professional credentialing, and standards and ethics in counseling and related human services. The course emphasizes self-growth and awareness and observational skills as related to becoming a facilitator of individual, group, family, and systems change. (3 credits)

    Back to top

     

  • 861.511 Career/Life Development and Planning

    Participants review major theories of career development and decision making, occupational sociology, and vocational psychology. The course places career counseling concepts in a life-span perspective and reviews career development materials and cross-cultural strategies.

    Notes: Tuition includes materials fee. (3 credits)

    Back to top

     

  • 861.605 Human Development and Counseling

    This course examines developmental aspects and stages of human beings across the lifespan with special regard to counseling and therapy. The primary assumption of the course is that individuals at all stages have the capacity for development, and thus for therapeutic change, across the range of their lives from childhood to their advanced years. Several lifespan developmental theories are studied in the course along with practical strategies for utilizing the knowledge of human development to enhance the practice of counseling. (3 credits)

    Back to top

     

  • 863.681 Research and Evaluation for Counselors

    Participants learn the basic concepts for understanding and conducting research and program evaluation related to the counseling and human services fields. Students study experimental and quasi-experimental designs, examine quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and learn basic statistical procedures for data analysis. (3 credits)

    Back to top

     

  • 861.502 Counseling Theory and Practice

    (Lab course) This course provides an overview of the major theories of counseling and therapy, such as cognitive, behavioral, existential, Gestalt, and Adlerian. Students explore integrative approaches, as well as multicultural and feminist perspectives. Participants focus on a wide range of specific techniques and practices that are associated with each theory and how they are applied in various situations.

    Notes: Students are required to attend the two-day laboratory sessions. Laboratory courses and internship classes involve an exploration of personal factors as they contribute to counseling skills and techniques. (3 credits)

    Prerequisite(s): ED.861.507

    Back to top

     

  • 861.503 Group Counseling and Group Experience

    (Lab course) Students investigate practical and theoretical concepts of group dynamics and group counseling to acquire skills in facilitating various kinds of group interaction. Students explore interpersonal dynamics, personal communication styles, fundamental group counseling strategies, and group facilitation through class and laboratory experiences.

    Notes: Students are required to attend the two-day laboratory sessions. Laboratory courses and internship classes involve an exploration of personal factors as they contribute to counseling skills and techniques. (3 credits)

    Prerequisite(s): ED.861.507 AND ED.861.502

    Back to top

     

  • 861.609 Diagnosis in Counseling

    Students study the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV-TR) to learn to assess, diagnose, and treat psychopathology based on current DSM criteria. Theories related to the etiology of major categories of mental disorder such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and personality disorders are examined. Students gain an understanding of the impact of abnormal behavior on individuals, families, and society. Instructors provide a developmental framework for understanding diagnosis from multicultural, feminist, and systems perspectives.

    Notes: Must be taken before ED.863.809. (3 credits)

    Prerequisite(s): ED.861.507 AND ED.861.502

    Back to top

     

  • 861.612 Appraisal and Testing for Counselors

    Students explore individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation through the use of standardized test instruments and rating scales. Emphasis is given to principles of test construction, reliability and validity, psychometric properties, and strategies for the selection, administration and interpretation of behavioral, psychological, and educational tests. Implications of age, gender, ethnicity, culture, heritage, language, disability, and professional/ethical issues are examined.

    Notes: Tuition includes materials fee. (3 credits)

    Prerequisite(s): ED.861.507

    Back to top

     

  • 863.603 Couple and Family Therapy

    (Lab Course) Students study the theory and practice of couple and family therapy with an emphasis on models of family development and major approaches to intervention with couples and families. Systemic models of family intervention are emphasized, as well as the study of other historically important and contemporary approaches to couple and family therapy. The course blends didactic and experiential learning.

    Notes: Students are required to attend the two-day laboratory sessions. Laboratory courses and internship classes involve an exploration of personal factors as they contribute to counseling skills and techniques. Master’s students must have completed a minimum of 15 credits before registering for this course . (3 credits)

    Prerequisite(s): ED.861.502

    Back to top

     

  • 863.607 Cross Cultural Counseling: Issues and Interventions

    Participants explore aspects of counseling clients from diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Through didactic and experiential learning techniques, students consider counseling strategies for enhancing cross-cultural interventions. (3 credits)

    Prerequisite(s): ED.861.507

    Back to top

     

  • 863.795 Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Clinical Community Counseling (formerly 863.792 Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling)

    Participants explore professional issues in counseling, with specific regard to ethics and laws that pertain to the profession, such as ethical codes, responsibility, competence, public statements, confidentiality, reporting abuse, and dual relationships. Professional issues in the context of community mental health are also covered in terms of historical, societal, and philosophical aspects, as well as licensing, roles, policies, legislation, reimbursement, and the professional identify of community counselors. Racial and ethnic issues, as well as gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and mental status in community counseling settings are also addressed.

    Notes: Must be taken prior to internship. (3 credits)

    Prerequisite(s): ED.861.502

    Back to top

     

  • 863.809 Counseling Practicum (formerly 861.712 Advanced Techniques in Counseling)

    This supervised practicum experience includes a 100-hour field placement and class instruction. Students will obtain a minimum of 40 contact hours with clients. The course includes seminar discussions, review of major theories of counseling with an emphasis on the integration of theory and practice, interview analysis, video and/or audiotape observations, plus group and individual supervision sessions. Emphasis is given to management of client resistance, trust building, use of interpretation and confrontation, and relevant legal and ethical issues. The course is taken near the end of a student's program of study after all other lab coursework is completed and prior to the internship. (3 credits)

    Prerequisite(s): ED.861.502 AND ED.861.503 AND ED.861.609 AND ED.863.603

    Back to top

     

  • 863.824 Internship in Clinical Community Counseling

    This supervised internship in counseling includes both a 600-hour field placement and class instruction. Students must register for this course in consecutive fall and spring semesters, as it is a two semester sequence. Enrollment is limited to students in the master's program in Clinical Community Counseling.

    Notes: This course is open only to students in the Clinical Community Counseling program. Students must have completed a minimum of 39 credits in the program before registering for this course. Students must have completed all laboratory classes and received approval from their academic adviser to register. Attendance at the January internship orientation meeting is required. (3 credits)

    Prerequisite(s): ED.861.502 AND ED.861.503 AND ED.863.603 AND ( ED.863.809 OR ED.861.712 )

    Back to top