Exploring the Importance of Counseling Professionals in Today’s World

Felician University’s Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology (MACP) Online Program Prepares Students to Provide Crucial Mental Health Services

Rutherford, New Jersey, United States – June 18, 2024 —

Mental health counselors play an increasingly prominent role in today’s world by positively impacting the lives of countless people each and every day. Mental health counselors in previous generations focused on populations of clients who experienced extreme cognitive, behavioral, psychological, and emotional disorders. Modern mental healthcare, however, includes new approaches and technology to help a wider population of clients explore their behaviors, feelings, and emotions to better understand how they interact and relate to the world around them.  

To help explain the importance of counseling today, we must first define what counselors do. According to the American Counseling Association, professional counselors help people gain personal insights, develop strategies and come up with real life solutions to the problems and challenges they face in every area of life. As trained and credentialed professionals, they accomplish this by getting to know clients by building safe, positive relationships and suggesting tools and techniques they believe will benefit clients with the goal of challenging them to find ways to improve communication skills, bolster self-esteem and promote their emotional and behavioral welfare.  

The path to becoming a mental health counselor starts with completion of an undergraduate (bachelor’s degree) in any field. Candidates must subsequently earn an advanced degree in mental health counseling or psychology, such as the online Masters in Counseling Psychology (MACP) degree program offered by Felician University. With an advanced degree in hand, a combination of practicum and internship hours must be completed, which may vary by state. Finally, upon conclusion of the prior steps, graduates must pass licensure exams to begin practicing as a professional mental health counselor.

To identify and manage mental health issues, counselors use a variety of approaches which include: 

Behavioral Therapy: Explore past learned behaviors, strengthen positive behaviors, and reduce problem behaviors 

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Emphasizes the importance of underlying thoughts in determining how we feel and act 

Psychodynamic Therapy: Focuses on unconscious processes and their impact on behavior 

Positive Psychology: A new paradigm developed in the last 10 years, this approach emphasizes mindfulness, spiritual development, and empowering the potential of others. This approach is an educational focus of the Master’s in Counseling Psychology online program offered by Felician University.  

Mental health counselors use these techniques, and others, to help diagnose and treat mental, behavioral and emotional disorders such as addiction, depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, trauma associated disorders, and more.

While the mental health profession is growing, 1 in 3 people today still live in a geographic area with a shortage of mental health care workers. That helps to explain why mental health counselors are in such high demand and why the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an 18% growth rate in counseling jobs between 2022 and 2032, equating to 71,500 new counselor jobs.  

Felician University is helping to close the mental health care gap by offering an online Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology (MACP) degree. This program prepares students who already hold a bachelor’s degree for a meaningful career as licensed mental health professionals, specifically as licensed counselors, with the ability to serve diverse populations within society.  

About Felician University 

Felician University is an independent co-educational Catholic/Franciscan University founded and sponsored by the Felician Sisters to educate a diverse population of students within the framework of a liberal arts tradition. Its mission is to provide a full complement of learning experiences, reinforced with strong academic and student development programs designed to bring students to their highest potential and prepare them to meet the challenges of the 21st century with informed minds and understanding hearts.  

The University operates on two campuses in Lodi and Rutherford, New Jersey. It began as Immaculate Conception Normal School with the first summer session commencing on July 5, 1923. 

Contact Info:
Name: Floyd Mack
Email: Send Email
Organization: Felician University
Address: One Felician Way, Rutherford, New Jersey, 07070
Website: https://online.felician.edu/programs/online-masters-counseling-psychology

Release ID: 89133004

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