M.S. in Counseling: Illinois

About the M.S. in Counseling: Illinois

The Master of Science in Counseling degree program at National Louis University prepares you to work as a counselor in a variety of settings, including schools, private practices and mental health clinics. With campuses in Chicago, Lisle, and Wheeling, you’ll delve into the study of human behavior and development, acquire professional counseling skills and engage with scholarly research. The program fulfills the educational requirements necessary to sit for both the National Board for Certified Counselors exam to become a Nationally Certified Counselor and the State of Illinois’ exam to become a Licensed Professional Counselor.

You’ll be able to customize your degree by choosing a concentration in Addictions, School or Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Our Illinois program is CACREP accredited and campus-based.

Program Highlights

Professional Licensure

Become a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), as the program fulfills the educational requirements to sit for all of these exams. For those wishing to become a licensed school counselor in Illinois, the program also prepares you to receive your Professional Educator License (PEL).

Hands-On Experience

Apply your classroom knowledge to the field with a 600-hour internship that allows you to gain counseling experience under the supervision of a qualified mentor. You’ll receive weekly feedback from your supervisor and be able to hone your counseling skills before you graduate.

Customized Degree

Choose between concentrations in Addictions, School Counseling, and Clinical Mental Health Counseling, as well as different licensure options. Shape your degree to match your career interests and goals.

Expert Faculty

Learn from faculty who bring years of real-world counseling experience to the classroom and who are also active researchers in the field. You’ll be learning the most current theories and best practices so you can meet the needs of today’s employers.

Student Organization

Students in the M.S. Counseling degree program automatically become members of the The National Louis University Counseling Association (NLUCA), a student organization committed to broadening access to compassionate, social justice-oriented counselors in Illinois. The organization provides opportunites for students to network with peers in the counseling field, develop leadership and advocacy skills, and stay up-to-date with professional development opportunities.

NLU offers the following concentrations:

• School Counseling
• Clinical Mental Health Counseling
• Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) certificate available at the Lisle Campus

NLU Illinois’ MS in Counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)

Completion of the Master of Science in Counseling program fulfills the educational requirements to be eligible to sit for the National Board for Certified Counselors examination to become a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and/or the State of Illinois’ exam to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

It also fulfills the educational requirements, along with two or more years of full-time supervised work experience in a clinical setting, to apply to take the State of Illinois’s upper-level exam to earn a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) license. To qualify to take the LCPC exam, you must have two years' work experience (3360 hours) in addition to the Master of Science in Counseling degree.

What You Will Learn

The M.S. in Counseling requires 60-68 semester hours for completion, depending on your concentration. This includes a 100-hour Counseling Practicum course and a 600-hour internship program. Highlights of what you’ll learn include:

Human Behavior and Development

Human growth and development; Stages of development; Environmental factors and outside influences; Normal and abnormal behavior; Sociological, moral, and psychological factors; Multicultural communities; Interpersonal relationships.

Counseling Theories and Practice

Psychotherapy and counseling theories; Crisis and trauma intervention; Family therapy; Career counseling theories and history; Counseling special populations; Ethical practice; Counseling children and adolescents; Play therapy and behavioral therapy; Group counseling.

Clinical Skills

Interviewing skills and techniques; Case studies; The DSM IV; Assessment and diagnosis; Personality disorders; Role of clinical mental health counselors; Program development; Advocating for clients; Effects of public policy and social issues.

Treatments

Psychopharmacology; Psychotropic medications; Facilitating client treatment; Monitoring efficacy and side effects; 12-step groups; Counseling for substance abuse; Drug abuse prevention.

Professional Licensure Eligibility (NCC, LPC, LCPC)

Completion of the Master of Science in Counseling program fulfills the educational requirements to be eligible to sit for the National Board for Certified Counselors examination to become a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and/or the State of Illinois’ exam to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

It also fulfills the educational requirements, along with two or more years of full-time supervised work experience in a clinical setting, to apply to take the State of Illinois’s upper-level exam to earn a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) license. To qualify to take the LCPC exam, you must have two years' work experience (3360 hours) in addition to the Master of Science in Counseling degree.

Mission Statement

The mission of the NLU Counseling Program is to train highly competent and humane individuals in the greater Chicago area who are interested in working in schools or clinical mental health agencies in urban, suburban, small town, and rural areas. The faculty is committed to providing experiential opportunities for students that link research and theory with hands-on experiences aimed at promoting personal, scholarly, and professional development. The counseling curriculum prepares individuals to become licensed professional counselors and/or licensed professional educators with an endorsement in school counseling in the State of Illinois. Students will be trained to be culturally responsive counselors prepared to work effectively in varied community and societal contexts.

In pursuit of this mission, the program has the following goals and outcomes:

Program Goals

The program faculty design the program and individual courses in such a way as to:    

PG – 1 Provide students with the academic training and professional experiences needed to develop counseling knowledge and skills, including technological competencies as a professional counselor.                                                                     

PG – 2 Provide students with opportunities for self-reflection, and to impress upon students the necessity of continuing education, as well as the need for ongoing personal self-awareness and growth.

PG – 3 Instill in students an appreciation for the worth of each individual, a developmental perspective on human growth over the lifespan, and an awareness of the importance of context, culture, and diversity.  

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

At the completion of the Master’s Degree in Counseling, students will:

1. Demonstrate the ability to apply ethical codes and legal standards in the profession.
2. Demonstrate the ability to apply the multicultural competencies in diversity, multiculturalism, and advocacy.
3. Describe and apply theories of individual and family development across the lifespan.
4. Describe and apply theories and models of career development, counseling and decision-making.
5. Describe, compare, contrast and apply major counseling skills and approaches to practice.
6. Demonstrate the ability to select and utilize assessments for diagnostic and intervention planning purposes.
7. Describe, compare, contrast and apply major counseling theories to practice. 
8. Demonstrate effective group leadership through the application of theoretical foundations and techniques of group counseling, process and development.  
9. Demonstrate awareness of personal characteristics and behaviors that influence the counseling process and engage in ongoing personal and professional self-evaluation and implications for practice. 
10. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of evidence-based, ethical, and culturally relevant research in advancing the counseling profession. 

Belonging Statement

The Master of Science in Counseling Program is committed to recruiting and educating students who reflect the varied backgrounds and experiences of the communities they will serve. Program curriculum is designed to promote understanding and respect for a wide range of perspectives.

Career Outlook

Job prospects for graduates with an M.S. in Counseling are strong and growing. Whether you want to work in a school, a private practice, a mental health clinic or a hospital, graduates find a variety of well-compensated positions. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Counselor positions are projected to grow 25 percent between 2019-2029,* much faster than the average growth rate for all jobs. Additionally, School and Career Counselor positions are expected to grow 8 percent during this time, which is still faster than average.**

School counselors will see an expansion of their responsibilities, including preventive counseling and crisis management, which will also be likely to lead to increases in their employment opportunities. Clinical mental health counselors will also see an expanded job market as insurance companies increasingly approve reimbursement to counselors as a less costly alternative to psychiatrists and psychologists.

The M.S. in Counseling will prepare you for these careers, among others:

• Academic counselors
• Career counselors
• Marriage and family counselors
• Mental health counselors
• School counselors
• Substance abuse counselors

*https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/substance-abuse-behavioral-disorder-and-mental-health-counselors.htm

**https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/school-and-career-counselors.htm

Core Faculty

Tara Bryant-Edwards

Assistant Professor - Campus Coordinator Chicago Campus

tbedwards@nl.edu

Michael Guglielmo

Assistant Professor - Campus Coordinator Lisle Campus

michael.guglielmo@nl.edu

Doc Murdock

Assistant Professor - Campus Coordinator Wheeling Campus - CACREP Liaison

cmurdock1@nl.edu

Breon Rose

Assistant Professor, Chicago

brose4@nl.edu

Yemilei Schroeder

Assistant Professor, Lisle

yschroeder@nl.edu

Carla Stewart

Assistant Professor, Chicago

cstewart6@nl.edu

Nicole Thompson

Assistant Professor, Wheeling

nthompson16@nl.edu

Joan VanderSchaaf

Assistant Professor, Lisle

jvanderschaaf1@nl.edu