Master’s Degree in Professional Mental Health Counseling • Lewis & Clark

Master’s Degree in Professional Mental Health Counseling • Lewis & Clark
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Master’s Degree in Professional Mental Health Counseling
Our Professional Mental Health Counseling Program prepares highly skilled, ethical, and compassionate graduate students for a counseling career grounded in a commitment to social justice.
Apply.
Pursue Your Master’s Degree in Professional Mental Health Counseling
The Lewis & Clark Graduate School Professional Mental Health Counseling Program in Portland, Oregon, trains students to become empathetic and compassionate practitioners who, through their equity-focused leadership and advocacy, contribute to the advancement of the counseling profession and the cause of social justice. We emphasize the client-counselor relationship, creative and experiential modalities, and a thorough understanding of mental health issues across the lifespan. The curriculum reflects multiple theoretical perspectives with guidance to support students in developing their own framework for community and clinical practice. In addition to all required courses, students complete six hours of elective credit, which can include courses in the Ecotherapy certification or the Eating Disorder certification, or other courses such as Critical Disability Studies, Intuition and Creative Interventions, Feminist Therapies, Motivational Interviewing, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Somatic Psychology, Counseling LGBTQ+ clients, and others.
Our diverse students come from a variety of backgrounds and hold undergraduate degrees across a multitude of disciplines including psychology, communication, sociology, anthropology, world languages, religion, philosophy, education, business, and more. Anchored in Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, we have strong partnerships with mental health service providers throughout the metro area, extending your learning beyond the classroom and into the community. Through internships, students learn by applying their knowledge and skills under supportive faculty supervision, receiving feedback and gaining valuable hands-on experience. The Professional Mental Health Counseling Program is part of the
Counseling, Therapy, and School Psychology Department
at Lewis & Clark Graduate School, and will empower you to make a real difference in the world, helping to change lives for the better.
Program Mission and Objectives
Program Overview
Total credit hours: 60
Program length: 7 semesters, minimum (part-time and full-time study available)
Program start: Fall only
Program directors:
Jeffrey Christensen
and
Stella Kerl-McClain
Options:
Specialization in Addictions
VIEW PROGRAM OF STUDY
Accreditation
Our programs are designed to meet the requirements of the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists. The program is accredited by the
Council for Counseling and Counseling Related Educational Programs
(CACREP), which is the leading national accreditation body for master’s-level professional counselors.
92%
of our students graduate in 10 terms or less.
100%
In 2022, 100 percent of our students who took the National Counselor Examination (NCE) passed.
90%
Within six months of graduation, 90% of students who graduated from the PMHC program between August 2021–May 2022 were employed.
What Can You Do With a Degree in Professional Mental Health Counseling?
The Lewis & Clark professional mental health counseling master of arts (MA) degree is for students who wish to become counselors in community mental health agencies, programs serving children, adolescents, and/or families, the criminal justice or juvenile justice system, other community and educational settings, as well as private practice.
What Is Mental Health Counseling
Outcomes
Elevate Your Skills
Lewis & Clark Graduate School’s Professional Mental Health Counseling Program offers two innovative certificates and one specialization as a way to enhance your learning and become a professional mental health counselor with unparalleled qualifications upon graduation.
The
Eating Disorders Certificate Program
at Lewis & Clark Graduate School is one of the few graduate programs in the country devoted to the topic, and is the only program in the Pacific Northwest. Our program takes an inclusive, weight-neutral, Health At Every Size approach that challenges harmful systemic biases directed at larger bodies.
Understanding people’s emotional connections with the natural world can be integral to meeting therapeutic, educational, or sustainability goals. Lewis & Clark Graduate School’s
Ecotherapies Certificate program
provides an opportunity for mental health practitioners and graduate students to enhance their training with an evidence-based, experiential, and socially progressive ecopsychology curriculum.
This specialization
offers unique and innovative training for students interested in working with a diverse range of mental health, as well as addiction-related, issues. The demand for qualified counselors who are prepared with graduate-level knowledge and skills specific to the treatment of clients with co-occurring mental health and addiction issues is constantly increasing. Lewis & Clark Graduate School’s Professional Mental Health Counseling—Specialization in Addictions Program offers students the best available instruction and training for both mental health and addictions counseling with a focus on co-occurring disorders.
Learn By Doing
Graduate students in the Professional Mental Health Counseling Program participate in both a hands-on practicum at Lewis & Clark’s Community Counseling Center and an internship with a mental health organization within the Portland community. By serving actual clients under faculty or mentor supervision, students are able to apply their knowledge and skills in a supportive environment and receive constructive feedback after each session while increasing access to critical mental health resources. The Community Counseling Center also offers specialized services in which counseling students can choose to focus, including problem gambling treatment and a transgender and nonbinary (TNB) youth counseling program.
Community Counseling Center
“Simply put, I want to bring about positive change in the counseling field and be the counselor that I wish I had when I was younger for others who are in need.”
Briana Smith
Master of Arts ’19
Professional Mental Health Counseling
Breaking Down Barriers
Your choice of an institution should not be limited by the cost of education. Our financial aid program creates solutions to serve students from diverse economic backgrounds. We are committed to working with you to develop financial options and payment strategies that will help make your graduate degree attainable.
Tuition, Financial Aid, and Scholarships
Invest In Yourself
We use FAFSA to determine your eligibility for financial aid. To further offset the cost of your education, we encourage you to also apply for public service loan forgiveness programs, grant programs, and Lewis & Clark’s scholarships for counselor candidates. Our
Office of Financial Aid
is here to help you every step of the way.
Estimated Tuition
Tuition is $1,144 per credit hour for 2025-26.
Professional Mental Health Counseling
Professional Mental Health Counseling—Specialization in Addictions
Total number of credits:
60
Total number of credits:
62
Estimated total tuition:
$68,640
Estimated total tuition:
$70,928
Passionate Educators, Powerful Advocates
Experienced faculty in Lewis & Clark Graduate School’s Professional Mental Health Counseling Program are committed to ensuring our students’ success both academically and in their future careers. They use diverse instructional approaches, and they are committed to continuing reflective practice to increase our effectiveness in preparing professional counselors. When you are guided by world-class faculty and leading practitioners, you will become an agent of change, ready to transform lives, sustain communities, and create a more just society.
Jeffrey K. Christensen
Associate Professor and Program Co-director
jchristensen@lclark.edu
Read bio →
Justin D. Henderson
Assistant Professor and PMHC-A Program Co-Director
justinhenderson@lclark.edu
Read bio →
Gon Ratanashevorn
Assistant Professor
gonratanashevorn@lclark.edu
Read bio →
Alexia de León
Associate Professor and PMHC-A Program Co-Director
alexiadeleon@lclark.edu
Read bio →
Stella Beatríz Kerl-McClain
Associate Professor and PMHC Program Co-Director; Co-Director of the Certificate in Eating Disorders
sbk@lclark.edu
Read bio →
Amy Rees
Associate Professor
arees@lclark.edu
Read bio →
Cort M. Dorn-Medeiros
Associate Professor, Counseling, Therapy, and School Psychology Department Chair
dorn-medeiros@lclark.edu
Read bio →
Rafe McCullough
Associate Professor
Read bio →
Get Support From Graduate Admissions Counselors
Our graduate admissions team is here to support you as you navigate through the admissions process and are available to answer any questions you may have.
Graduate Admissions and Student Support Services
Rebecca Sexton-Lee
Director, Graduate Admissions and Student Support Services
(she/her)
Contact →
Grace Geist
Graduate Admissions Ambassador
(she/her)
Contact →
Megan McCaffrey
Counselor, Graduate Admissions and Student Support Services
(she/her)
Contact →
Amanda Harris
Graduate Admissions Ambassador
(she/her)
Contact →
Samantha Cikara
Coordinator, Graduate Admissions and Student Support Services
(they/them)
Contact →
Destinie Walker
Graduate Admissions Ambassador
(they/them)
Contact →
Schedule an Appointment With Admissions
Learn More About Our Professional Mental Health Counseling Program
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Cort M. Dorn-Medeiros
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