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Mental Health Counseling

A program that prepares individuals to provide evaluations, referrals, and short-term counseling services to help people prevent or remediate personal problems, conflicts, and emotional crises. Includes instruction in human development, psychopathology, individual and group counseling, personality theory, career assessment, patient screening and referral, observation and testing techniques, interviewing skills, professional standards and ethics, and applicable laws and regulations.

Types of Degrees Mental Health Counseling Majors Are Earning

Those studying Mental Health Counseling can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	12
Associate’s Degree	115
Bachelor’s Degree	22
Master’s Degree	10,656
Doctor’s Degree	35

What Mental Health Counseling Majors Need to Know

Studies in Mental Health Counseling emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Mental Health Counseling graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Mental Health Counseling emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 5 / 5; level 7.0 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 5.0 / 5; level 6.7 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a Mental Health Counseling program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 5 / 5; level 5.8 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 5 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Mental Health Counseling careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.9 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Mental Health Counseling graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.9 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.5 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.5 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.3 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.3 / 7
Developing Objectives and Strategies	4.2 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	4.2 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Mental Health Counseling professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Statistical software	Analytical or scientific software	—
Office suite software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Patient electronic medical record EMR software	Medical software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Internet Explorer	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Oracle PeopleSoft	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Database software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Mental Health Counseling graduates include:

• Bereavement Counselor
• Licensed Therapist
• Group Home Counselor
• Mental Health Counselor
• Telehealth Therapist
• Mental Health Specialist
• Direct Care Counselor
• Mental Health Program Specialist
• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
• Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)
• Case Manager
• Behavioral Health Consultant
• Mental Health Clinician
• Clinical Counselor
• Mental Health Therapist

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Mental Health Counseling graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	89.3%
Post-master’s certificate	7.1%
First professional degree	3.6%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Mental Health Counseling?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 82.2% of Mental Health Counseling degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	8,921	82.2%
Men	1,934	17.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Mental Health Counseling graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	6,387	58.8%
Asian	302	2.8%
Hispanic or Latino	1,425	13.1%
Black or African American	1,546	14.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	52	0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	12	0.1%
Two or More Races	362	3.3%
Race Unknown	578	5.3%
International Students	191	1.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Mental Health Counseling Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Mental Health Counseling graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$46,066
4 years	$46,824
5 years	$52,641

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $52,641 — roughly 14% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Mental Health Counseling Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Mental Health Counseling. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	4
Bachelor’s	3	2
Master’s	54	20
Doctoral (Research)	4	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Mental Health Counseling Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Mental Health Counseling graduates earn a median of $46,824 four years after completion — roughly 23% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	33,946
Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling	6,135
Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling	4,476
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions, Other	3,545
Clinical/Medical Social Work	3,296
Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician	2,601
Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling	2,298
Genetic Counseling/Counselor	378
Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling	187
Trauma Counseling	161
Medical Family Therapy/Therapist	6
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy	5

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.