Skip to main content
Program Overview

Program Overview

Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) Accredited

You have a passion for helping those who are hurting and finding answers for those who are searching. Learn how to touch lives in meaningful ways only a licensed mental health counselor can. We’ll help you achieve your goal to help those in need through clinical mental health counseling.

Today’s counseling job landscape involves looking through the lens of an individual's psyche. When researching mental health counseling programs, you need a degree that trains you to walk with clients as they navigate life's challenges. Lipscomb offers just that through our Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. In addition to our generalist track, we have specializations in play therapy and addiction, that fully prepare you to enter whichever field of counseling matches your interests.

Lipscomb’s small class sizes mean you'll get the personalized guidance necessary to advance. The curriculum is built around licensure expectations, and our 100 percent pass rate ensures you'll be prepared to excel. Study in the first faith-based, CACREP accredited program in Tennessee to arrive at the intersection of caring and competence. 

* For more information about accreditation, mission, goals, and policies of the program, see our documentation.

 

Program Statistics:

  • Number of graduates in the past year: 47
  • Completion rate: 83%
  • Licensure or certification examination pass rate: 100%
  • Job placement rate: 100%

Follow the Department of Psychology, Counseling & Family Science on Instagram and Facebook

Specializations:

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program Outcomes

A Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lipscomb equips you with imperative skills to help others in their mental health journey. This includes training to develop your ethical competence, grow dispositions essential to counseling such as empathy, engage in personal and professional growth, and embrace interprofessional collaboration.

Admissions Requirements

Admissions Requirements

The following items are required to apply for the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program:

  • Lipscomb University's online application
  • Two letters of recommendation (at least one recommendation must be an academic or professional reference)
  • Official transcripts from all schools in which a degree conferred was received.
  • A Bachelor's degree (any major) with a 3.0 GPA.  If your GPA is below a 3.0, please submit one of the following:
    • GRE Scores
    • A short explanation of your GPA (why and how you've grown)
    • Transcripts of a completed master's degree
  • Resume
  • A 45-60 second video that answers the following question: What do you do for fun?  
  • A maximum of 3 pages, double-spaced essay.  Please review our HERD dispositions on the Program Overview tab and consider them as you write your essay.  In your paper, please highlight your strengths and potential areas of growth related to any (or all) of these dispositions. You may choose to address them in any way you desire. Please be sure your essay includes stories from your personal and/or professional life. 
  • Interview

The deadline for Spring 2024 will be October 15, 2023, and we will interview on Friday, November 10, 2023.  The deadline for Fall 2024 will be March 1.

Courses

Courses

The Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program is a 7-semester program.  The following schedule is a typical first-year schedule which may vary slightly based on the chosen specialty:

Tuition & Aid

Tuition & Aid

Program tuition is currently $962* per credit hour.

*Note: The graduate tuition rates may increase annually, effective each summer semester.

Types of Aid

100%

LPC Exam pass rate

Networking

Both our deeply connected faculty and our experiential learning opportunities offer myriad ways for you to form relationships with leaders in the industry. These connections will serve and support you throughout your career.

Small Class Sizes

You’ll have opportunities to engage in meaningful discussion, receive one-on-one faculty mentorship and ask difficult questions in our small class sizes. Plus, you’ll feel supported in a tight-knit learning community.

Nashville, TN

A big city. An even bigger opportunity. We consider Nashville, Tennessee, an extension of our classroom, and as a leading city in many industries, that means you’ll gain experience and insight you won’t find anywhere else.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Stories

Kasie Lee, Director of Lipscomb’s Center for Play Therapy and Expressive Arts

“Our program offers intensive, in-depth training and is equipping our graduates with the tools they need to make an impact in communities across the nation. The more practitioners we prepare for the workforce, the more people we are helping.”

Read More

Dr. DeAndrea Witherspoon Nash, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Counseling

“This site is unique because it offers a vast range of choices, it provides our students — the next generation of licensed counselors — with valuable learning opportunities at one of the nation’s top drug and alcohol addiction treatment centers. These opportunities expose them to real-world experiences as we expand the borders of our classroom beyond the campus as they pursue this important profession.”

Read More

Lipscomb University receives $1.8 million grant to develop integrated behavioral health and education program

Lipscomb University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program has been awarded a $1.8 million grant to improve mental health services in Nashville by training the behavioral health and education workforce for an integrated approach to meeting mental health needs.

Read More

Clinical Mental Health Counseling program to host first-ever Collegiate Recovery Academy

The CMHC addiction specialization program is partnering with the TN Collegiate Recovery Initiative to put on a first-of-its-kind event for the university.

Read More

Lipscomb's largest grant receives supplement to address treatment of opioid epidemic

The largest grant awarded to Lipscomb University, $1.8 million awarded in 2017, received an additional $400,000 supplement in 2018 allowing the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program to expand its innovative Behavioral Health Initiative to more directly impact victims of the opioid epidemic.

Read More

Clinical mental health counseling program awarded accreditation

Lipscomb University’s clinical mental health counseling master’s program has been accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. This designation makes Lipscomb’s program the second CACREP-accredited program in Nashville.

Read More

Counseling Center

The University Counseling Center provides free counseling and support services to students who want to discuss personal or psychological concerns with a professional counseling staff. We’re here to help you with your concerns — academic, career, personal, social or spiritual. It's confidential and at your own pace.

Read More
100%

Job placement rate

Our Faculty

  • Jake Morris headshot

    Jake Morris

    Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling

    Morris joined the psychology and counseling faculty in July 2009, after 10 years of teaching in the psychology and counseling programs at Freed-Hardeman University. His received his doctorate in Educational...

    Meet Jake Morris
  • Melanie Morris headshot

    Melanie Morris

    Associate Professor

    Melanie Morris coordinates the Practicum and Internship process for the M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program and supervises practicum/internship students. Morris received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from University...

    Meet Melanie Morris
  • Damian McClintock headshot

    Damian McClintock

    Assistant Professor

    Meet Damian McClintock
  • Douglas Ribeiro headshot

    Douglas Ribeiro

    Director of Graduate Counseling and Chair of Psychology

    Ribeiro joined the psychology and counseling faculty in Fall 2012 after completing his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Georgia State University. He teaches Introduction to Psychopathology and Adaptive Behavior, Multicultural...

    Meet Douglas Ribeiro
  • DeAndrea Witherspoon Nash headshot

    DeAndrea Witherspoon Nash

    Director of Clinical Mental Health Counseling

    DeAndrea Witherspoon Nash earned her M.S. in Counseling Psychology from Tennessee State University and her Ph.D. in Clinical Counseling from Trevecca Nazarene University. She is licensed as a professional counselor-mental...

    Meet DeAndrea Witherspoon Nash
  • Kasie Lee headshot

    Kasie Lee

    Assistant Professor

    Dr. Lee completed her bachelors and master's degrees at Vanderbilt University and doctoral degree at the University of North Texas where she specialized in play therapy and trained with world-renowned...

    Meet Kasie Lee
50+

Internship sites

Career Paths

Clinical Mental Health Counselor

Clinical mental health counselors walk alongside people who suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction, disorders, anxiety, and other mental or behavioral problems to provide competent treatment to support and help clients heal.

Play Therapist

After becoming a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor or Marriage and Family Therapist, you can become a registered play therapist. A registered play therapist will use play therapy to help clients (regardless of age) find healing and achieve the growth they desire.

Alcohol & Drug Addiction Counselor and Clinical Mental Health Counselor

With our addiction specialization, you can become dually licensed as an LPC-MHSP. This unique perspective allows counselors to simultaneously treat an addiction while also treating the underlying cause of the addiction. This is a highly marketable skillset that can easily transfer to helping a variety of problems, not just addiction.