Child and Adolescent Counseling Graduate Certificate
Admission Requirements
Requirements for admission to the Child and Adolescent Counseling Certificate program are:
Current “good standing” (non-probation) in an UMSL graduate mental health practitioner training program (counseling, social work, or psychology)
OR all of the following criteria must be met:
- Undergraduate degree with a GPA of 3.0 or better
- Enrollment in a graduate mental health practitioner or related training program OR earned Master’s degree in mental health field (or related)
- Two letters of recommendation with at least one from a current or former college-level instructor (or someone with a graduate degree who can attest to the applicant’s capacity to complete graduate-level work)
- Two-page personal statement explaining the applicant's personal and professional goals.
Program Requirements
| Core | ||
| CNS ED 6600 | Counseling Children and Adolescents | 3 |
| CNS ED 6610 | Introduction to Play Therapy | 3 |
| Systems of Care Elective | 3 | |
| Choose one of the following. The course may not count toward a current degree program: | ||
| Introduction to Systems in Counseling | ||
| Foundations of School Counseling | ||
| Specialty Elective | 3 | |
| Choose one of the following: | ||
| Family Counseling | ||
| Advanced Play Therapy | ||
| Career Development in K-12 Schools | ||
| School Counseling in the Classroom | ||
| Counseling for Loss, Crisis, and Trauma | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the program, certificate earners will be able to:
- Apply knowledge and skills to provide developmentally and culturally responsive counseling for children and adolescents.
- Use theoretically based techniques when counseling children and adolescents in various settings.
- Analyze factors that influence children and adolescents’ academic, career, social, and emotional well-being and success.
- Demonstrate strategies to support and advocate for the mental health of children and youth involved in various systems of care, including family, school, and community settings.