Best Counseling Psychology Master’s Programs 2024

If helping people see their strengths and cope with life’s challenges appeals to you, a master’s in counseling psychology will allow you to directly help people with mental health challenges.

As a counseling psychologist, you’ll provide resources and teach patients’ coping strategies to improve their well-being. With a master’s in counseling psychology, you can choose to specialize in family therapy, social work, school counseling, addiction, and many others.

You’ll do great in any of these roles if you’re committed to promoting social justice, cultural sensitivity, and positive change in the patients you meet.

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

With a master’s in counseling psychology degree, you can open pathways to various jobs in mental health. You can pursue rewarding roles, such as a crisis counselor, career counselor, or addiction counselor, and provide support to individuals, groups, and families facing psychological distress. Some counseling psychology roles require you to diagnose and treat mental health conditions.

Regarding annual wages, you can earn anywhere from $57,010 as a licensed professional counselor (LPC) to $110,710 as a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC), providing counseling and psychotherapy services. Clinical and counseling psychologists take home around $96,100 per year, but require a doctorate and licensure.

These are just a few of the job paths for counseling professionals with master’s degrees that offer meaningful work experience with healthy salaries in a growing field.

Master’s in counseling psychology programs tend to take between two and three years to complete. Part-time students may spend as long as five years earning their degree.

You might enroll in an accelerated program to earn your degree as fast as 18 months, although most accelerated programs are reserved for those who want to earn a dual bachelor’s-master’s in counseling psychology. You can complete these programs in 5-6 years.

As you explore schools, you’ll see that most programs require students to earn between 48 and 90 credits, and you’ll pay between $400 and $1,518 per credit, depending on which college or university you choose.

Some programs offer graduate assistantships. With a graduate assistantship, you’ll receive financial support from the school in exchange for your professional development — you might teach or conduct research for the university.

Counseling professionals who work in hospitals help patients cope with psychological challenges related to illnesses, injuries, and extended hospital visits. You can expect to conduct one-on-one and group counseling sessions, helping patients navigate difficult life changes and access resources.

As a school psychologist, you’ll provide a safe space for students to discuss their thoughts and experiences. You’ll help them develop healthy coping mechanisms and navigate life’s challenges as they struggle with school, relationships, anxiety, depression, and career decisions.

In a private practice, you’ll run your own clinic, where you’ll provide therapy to individual patients, families, and groups. You’ll have the autonomy to set your own schedule, choose your clients, and determine your therapeutic approach — like cognitive behavioral therapy or humanistic therapy — while helping clients cope with everyday challenges.

As a professional counselor, you might feel at home in a mental health facility, where you’ll assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions. You’ll conduct interviews and counseling sessions to assess these conditions and provide individual or group counseling services to help people adjust to changing life circumstances. You may also refer patients to a psychologist or psychiatrist for further diagnosis and treatment.

Counseling professionals in corporations work to create supportive, productive workplace environments. You’d help employees manage interpersonal relationships that affect their health and work performance. You’d also provide individual or group counseling services and consult with management and human resources to address employees’ mental health challenges and workplace performance optimization.

Both clinical and counseling professionals work to help people improve their mental health, but each professional takes a different approach.