COU-521: Foundations of Marriage & Family Counseling

Gain a theoretical and practical foundation for counseling diverse couples and families using a systemic approach to assess, treat, and intervene effectively.

COU-610: Counseling Techniques

Explore key counselor behaviors, methodologies, and techniques for facilitating change, risk assessment, and crisis or trauma intervention for individuals, couples, and families.

COU-612: Group Techniques

Analyze the theories and dynamics of group counseling across various settings. Learn strategies for group formation, leadership, and facilitation, and gain hands-on experience by participating as both a member and leader in a counseling group.

COU-661: Psychopathology & Diagnosis

Examine the neurobiological and medical roots of mental health and addiction disorders, emphasizing accurate, culturally informed diagnosis using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

COU-672: Treatment of Mental and Emotional Disorders

Create effective treatment plans and case conceptualizations, using trauma-informed and community-based strategies, while introducing common psychotropic medications for appropriate referrals.

COU-782: Practicum: Counseling Field Experience

Begin supervised clinical practice in a professional counseling setting. Cultivate skills in interviewing, assessment, case conceptualization, and documentation while working with individuals, couples, families and groups. Receive feedback through both self-assessment and supervisor evaluation throughout the experience.

COU-784: Internship 1: Counseling Field Experience

Expand clinical counseling skills through an extended supervised placement in a professional setting. Strengthen competencies in interviewing, assessment, case conceptualization, and documentation with individuals, couples, families and groups. Progress is assessed through self-evaluation and supervisor feedback.

COU-785: Internship 2: Counseling Field Experience

Advance your clinical counseling practice through continued supervised experience in a professional setting. Build on prior competencies in interviewing, assessment, case conceptualization, and documentation while working with diverse client populations. Ongoing evaluation includes both self-assessment and supervisor review.

View all of the courses for your academic program.

Academic Catalog
Degree Planning Guide

Three-Day In-Person Residency

Strengthen your clinical skills and build meaningful connections during two immersive three-day, in-person residencies held throughout the program. These residencies offer valuable opportunities to:

• Engage with faculty and peers.
• Receive hands-on guidance.
• Grow professionally and personally.

Students will complete the first residency in conjunction with orientation before the start of the program. The second residency will occur mid-way through, in conjunction with the COU-610: Counseling Techniques course.

Michigan Counseling Licensure

The M.S. in clinical mental health counseling program at Cornerstone University is designed to meet the educational requirements for the state of Michigan for the limited license professional counselor credential (LLPC). In Michigan, the limited license is known as a provisional licensure. Four steps need to be completed before applicants can progress from the “limited” license (LLPC) to the “full” license (LPC). These requirements are completed after students earn their M.S. in clinical mental health counseling degree. They are as follows:

• Complete 3,000 hours working as a counselor.
• Attend supervision for at least 100 hours with an LPC who has completed the supervision requirements outlined by the state of Michigan.
• Pass the National Counselor Exam (NCE).
• Allow no less than two years and no more than ten years to pass before applying.

Please visit the Michigan Board of Counseling for more information regarding Michigan state licensure.

Marriage and Family Therapy Concentration

Prepare to counsel couples and families using a systemic, relational approach. Through this 15-credit hour program, you will focus on family assessment, communication patterns, and therapeutic interventions to address emotional and relational challenges and pursue licensure. Allows for Dual Licensure in Michigan.

• COU-520: Child and Adolescent Counseling – Explore developmental issues, strategies, theories, and methods for effectively counseling children and adolescents.
• COU-720: Advanced Marriage & Couples Therapy – Develop clinical skills in systemic assessment, treatment planning, and interventions for premarital, marital, and couples counseling, with an additional focus on human sexuality, sex therapy, and affair recovery.
• COU-730: Advanced Family Therapy: Assessment, Skills & Practice – Practical training with a focus on systemic family therapy theories, assessment, treatment planning, intervention and clinical skill development.
• COU-779: Internship III Lab – Taken alongside COU-788, this lab supports continued evaluation of clinical counseling skills through self-assessment and supervisor feedback during the final internship placement.
• COU-781: Internship IV Lab – Completed alongside COU-789, this lab supports continued development and evaluation of clinical counseling skills through self-assessment and supervisor feedback during the internship experience.
• COU-788: Internship III: Counseling Field Experience – Supervised clinical practice in professional settings, building competencies in interviewing, assessment, case conceptualization, and documentation with individuals, couples, families, and groups.
• COU-789: Internship IV: Counseling Field Experience – Engage in an extended supervised counseling experience within a professional setting. Strengthen skills in interviewing, clinical assessment, case conceptualization, and documentation while working with individuals, couples, families and groups. Clinical abilities are assessed through self-evaluation and supervisor feedback.