College of Education, Dept. of Educational, School, & Counseling Psychology Counseling Psychology (M.S.)

We train future health service psychology professionals with attention to clinical practice, psychological science, professional development, and the biological, psychological, social, and cultural dimensions of health and behavior. Interested students may contribute to faculty research teams and receive research mentoring. 

Our program uses a competency-based approach to training. Students develop the knowledge, clinical skills, ethical judgment, cultural responsiveness, interpersonal competence, and professional identity needed to provide effective psychological services. 

Our philosophy emphasizes understanding people in context and using psychological science to promote health and well-being at individual, interpersonal, community, and systems levels. 

A pathway toward independent psychological practice. 

Graduates are prepared to pursue Kentucky’s master’s-level psychology licensure pathway toward eventual independent practice as an LPP. 

Training in both psychotherapy and psychological assessment. 

Students develop competence not only in counseling and psychotherapy but also in cognitive and personality assessment. This broader preparation reflects the scope of health service psychology and expands the range of psychological services graduates are prepared to provide within the boundaries of their training and licensure. 

Guaranteed clinical training in our in-house Community Mental Health Clinic. 

Every student is offered the opportunity to complete 600 hours of supervised practicum training, including 150 hours of direct client contact*. Because M.S. practicum training occurs in our department’s own clinic, supervisors can directly observe students’ work, provide consistent feedback, and monitor clinical development across the program.  

Doctoral preparation without sacrificing licensure preparation. 

Students considering a Ph.D. or Psy.D. can participate in faculty research teams, pursue scholarly opportunities, receive mentoring about doctoral education, and obtain guidance on doctoral applications and interviewing. Students therefore can earn a professionally useful master’s degree while also preparing for possible doctoral study. 

*As per requirements for the LPA in KY. 

The curriculum integrates the science and practice of psychology. Students receive graduate-level preparation in: 

• Counseling and psychotherapy techniques 
• Theories of counseling and psychotherapy 
• Diagnosis and psychopathology 
• Cognitive assessment 
• Personality and psychological assessment 
• Supervised psychotherapy and assessment practica 
• Ethical and legal issues in psychology 
• Multicultural psychology and culturally responsive practice 
• Group counseling 
• Career development and counseling 
• Substance-use treatment 
• Human lifespan development 
• Cognitive bases of behavior 
• Social bases of behavior 
• Biological and physiological bases of behavior 
• Research methodology 
• Statistics and interpretation of psychological research 
• Evidence-based psychological practice 

Clinical training is developmentally sequenced. Students progress from foundational counseling skills, ethics, documentation, and assessment preparation toward increasingly complex responsibilities involving psychotherapy, psychological assessment, diagnosis, case conceptualization, treatment planning, and risk assessment. 

Students will complete supervised practicum for 16 hours a week at our in-house Community Mental Health Clinic during regular business hours (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm). 

A detailed semester-by-semester description of degree requirements, policies, clinical training expectations, and student resources is available in the M.S. Program of Study and M.S. Program Handbook.