MS in Professional Counseling at Southern

Considering a career in counseling? If the thought of a service-based career dedicated to helping others excites you, keep reading.

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Earning a Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling

Pursuing a service-based career such as counseling can be a challenging journey—but one with tremendous rewards and the ability to make a profound impact on the communities and lives of your clients.

As a professional counselor, you will assist a diverse population of clients navigate through social and cultural factors to process trauma, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and more of life’s greatest challenges. These are heavy issues to tackle, but earning an MS in Professional Counseling will prepare you to help your clients face their struggles head-on.

Graduates from Southern’s professional counseling program feel confident that they have the intentional, formal training to support their clients and build a successful career.

Whether you’re a recent/upcoming college graduate considering a career in counseling or you already have an established career in another field and are thinking about making a change, we can help you achieve your goals. Wondering if earning an MS in Professional Counseling is right for you? We want to help you find the path that makes sense for you.

First, let’s take a look at what opportunities are available for graduates of MS in Professional Counseling programs.

Or, skip ahead to our program details if you’re ready.

male client in professional counseling

Earning an MS in Professional Counseling will help prepare you for a wide range of service-based counseling roles.

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What Can You Do with an
MS in Professional Counseling?

Graduates from Southern Adventist University develop competencies necessary for working with a wide range of diverse clients to ensure that all clients have the opportunity to achieve their optimal level of emotional and psychological well-being.

As a counselor, you could open your own practice or you could choose to work in the school system, a mental health agency, or any number of counseling settings. After earning a master's degree in professional counseling, you will have plenty of career opportunities to explore.

Here are some common career paths:

School Counselor

Culturally-sensitive school counselors with the knowledge and skills to create accepting spaces for students from traditionally marginalized groups and communicate effectively with all students are critically important at every stage of education, including elementary, middle, and high school. As a school counselor, you will be equipped to help students deal with peer pressure, learning disabilities, social anxieties, behavioral issues, and other challenges prevalent in schools today.

Marriage, Couple, and Family Counselor

As the name suggests, you’ll be working with couples and families as they strive to improve both themselves and their relationships with one another. Helping people through their most profound and personal struggles—within themselves, their marriage, and their families—bears a great deal of responsibility and is extremely rewarding.

Clinical Mental Health Counselor

As mental health is normalized and more people seek mental health services, the need for clinical mental health counselors will become greater and greater. In this field, you’ll provide professional counseling to clients struggling with trauma, depression, substance abuse, and other mental health issues.

Substance Abuse Counselor

A substance abuse counselor helps clients who face drug and alcohol problems, eating disorders, and other behavioral issues. You’ll provide both coping strategies and long-term recovery plans to help people overcome their issues. Counseling can be provided either one-on-one or in a group therapy situation, and you could work in a wide array of locations, such as hospitals, private practices, or outpatient centers.

What Salaries Do Counseling Professionals Earn?

Depending on your area of specialization, career track, and job location, you can expect a salary in the range of $50,000 - $65,000. Here's a quick look at the average annual salaries for some of the most common career paths after earning an MS in Professional Counseling.

School Counselor
$54,193
Clinical Mental Health Counselor
$61,613
Marriage, Couple, and Family Counselor
$51,340
Substance Abuse Counselor
$55,250
Rehabilitation Counselor
$46,031
Grief Counselor
$54,982
Private Practice Counselor
$74,928


Access Southern’s MS in Professional Counseling Programs Guide

To help you understand the road to becoming a professional counselor, we’ve put together this free resource: An Inside Look at Southern’s Value-Based MS in Professional Counseling Programs. In this online ebook experience, you’ll get insights into:

  • Each area of emphasis and what type of work you’d do in each field
  • Personalized career trajectories into each career path
  • What our distinguished faculty love most about the program
  • What you actually learn in an MS in Professional Counseling program
1232330_-Southern- GS Counseling eBook Cover_2_111121
Counseling session up close

4 Steps for Finding the Right Faith Based Counseling Program for You

Researching faith-based counseling programs will open you up to many wonderful schools, each of them offering unique experiences. If you’re looking into how to become a faith-based counselor and are currently exploring program options, here are four important steps you should be taking. 

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The MS in Professional Counseling Degree Options at Southern

Here at Southern, our MS in Professional Counseling program teaches you the foundational knowledge and advanced technical skills needed to make a positive impact every single day.

To support your busy schedule, courses meet via live online instruction in the late afternoon or evening on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can enroll either full time or part time so that you can take courses at your desired pace while maintaining your career and personal life.

Southern’s program also supports you in acquiring your state licensure in Tennessee for all emphases.

Explore the areas of emphasis we offer below and how they’ll help prepare you for a wide range of counseling roles.

ms in professional counseling students in class

School Counseling

Earning an MS in Professional Counseling with an emphasis in School Counseling will prepare you to serve K-12 students. You’ll be well-equipped with the training, technical skills, and resources to provide support in elementary, middle, and high schools. Southern graduates have found successful careers in both public and private schools.

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Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling

With this emphasis within Clinical Mental Health Counseling, you’ll feel confident in both one-on-one and group settings to help couples and families work through their issues. You’ll learn to be impartial and to validate the emotions and needs of everyone involved.

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Clinical Mental Health Counseling

This emphasis in Southern’s MS in Professional Counseling program will help you gain the insights and skills needed to thrive as a mental health counselor. You’ll bring peace to your clients through techniques such as asking the right questions, encouraging introspection, role-playing exercises, and sometimes even assigning homework in between sessions.

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Dual Counseling Specialties

We offer a dual specialty within the MS in Professional Counseling Program: Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling. With additional courses taken in one extra semester, you’ll have both emphases to your name and be qualified to acquire two state licenses: professional counselor and school counselor.

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A Faith-Based Approach to Counseling

Our Christian-based institution allows our students to pursue their passion and answer God’s calling with a curriculum that combines theoretical knowledge, dialogue, research, and practical skills within a Christian framework.

Southern prepares students of all beliefs and backgrounds for an impactful professional counseling career rooted in compassion, patience, and selflessness.

faith-based ms in professional counseling session

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Is Southern’s Counseling Program Right for You?

It takes a special person to pursue a service-based career path. Helping people navigate the greatest challenges that life throws their way isn’t easy—but when you get to see their transformation and the impact you’re making in their lives, it all becomes worth it.

Whether you’re a young professional looking to start your counseling career or someone ready to make a career change, earning an MS in Professional Counseling from Southern is the first step that will take you there.

For more insight, read our blog on how to know if earning an MS in Professional Counseling is right for you.

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female ms in professional counseling student

Looking for More Program Information?

We’re happy to tell you more about the MS in Professional Counseling program specifics, requirements, and admissions. You can request additional program information or schedule a meeting with a Southern representative below.

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Meet the Faculty Who’ll Support Your Journey to Becoming a Professional Counselor

Our team of clinicians and educators work tirelessly to bring you an academic experience that’s exciting, challenging, thought-provoking, and holistic. While earning your degree, you’ll study under some of the best clinicians in the field and learn from their years of experience.

Southern’s faculty members bring unique expertise in a number of areas, which they love sharing with their students. Whichever emphasis you choose, you’ll have a chance to learn from faculty who offer invaluable hands-on experience in providing counseling services to clients.

Many of our graduates maintain relationships with our faculty and still look to them as mentors. Don’t hesitate to reach out to them with questions!

Meet the Faculty

 

Southern Adventist University School of Nursing

Why Southern?

An MS in Professional Counseling from Southern will prepare you to become part of the next generation of counselors. Our private, faith-based programs are designed to help you launch your counselor career while delivering the very best in client care.

More flexible. More affordable. More valuable.

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