GRADUATE ADMISSIONS CONTACT
Rachel Levy-Bell, Program Director

DEGREE
M.A.: Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral Medicine

DUAL DEGREE: Medical Sciences

The Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine (MHCBM) Program is the only accredited program that is housed in a medical school. Our emphasis on behavioral medicine and neuroscience makes us unlike any other counseling program. The two-year intensive program prepares graduates for mental health counseling licensure in Massachusetts and in other states. The program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

Since its inception, the MHCBM Program at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine has educated and trained hundreds of mental health counselors with a core academic and clinical curriculum aligned with professional standards recommended by the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) and American Counseling Association (ACA).

The mission of the MHCBM Program is to educate and train future clinical mental health counselors to help enhance the health and wellness of individuals with diverse identities and backgrounds. The Program’s curriculum emphasizes best practices for counseling approaches across behavioral healthcare and integrated care settings that serve varied cultural and clinical populations and promote healthcare equity. Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP), the Program places great value on excellence, diversity, integrity, social justice, advocacy, collegiality, equity of opportunity, and transdisciplinary collaboration.

Each year, graduates of the MHCBM Program are exceptionally well-prepared for employment in mental health counseling positions across the United States and internationally. The following outcomes attest to their success:

• 92.3% completion rate (Class of 2021, 2022, & 2023)
• 100% pass rate on credentialing exams
• 100% worked in mental health counseling positions with 6 months after graduation

Our two-year, 60-credit counseling program offers unparalleled clinical training opportunities in and around greater Boston, including placements at the Veterans Affairs, Boston Medical Center, college counseling centers, trauma counseling and refugee centers, integrated primary care, emergency departments, forensic settings, and prisons. Treatment centers for substance use and eating disorders, inpatient settings, and clinical research teams, to name a few. Students complete a semester-long practicum and a year-long internship as part of their clinical training. They also receive rigorous training in mental health assessment and diagnosis, counseling theory and application, and are exposed to a wide array of client populations and career paths. Our passionate and caring faculty and staff deliver a counseling curriculum that incorporates coursework in behavioral medicine, neuroscience, and psychopharmacology.

We work closely with students to ensure that they meet requirements for licensure in states all across the country. Graduates of our mental health counseling program have secured a wide range of positions, such as:

• Trauma counseling
• Counseling in an integrated care setting
• Counseling individuals seeking to make health-related lifestyle changes
• School-based counseling for children and adolescents
• Counseling children and adults in a day treatment/partial hospital program
• Counseling sexual offenders in a corrections prison system
• Substance use counseling
• Private practice counseling
• Member of a clinical research team
• Director of an eating disorders residential facility
• Clinician in a college counseling center

We work hard to remain connected to our alumni and facilitate connections and networking between current students and alumni through LinkedIn and in-person events. Alumni offer advice about licensure in other states, the licensing exam, and pursuing other educational opportunities. Many of our alumni are in supervisory and/or administrative positions and often hire graduates from our program.