[Definition of Mental Health Counseling]

[Program Overview] [Objectives]

Mental Health Counseling: A Definition

The National Standards for the Clinical Practice of Mental Health Counseling (1999), developed by AMHCA, describe the practice of clinical mental health as follows:

"Clinical mental health counseling is the provision of professional counseling services including the application of principles of psychotherapy, human development, learning theory, group dynamics, and the etiology of mental illness and dysfunctional behavior to individuals, couples, families, and groups for the purposes of promoting optional mental health, dealing with normal problems of living, and treating psychopathology. This document describes mental health counseling as including, but not being limited to, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, psychoeducation designed to prevent emotional problems, consultation, and research into more effective psychotherapeutic treatment modalities."

[Definition of Mental Health Counseling developed by the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), 1999, pp. 1-2]

Among mental health provider groups, Mental Health Counseling is unique in its insistence on a balance between prevention and psychoeducational, developmental approaches on the one hand, and its insistence on clinical competencies for the treatment of psychopathology on the other hand.