All students are required to complete 24 credit hours as a Standard student and 27 credit hours as a Bridge student. To learn more about your courses, you can also visit the curriculum page on the Counseling@Northwestern website.

Bridge Courses

477-6 Introduction to Clinical Practice
478-6 Introduction to Clinical Interviewing
479-6 Current Topics in Counseling

Development Courses

413-6 Human Growth & Development (Child & Adolescent Focus)
414-6 Human Growth & Development (Adult Focus) 

Therapy Courses

417-6 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
436-6 Child and Adolescent Counseling and Psychotherapy

Elective Courses

429-6 Sex Therapy
453-6 Evaluation and Treatment of Trauma Disorders 

Quarter Breakdown by Track

As part of the Counseling@Northwestern program, you will attend two on-campus immersion experiences and complete a final capstone project during your last two semesters. Here is more information about these experiences:

The Group Dynamics Immersion is the experiential component of the Theories and Techniques of Group Counseling and Psychotherapy course. During a long weekend, you will take turns both leading groups and participating in groups led by students, while applying concepts learned in the classroom. The Group Dynamics Immersion is held during the January and July quarters.

The immersion is led by Counseling@Northwestern faculty and selected supervisors, who help you define your leadership styles, examine any biases you may have in group settings, and understand what roles you take on in groups. After the immersion, you spend the remainder of the Group & Organizational Dynamics course integrating your theoretical and experiential knowledge.

The Capstone Immersion enables you to present a relevant mental health issue to an audience of your peers and faculty, as you would at a conference.

The capstone is considered the final project in your Advanced Topics in Clinical Mental Health Counseling course. You can request a faculty member to serve as a research mentor to oversee the project. You will meet with your mentor once a week for about 30 minutes.

The capstone is presented in person, on campus at the second immersion. All Counseling@Northwestern staff and students in your cohort will attend. You will give a 45-minute presentation in which you are encouraged to engage the audience and be creative. There is no paper associated with the capstone.