Online Accredited Master's in Counseling in Georgia [2023]

Study Counseling in Georgia

Psychology is consistently one of the most popular undergraduate majors in the nation. The same is true at Georgia’s largest schools – psychology is tied for the most popular major at the University of Georgia and is in the top ten at Georgia Tech.

A natural progression for psychology program graduates is to continue in a graduate program in psychology or counseling. If that’s the track you wish to take, Georgia couldn’t be a better option. There are dozens of graduate degrees available from Georgia’s colleges and universities in many areas of counseling.

Better still, your graduate degree options in counseling aren’t just limited to in-person programs. You also have your pick of hybrid and fully online degrees. Below is a short list of some the most popular online counseling programs you might consider.

Best Accredited Online Masters in Counseling Degrees in Georgia

Online Master’s in Counseling in Georgia

Listed below are some of the popular schools offering online master’s in counseling in Georgia:

Southern New Hampshire University
Albany State University
LaGrange College
Piedmont University
Thomas University
University of William and Mary
Capella University
Arizona State University Online

Albany State University

Online Master of Education in Counselor Education

The M.Ed. in Counselor Education from Albany State is available in three popular specializations: school counseling, clinical mental health counseling, and clinical rehabilitation counseling. Though these programs have advanced coursework that differs, each one shares a 48-credit core curriculum that includes studies in the following:

Theories of Counseling
Lifespan Development
Multicultural Counseling Theory and Practice
Legal and Ethical Issues in Counseling
Crisis Counseling and Intervention

After completing these and other essential counseling courses, you will complete an additional 12-15 credits in your area of specialization. For example, the school counseling track offers courses in School Counseling Foundations, Counseling Children and Adolescents, and the Exceptional Child.

If you choose the clinical mental health counseling track, you will take courses like Psychopharmacology, Addictions Counseling, and Diagnosis and Treatment. The rehabilitation counseling track includes coursework in Case Management, Foundations of Rehabilitation Counseling, and Vocational Development and Placement.

Each counseling specialty requires you to complete practicum and internship experiences, too. A total of 700 hours of clinical fieldwork is required in an approved supervised setting. Before completing this requirement, you must pass a criminal background check and have counseling liability insurance. You must also participate in two or more four-day campus residencies as part of the degree requirements.

All told, you are required to complete 60-63 credits of graduate coursework and field experiences to graduate. Full-time students can complete these requirements in about three years. Once you graduate, you may be eligible for certification as a school counselor, counselor, or rehabilitation counselor. However, this depends on the specific professional requirements of the state in which you intend to work.

To qualify for admission to this program, you must have an undergraduate degree with a 2.8 cumulative GPA or higher. You are also required to submit the following when you apply:

Counselor Education Program application
Official MAT, GRE, or GACE Test Scores
Professional Statement
Three current references

LaGrange College

Online Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

The MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree at LaGrange College offers an online track that gives you the flexibility of taking courses either synchronously (with set class meeting times online) or asynchronously (in which you complete online coursework on your own schedule). These options make this program a good choice if you have a current career or family obligations that you need to work around.

This 60-credit program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs or CACREP and takes as little as two years to complete. Since the program is fully accredited, you will complete coursework, research, and field experiences that make you eligible for licensure as a clinical mental health counselor upon graduation.

You will take many different courses to ensure you have the well-rounded skill set to be a professional counselor. Some of these courses include the following:

Foundations of Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Group Dynamics
Crisis, Trauma, and Grief Counseling
Addictions Counseling
Principles of Management, Consultation, Collaboration, and Advocacy

Part of CACREP accreditation requires programs to include field experiences. LaGrange’s program does so with multiple practica and internships throughout the program. Diverse opportunities are available to complete these fieldwork components with minimal impact to your schedule. This program also offers ample opportunities to gain professional development through research, training, and conference presentations.

You can focus on special issues in counseling, too, particularly community service, social justice, and mental health research. Family counseling, career counseling, and multicultural counseling are also areas of emphasis.

You can apply to LaGrange College online at any time. You must have an undergraduate degree with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher to be eligible for this program. Additionally, you must submit the following with your completed graduate application for admission:

Official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended
Three professional references
A two-page essay that outlines your decision to pursue a counseling career

You must also complete a background check and have no history of license or certification revocations.

Piedmont University

Online Master of Arts in Professional Counseling

The MA in Professional Counseling at Piedmont University is a 60-credit program that can be completed in as little as two-and-a-half years. The program is 100 percent online, with no campus residencies required. Instead, you will complete a variety of graduate-level coursework online in synchronous and asynchronous formats.

Some of the topics you will study include the following:

Counseling and Helping Relationships
Group Counseling and Group Work
Addictions and Substance Use Counseling
Psychopathology and Diagnosis
Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Counseling

This program also includes a course in Telemental Health Counseling, which explores the benefits, challenges, ethics, and legal issues of providing mental health care via telehealth platforms like teleconferencing and video chat.

There is also a fieldwork component that includes nine credits of practicum and internship placements. The program faculty and staff assist you in finding an approved clinical site near where you live so you can complete this requirement without the burden of traveling to a distant location.

Upon graduating from this program, you will be eligible to pursue professional licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia (your eligibility for an LPC in other states depends on their licensure requirements). You will also be eligible to sit for certification as a National Certified Counselor.

To apply, you must have a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 GPA or higher to apply. The following documentation is required with your application:

Official transcripts from every college or university you have attended
Two professional references
A two-page statement of intent that discusses your personal and professional aspirations
A current resume
A completed background check

Applicants must also participate in a virtual interview with program faculty to ensure a proper fit with the program and the counseling profession.

Thomas University

Online Master of Science in Counseling

Thomas University’s MS in Counseling is a 60-credit CACREP-accredited program that prepares you to be a highly skilled licensed counselor. You can choose from four specializations:

Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling
Addictions Counseling
Professional School Counseling

Each specialization shares the same 45 core credits. To complete this core sequence, you will take courses like Theories and Techniques of Counseling, Substance Abuse Counseling Methods, and Foundations and Techniques of Counseling. The core sequence also includes a 100-hour counseling practicum and two 450-hour counseling internships. You will also complete a counseling capstone project.

Where these specializations differ is in the 15-credit specialized course sequence. For example, as a clinical mental health counseling student, you will take courses like Abnormal Behavior, Marriage and Family Counseling, and Psychosocial and Multicultural Aspects of Counseling. But if you choose the clinical rehabilitation track, you will take courses like Medical Aspects of Disability and Chronic Illness, Case Management and Community Resources, and Psychopharmacology.

As a student in the addictions counseling track, you will take courses in Ethics in Addiction Counseling, Co-Occurring Disorders and Trauma, and Psychopharmacology. The school counseling specialization includes coursework in Diversity and Exceptionality, Collaborative Classrooms, and Counseling Children and Families.

Upon graduation, you will be eligible for varying certifications depending on your specialty. Potential certifications include the following:

National Certified Counselor
National Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor
Certified Rehabilitation Counselor

Furthermore, since this is a CACREP-accredited program, you will be eligible for licensure in all states upon graduation.

To apply, fill out an online application for admission. You must have an undergraduate degree to apply. You must also provide the following materials with your application:

Official transcripts from every college or university you have attended
Three letters of recommendation
A resume
A two-page statement of purpose that identifies your personal and professional goals.

University of William and Mary

Online Master of Education in Counseling

William and Mary is a prestigious Public Ivy university. And though its physical campus isn’t in Georgia, its online M.Ed. in Counseling is open to Georgia residents and students across the nation.

This program is CACREP-accredited and gives you the option of choosing between three concentrations: Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Military and Veterans Counseling, or School Counseling. In each case, you must complete 60 credits to graduate. This includes 51 credits of advanced coursework in topics like:

Professional, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Counseling
Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy
Human Growth and Development: A Life-Span Perspective
Theory and Practice of Multicultural Counseling
Techniques of Counseling

Of course, additional classes focus specifically on your chosen area of concentration. However, all three specialization options include a three-credit practicum with a 100-hour client contact requirement at an approved site. The practicum takes place over two mini semesters with around 8-10 hours of attendance required per week.

Each specialization also includes a two-course, six-credit, 600-hour internship. The internship occurs over four mini semesters and requires roughly 18 hours of work per week for the duration of the field placement. You must attend synchronous online classes throughout the practicum and internship as well.

There are also two three-day campus residencies, so this isn’t a true online program. These residencies are required to give you face-to-face time with professors and colleagues that’s critical for developing your skills as a counselor. The residencies take place in Williamsburg, Virginia.

This program’s application portal is accessible online. You must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution to apply. You must also submit the following:

Official transcripts from all colleges and universities you have attended
Three letters of recommendation
A personal essay
Other materials as deemed appropriate by the program

What are the Counseling Work Opportunities in Georgia?

With a graduate degree in counseling in Georgia, you can pursue many different counseling specializations. The limits of your career pursuits really only depend on your specific training, degree, and professional licenses or certifications.

For example, let’s assume you complete a graduate degree in school counseling. In that case, the most likely career path will be to work as a counselor in a K-12 school setting. School counselors have a wide range of responsibilities, from providing counseling services to individual students and groups to building school-wide counseling programs (e.g., multicultural sensitivity training for teachers) to working with parents on improving communication with their children.

But let’s now assume your graduate degree is in clinical mental health counseling. This specialty prepares you to work in various clinical settings, from psychiatric hospitals to community mental health centers to private practice. In each of these settings, you will be responsible for providing psychological assessments, diagnoses of mental health disorders, and treatments to clients.

As a licensed counselor in Georgia, you can also specialize in specific applications of counseling or with specific groups. For example, you might specialize in trauma counseling for people that have survived abuse or neglect or addictions counseling for people struggling with a substance abuse disorder. As another example, you might work specifically with people who have a personality disorder, an eating disorder, or a mood disorder.

The foundation for your professional pursuits is laid in your graduate program. Therefore, it’s critical that you take the time to research the degrees available to you and enroll in a program that aligns with your professional goals.

What is the Difference Between LPC and LAPC?

Both LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) and LAPC (Licensed Associate Professional Counselor) are designations for counseling professionals, but they differ in terms of experience, autonomy in practice, and the level of supervision required. The differences typically reflect the progression of a counselor’s career from entry-level to full licensure. Here are the primary differences between LPC and LAPC:

Level of Licensure

LAPC: This is often an entry-level licensure for those who have completed their educational requirements (usually a master’s degree in counseling or a related field) but have not yet fulfilled the full postgraduate supervised experience requirements needed for full licensure as an LPC.

LPC: This is a fully licensed counselor who has met all the educational, experiential, and examination requirements of the state licensing board.

Supervision

LAPC: Individuals with an LAPC usually require ongoing supervision by a board-approved supervisor when providing counseling services. This supervision is a means of professional support and oversight to ensure quality and ethical care.

LPC: Once fully licensed as an LPC, a counselor no longer requires regular supervision for their general practice (though supervision might be sought for specific modalities or professional development).

Autonomy in Practice

LAPC: Given the need for supervision, LAPCs might have some limitations in their practice scope. They might not be able to open a private practice or see clients independently without the oversight of an LPC or similarly licensed professional, depending on state regulations.

LPC: Fully licensed LPCs have greater autonomy and can practice independently, including opening and managing a private practice.

Duration

LAPC: This status is typically temporary and exists for a defined period during which the counselor is expected to complete the necessary postgraduate supervised experience.

LPC: Once a counselor has achieved LPC status, they maintain this licensure as long as they meet the state’s renewal and continuing education requirements.

How Long Does It Take to Become a Counselor in GA?

The entire process to become a licensed counselor in Georgia usually takes 7-9 years (4 years for a bachelor’s, 2-3 years for a master’s, and 1-2 years of supervised experience). However, if you pursue an optional doctoral degree or gain advanced standing due to your educational background, the time frame might vary.

How Much Does a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Make in Georgia?

As of August 2023, the average annual pay for licensed mental health counselors in Georgia is $65,925 a year or $31.69 an hour. Top earning licensed counselors in Georgia make over $90,000 per year.

Accredited Online Master’s in Counseling Degrees in Georgia [2023 Guide]