Study Master’s in Counseling in Louisiana
Typical master’s programs in counseling require about three years of on-campus study. However, recent years have seen a rise in online counseling programs at the graduate level. This is true in Louisiana and around the nation.
The benefits of online learning are many. Getting your graduate degree online gives you a much more flexible schedule for completing your degree requirements. Without the need to go to campus, you eliminate travel expenses, too. Plus, online counseling master’s programs offer the same level of rigor and opportunities for field experience as on-campus programs.
As a prospective counseling graduate student in Louisiana, you have your pick of a number of popular programs. This guide will help you answer that question by presenting detailed descriptions of some of the popular counseling programs in Louisiana. Read about each one, compare and contrast them, and choose the one that best fits your needs.
Online Master’s in Counseling in Louisiana
Listed below are some of the popular schools offering online master’s in counseling programs in Louisiana:
- University of Louisiana–Monroe
- University of Holy Cross
- Capella University
- Walden University
- Grand Canyon University
- National University
- The Chicago School
- Lamar University
University of Louisiana–Monroe
Online Master of Science in Counseling
The Master of Science in Counseling at the University of Louisiana–Monroe is a 60-credit cohort-based program that takes about three years to complete. The program is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), and as such, the curriculum is aligned with professional standards of practice.
You can pursue one of four distinct specializations:
- Clinical Mental Health Counseling
- School Counseling
- Addiction Counseling
- Combined Track (choose two of the above three specializations)
Perhaps the most popular option is the Clinical Mental Health Counseling track. Pursuing this specialization prepares you to sit for national licensure exams. You’ll also meet the educational requirements for licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).
Your education begins with foundational courses in areas like Introduction to Professional Counseling. This class explores the basic tenets of counseling, such as counseling theories, counseling techniques, and professional issues, like ethics. Each of these topics is explored in more detail in other classes as well.
For example, you’re required to take a dedicated Counseling Theories class, which introduces you to historical and modern theories used in counseling today. These theories may include behaviorism, existentialism, humanism, and the psychodynamic approach, to name a few. By learning about various counseling theories, you’ll be more capable of identifying your personal approach to counseling, which you’ll hone over the course of the program.
The Methods of Counseling course is another class that will help you develop more thoroughly as a counselor. This class builds on the Counseling Theories course by exploring methods and techniques that various counseling theories utilize in the context of therapy. For example, you’ll learn how to use cognitive restructuring (a technique that helps clients challenge their negative thoughts) as part of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Additional applied counseling courses include the following:
- Advanced Techniques in Counseling
- Group Counseling
- Career Counseling
- Diagnostics in Counseling
- Clinical Assessment and Psychometrics
You’re required to take numerous professional courses as well. For example, the Principles of Administration of Mental Health Counseling Programs class informs you of the ins and outs of designing, implementing, and evaluating mental health programs. Likewise, the Research in Counseling course offers insights into studying psychology, counseling, and related fields. You’ll learn how to form hypotheses and test them, how to conduct ethical counseling research, and how to report the findings of your research, too.
This program emphasizes the importance of diversity in counseling. As such, you’ll take Multicultural Counseling to gain a better understanding of how social, economic, religious, and other factors influence people’s experience in counseling. You’ll also have opportunities for self-exploration so you can identify potential biases that might impact your ability to work with certain clients.
One of the advantages of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling track is the sheer number of electives you can choose from. You’re required to take four electives, but the program offers a dozen options. These options include the following:
- Psychopharmacology in Counseling
- Introduction to Play Therapy
- Introduction to Marriage, Couples, and Family Counseling
- Crisis Intervention Counseling
- Addiction Counseling
The fieldwork component includes a semester-long practicum and a two-semester internship. The practicum requires you to complete 100 hours of supervised counseling work. Your duties during the practicum will be somewhat limited since it’s your first field experience. However, as the semester progresses, you’ll take on more responsibilities to practice your counseling skills and prepare for the internship phase.
Speaking of the internship, you’re required to accumulate at least 600 hours of clock time. Since the internship is the final piece of the program before graduation, the purpose is to prepare you for independent work as a professional counselor. Though you’ll still work in a supervised setting, you’ll have more independence than in the practicum phase. Both field experiences are crucial to your development and will take place at an approved site, such as a mental health center, addiction clinic, or hospital.
The application requirements are as follows:
- Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
- Have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or higher. If your GPA doesn’t meet this threshold, you must submit GRE scores.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Submit a current resume or curriculum vitae.
- Provide three letters of recommendation.
- Submit a letter of interest.
- Submit a video in which you introduce yourself, your background, and your motivation for applying to the program.
University of Holy Cross
Online Master of Arts in Counseling
The University of Holy Cross’ Master of Arts in Counseling degree is a CACREP-accredited program that requires three years to complete. The program is multifaceted in that you’ll complete didactic coursework, research, and public service. Likewise, your learning extends beyond the classroom, where you’ll get experience applying what you’ve learned during the practicum and internship phases.
This program offers three tracks, including Clinical Mental Health. The program begins with essential coursework in broad counseling topics, such as Human Growth and Development. This class sets the stage for you to understand why people behave the way they do. By studying how humans develop and change over time, you’ll be better equipped to evaluate their behavior and devise strategies for helping them through difficult times.
You’ll acquire specific professional skills as well. For example, the Introduction to Techniques of Professional Counseling class focuses on various types of therapy (e.g., humanistic and psychodynamic) as well as strategies you can use to help build the therapeutic relationship, such as active listening, effective summarizing, and building rapport.
This program offers a broad-based view of counseling by requiring courses that focus on many different topics. For example, you’ll take classes in each of the following areas:
- Social and Cultural Foundations
- Career and Lifestyle Development
- Theory and Practice of Group Counseling
- Marriage and Family Counseling
- Chemical Dependency from a Systems Perspective
Moreover, your training focuses on the process of diagnosis. In fact, you’ll take a course entitled Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Disorders, which sheds light on the causes of mental illness, the signs and symptoms associated with various mental illnesses, and their commonality. You’ll use this knowledge to provide accurate diagnoses for clients, which also helps inform the techniques and interventions you use to treat your clients.
You’re also required to take a class on Sexual Trauma. This course is an overview of the types of sexual trauma that might occur, how to provide support for trauma victims, and how to advocate on their behalf as they require treatment. You’ll also explore the concept of compassion fatigue and learn how to care for yourself as you provide care to people who have suffered the worst kinds of trauma.
Other courses in the curriculum include the following:
- Professional Orientation and Ethics
- Research Methodology and Program Evaluation
- Techniques in Counseling
- Clinical Mental Health Counseling
- Appraisal in Counseling
You are also required to complete two graduate elective courses of your choice.
The final aspects of your training are the practicum and internship. The practicum is an introduction to professional practice. This experience allows you to begin applying what you’ve learned in the program in real-world situations with real clients. You must acquire at least 100 hours of clock time during the practicum, during which you’ll provide counseling services to individuals, couples, families, and groups.
The two-part internship requires you to complete 600 hours of supervised clock time. These hours can be accumulated in any approved setting, such as a hospital, community mental health clinic, or an inpatient treatment center. Again, you’ll have ample opportunities to practice what you’ve learned throughout the program and gain valuable experience developing your personal approach to counseling.
You must complete the following steps to apply:
- Have an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution.
- Have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Submit three letters of recommendation.
- Submit a goals statement in which you discuss your background, why you wish to be a counselor, and why you believe you’ll make an effective counselor.
Capella University
Online Master of Science in School Counseling
The Master of Science in School Counseling from Capella University is a comprehensive, flexible, online program available to you as a Louisiana resident. This CACREP-accredited program requires you to complete 90 quarter credits to graduate, which typically takes about three years of full-time studies.
You’ll complete this degree as part of Capella’s GuidedPath format. This format includes weekly online interactions with your professors and classmates with specific deadlines you’re required to meet for assignments, projects, exams, and so forth. However, your learning is more independent—you can learn on your own time without a large time commitment for synchronous learning activities.
The course requirements include 13 core courses, four specialization courses, two residencies, and field experience. Core courses build a foundation of essential school counseling knowledge and skills. These classes focus on areas such as:
- Life Planning and Career Development
- Ethical and Legal Issues in Professional Counseling
- Assessment, Tests, and Measures
- Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
- Counseling for College and Career Readiness
Furthermore, you’ll take classes like Lifespan Development for the Counseling Professions and Introduction to School Counseling. The former explores the cognitive, emotional, biological, and social changes that occur from birth to old age, focusing specifically on childhood and adolescence. The latter examines the history of school counseling, ethical and legal issues in this field, and programs and interventions you might utilize in your school as a counselor.
As for the specialization classes, your studies will focus on school counseling topics that are important for your training. For example, you might learn about program development and delivery in a school setting, how to effectively advocate on behalf of your student clients, and learn methods for involving parents, guardians, and other stakeholders in school-wide counseling initiatives.
This program also requires you to complete two face-to-face residencies, both of which focus on the counseling relationship. The first residency focuses mostly on clinical skills practice. You’ll learn how to apply what you’ve learned in class in mock situations where you’re required to demonstrate specific counseling skills. Then, in the second residency, you’ll practice advanced clinical counseling skills while also incorporating group counseling practice.
Your first real-world experience working as a pre-professional counselor comes in the required School Counseling Practicum. During the practicum, you’ll observe experienced school counselors and assist them in completing daily tasks, such as assessing students, devising interventions, consulting with other school professionals, and providing counseling services to students. You must complete at least 100 hours of clock time during the practicum, 40 of which must be in direct contact with students.
The year-long Internship for School Counseling builds on the practicum experience by requiring you to complete advanced training. In all, you must accumulate at least 600 clock hours, 240 of which must be in direct service to clients. The internship offers opportunities to practice your individual and group counseling skills, career counseling skills, and program development skills. Furthermore, you’ll become adept at working with colleagues to implement and evaluate school counseling programs in the school.
The requirements for admission are as follows:
- Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
- Have a 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA or higher.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Submit a current curriculum vitae or resume.
- Provide a goal statement that addresses your career goals, your specific aptitudes, and your potential as a counselor.
- Provide a copy of a valid government-issued photo ID.
Walden University
Online Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
You can earn a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Walden University that prepares you for licensure as a counselor in Louisiana. This program, which requires at least 90 quarter credits to finish, can be completed in as little as 33 months, provided you study on a full-time basis.
This CACREP-accredited program focuses on critical knowledge and skills development. You’ll acquire the appropriate skill set by taking engaging and interactive online classes and practicing what you learn in face-to-face field experiences. All curricular activities are guided by clinical mental health faculty who have real-world experience in this field.
The bulk of the credits you need to graduate are core courses. These classes focus on essential topics in counseling and provide critical training so you can be a competent practitioner. For example, the Introduction to Clinical Mental Health Counseling class examines the history of counseling and its theoretical bases. You’ll learn about various professional issues as well, including the scope of practice and credentialing procedures.
Furthermore, you’re required to take Techniques in Counseling, which introduces you to basic counseling techniques, such as interviewing clients, writing case notes, making behavioral observations, and so forth. This course further examines personal beliefs and values, and how they can affect one’s ability to build rapport with clients and provide unbiased services to them as well.
Some of the required core coursework focuses on very broad topics. For example, you’ll take each of the following classes:
- Ethics and Legal Issues in Counseling
- Multicultural Counseling
- Lifespan Development
- Group Process and Dynamics
- Research Methodology and Program Evaluation
Other core courses have a tighter focus. For example, the Couples and Family Counseling class explores the dynamics of working with more than one client in a counseling session. You’ll analyze group counseling theories and techniques, explore family dynamics, and examine how culture, religion, age, and other features affect one’s participation in therapy.
As another example, you’ll take Counseling Addictive Disorders, which focuses on methods you can rely on to work with clients who have behavioral and/or substance-related addictions. You’ll explore addiction counseling theories, how addiction begins, and procedures for assessment and diagnosis as well.
A unique feature of this program is that you can add a specialization to your degree. Walden University offers a host of specializations, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Addiction Counseling
- Forensic Counseling
- Play Therapy
- Rehabilitation Counseling
- Telehealth Counseling, Private Practice, and Supervision
The remaining requirements for this degree involve experiential learning. For example, you’ll complete two pre-practicum experiences synchronously online that give you insights into basic counseling skills and techniques. Then, you’ll get face-to-face experience practicing your counseling skills during the practicum. You’ll also have opportunities to further develop your personal counseling approach. The practicum requires 8-10 hours of daily work at the practicum site.
The year-long internship is the final aspect of this program. You must accumulate at least 600 hours of clock time during the internship, of which 240 must be in direct service to clients. During the internship, you’ll further develop your counseling skills, complete administrative duties, and complete weekly supervision with your professors. Both the practicum and internship will take place at approved sites near where you live to minimize travel.
The admissions requirements are as follows:
- Have a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Submit the required supporting documents as instructed by the program.
When applying to Walden you’ll have an enrollment specialist who will assist you with the admissions process. They will provide you with specific enrollment criteria and provide support as you work on your admissions materials.
How Much Do Licensed Mental Health Counselors Make in Louisiana?
As of January 2026, the average annual salary for a licensed mental health counselor working in Louisiana is $91,025. More experienced and top earning licensed mental health counselors working in Louisiana make over $130,000 per year.