Strengthen Your Ability to Serve
The U.S. military population includes roughly 30 million people: active military and civilian personnel, veterans and their family members.1,2
You may be among them. You might know and love people who are. You might never have met them, but your commitment to serving others is a driving force in your life and work.
Heighten your expertise. Improve your career potential.
The greater your skill set, the more you can accomplish. William & Mary’s Military and Veterans Counseling (MVC) specialization builds on the Clinical Mental Health Counseling concentration. It adds to your professional toolkit and prepares you for licensure without extending the duration of your program.
With military-focused counseling proficiency, you’ll be equipped to serve a larger population, meet more diverse needs, and step into a broader array of opportunities.
Military Mental Health: Need by the Numbers
America’s military community faces a pressing, growing need for top-tier mental health care. The 2.8 million Americans deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, for example, continue to cope with profound challenges, including:3
STRAINS IN FAMILY LIFE - 48%
SUDDEN OUTBURSTS OF ANGER - 47%
DIFFICULTY ADJUSTING TO CIVILIAN LIFE - 44%
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY - Up to 23%
POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER - Up to 20%
DEPRESSION - Up to 15%
The Impact of PTSD Counseling for Veterans
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)—“the development of characteristic and persistent symptoms along with difficulty functioning after exposure to a life-threatening experience”4—can result from military combat, terrorist attack, abuse or violent personal assault.
Skilled therapy has been shown to be effective in 60% of veterans with PTSD by helping them change how they react to memories of trauma and learn to cope with fear- and stress-inducing situations4
Military and Veterans Counseling at William & Mary
The Military and Veterans Counseling specialization augments the core foundation of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree with military-focused elective courses and a military-focused internship. Through them, you’ll become proficient at:
- Addressing the unique behavioral health needs of active-duty military personnel and veterans
- Assessing and treating trauma-related disorders
- Counseling military couples and families
Extend Your Skills, Not Your Time in School
Learn to help people who have faced acute, often prolonged trauma.
By including this specialization in your Clinical Mental Health Counseling concentration, you’re choosing to take on greater expertise and richer opportunities—without delay.
Complete the program in as few as three years (60 credit hours), including:
- A one-semester practicum (100 clock hours)*
- A two-semester internship (600 clock hours)*
You’ll graduate as a culturally responsive agent for social change, equipped to make a meaningful difference in the lives of your military and civilian clients.
*In addition to the hours conducted in the field site placement, you’ll have additional synchronous supervision and course requirements.
The Distinction of the Military-Focused Curriculum
Help meet an unmet need. Strengthen your professional acumen with the tools to support your clients through challenges from trauma-related disorders to major life transitions. The three focused courses in the Military and Veterans Counseling specialization will prepare you to serve and support your military clients with particular sensitivity.
Military Life, Culture and Challenges
Military-to-Veteran
Transition
Supervised Internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Join Your Partners in Military Counseling
William & Mary’s counseling students come from all walks of life. Your colleagues will have military and civilian backgrounds, with varied professional experience in diverse fields. Some are looking to advance in their current careers, while others want to start new careers entirely. Regardless of your age, hometown or professional resume, if your passion is for counseling, your place and your people are here.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE YOU CAN MAKE
“Public Ivy” Excellence
Online and on campus, we welcome students from all backgrounds, including those with and without military experience.
CACREP Accreditation
Please review any additional requirements for your intended area of pursuit and state of practice.
World-Class Faculty
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- Retrieved on July 12, 2023, from download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2021-demographics-report.pdf
- Retrieved on July 12, 2023, from data.census.gov/table?q=S2101&tid=ACSST1Y2021.S2101
- Retrieved on July 12, 2023, from rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9981z2.html
- Retrieved on July 12, 2023, from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5047000/