Help Military Families Overcome Trauma and Transition
The U.S. military population includes millions of 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.
Are you ready to broaden your professional horizons and make a difference in the lives of those who have served? Learn more about the specialization and how it can improve your capabilities in mental health counseling. If you’re prepared to take this transformative step in your career, apply now and start your journey toward becoming a more versatile and impactful counselor.
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
Learn to help people who have faced acute, often prolonged trauma.
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
Our CACREP-accredited program is just as robust as, if not stronger than, an on-ground program. Our students are heavily involved and engaged in all our ongoing training and events. Having students from all over the nation and the world brings a richness of different life experiences. Our tracks, such as the Military and Veteran Counseling specialization, reflect our commitment to serving diverse populations in the community.
Extend Your Skills, Not Your Time in School
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 clients with particular sensitivity—as they experience military life, culture challenges, and military-to-veteran transition.
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.
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- Retrieved on June 9, 2025, from download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2021-demographics-report.pdf
- Retrieved on June 9, 2025, from data.census.gov/table?q=S2101&tid=ACSST1Y2021.S2101
- Retrieved on June 9, 2025, from rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9981z2.html
- Retrieved on June 9, 2025, from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5047000/