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By Anna Rosebrook (�������� M.B.A. 26)

Counseling is one of the most interpersonal jobs there is. It depends on reading a room, sitting with silence, and noticing what someone isn’t saying. So it’s a fair question to ask before enrolling in an online counseling master’s degree: Can you actually build that kind of skill through a laptop?

Yes! But it depends on how the program integrates live, interactive practice into the curriculum alongside lecture videos and reading assignments. In ��������’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, that means weekly live skills practice in small groups, sessions recorded for reflection, and an in-person residency to deepen personal skills further. 

Here’s what that actually looks like from Michelle Fusco’s experience, a current student in Grace’s online counseling master’s degree.

Why Choose Online?

Fusco was six months into being a first-time mom, on leave from a career in marketing, when she realized she had no desire to return to her work. What she couldn’t stop thinking about was something she’s wanted to do since she got an undergraduate psychology degree: become a counselor!

At that point, Fusco began looking for clinical mental health counseling programs. “I initially looked at brick-and-mortar programs that were close to me in New York,” she said. “But I chose Grace’s online counseling master’s degree for a number of reasons.”

1. She liked the spiritual component of Grace’s program, training students to perform practical clinical work, but through a biblical lens.

2. She realized the one-hour commute to the brick-and-mortar school close to her wasn’t doable for her. With a young child at home, Fusco needed an online program that didn’t require a commute.

3. She needed a CACREP-accredited program to become a licensed counselor in her state. 

What a Week in Grace’s Online Counseling Master’s Degree Looks Like

While every course in Grace’s clinical mental health counseling program is structured differently, Michelle found that her coursework shifted from the occasional Zoom sessions in the first year of the program into something much more hands-on.

Up to that point, most classes had met live only two or three times a semester, with the bulk of the work done independently. Once she reached a course called Counseling Skills, however, that changed.

“When you get into Counseling Skills, you begin meeting with classmates weekly,” said Fusco. “You get to practice what you’re learning in a very practical and helpful way.”

During live sessions, students meet in triads, each person taking turns playing the counselor, client, or observer. Every session is recorded, and students switch positions every time they meet.

While it’s still through a screen, students can watch each other’s reactions in real time, read their tone and hesitation, and practice the same read-the-room instincts a counselor needs in an actual office. Because the sessions are recorded, students can go back afterward and watch exactly how they responded, instead of relying on memory.

This provides time for reflection afterward, such as coming up with alternate ways of answering for an assignment.

“You get a lot of reflection when you do it this way,” Fusco said. “I don’t think you would typically have that unless you recorded your sessions or were forced to go back and come up with alternate ways of answering.”

Putting It to the Test

The reflection in our online counseling master’s degree helps students prepare for the real test of sitting with a real client in their practicum and internship.

Fusco described her interaction with her first client during practicum.“Of course it was nerve-wracking,” she said. “However, I felt pretty comfortable because I had a good grasp on the basic techniques. No matter where the session went, I could just go back to the basic skills I’ve learned.”

Months of recorded, contemplative Zoom practice gave her something to fall back on the moment the stakes became real. Rather than trying to counsel based solely on textbook knowledge, she could rely on muscle memory that she had built during sessions with her classmates.

Grace’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program

At the end of the day, it’s not about pretending that the screen isn’t there. Rather, it’s about building weekly live practice, recorded review, and real in-person time directly into the structure of each and every course.

By the time a student is sitting across from an actual client, the nerves are real, but so is the preparation to back them up.

Are you interested in an online counseling master’s degree? See how Grace’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program can work for you!