Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling (GRAD)

The Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling (CRMH) in the Department of Allied Health Sciences offers a unique and challenging 60+ credit master of science degree in clinical rehabilitation and mental health counseling with concentrations in working with persons with developmental and psychiatric disabilities.

The graduate courses offered in CRMH present and discuss theoretical constructs and their application to clinical practice; examine the biopsychosocial complexity of disability within rehabilitation contexts; examine professional role and identity development within ethical guidelines of practice; stimulate critical, analytical, and creative thought; and prepare students for professional rehabilitation and mental health counseling practice, including specialty settings for people with developmental and/or psychiatric disabilities.

Mission

The mission of the Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling (CRMH) is to serve the people of North Carolina by using evidence-based knowledge to give rehabilitation and mental health counselors the training to provide services to our citizens with disabilities with a special focus on those with developmental disabilities and/or psychiatric disabilities.

We believe in the dignity and worth of citizens with disabilities and their right to live self-determined lives in inclusive communities of their choice. The division educates counselors who then use their skills: (i) to help citizens with disabilities live productive and independent lives; (ii) to provide access to and manage personalized services that support the unique needs and preferences of each citizen with a disability and their respective families and communities; and (iii) to forge new models of research-informed community practice.

Our counselors are taught to assess and focus on the whole person: psychological, vocational, spiritual, and physical needs, and family, social, vocational, and community relationships. Division-educated counselors must possess the knowledge, courage, vision, critical thinking abilities, and commitment to independent learning and scholarship required to comprehensively address each these needs.

In carrying out this mission, the faculty of the division has the obligation: (i) to discover, preserve, synthesize, and transmit knowledge; (ii) to be models of professional leadership; and (iii) to create a culture of educational excellence that nurtures students’ intellectual and ethical development. Students have the responsibility to fully engage in an educational process of research, free inquiry, and personal responsibility and to become practitioners, scholars, researchers, and leaders in the profession of clinical rehabilitation and mental health counseling.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is recognized, nationally and internationally, as a leading center of scholarship, research and creative work with a mission to serve the people of the state and nation. The mission of our division is to contribute actively and substantively to this tradition. In 2019, the Division of CRMH was ranked ninth in the nation by U.S.News and World Report.

Objectives

Graduates of the program will:

  1. Practice effectively within a community model using current best practices for rehabilitation counseling and mental health counseling;
  2. Assess the client’s overall rehabilitation and mental health needs and preferences and work together with the client to develop and implement appropriate counseling services and support plans;
  3. Have specific knowledge and skills to address the counseling and case management needs of individuals with disabilities with emphasis on the needs of persons with psychiatric and developmental disabilities;
  4. Work collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams, family members, community members and decision and policy makers;
  5. Engage in a process of lifelong learning, collaboration and collegiality;
  6. Assume leadership roles in rehabilitation counseling and mental health counseling practice and the profession with the necessary leadership, business and management and public policy skills;
  7. Empower clients as self advocates.

Students must successfully complete 68 semester hours of required coursework; submit and defend an approved master's thesis, paper, or project; and complete an approved practicum and internship (within the chosen specialization).

Requirements for Admission

  • A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
  • Grade point average in major of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
  • Submission of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores

We complete a holistic file review and consider academic success, personal/family, professional, or volunteer experience with people with disabilities, diversity (broadly defined) to the program and field of counseling, and how well a candidate's career interests and goals align with our program curriculum and clinical training opportunities. We weigh GRE verbal and writing scores more heavily, as verbal and writing skills are needed for proficiency in counseling and completing our program.

Professor

Eileen J. Burker, Ph.D., C.R.C.,  Quality of Life Associated with Heart and Lung Transplantation and Left Ventricular Device (LVAD) Surgery; Mental Health Aspects of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation; Vocational Functioning in Individuals with Chronic Medical Conditions; Counseling Skills Development in Graduate Students in Counseling; Ethics in Counseling

Associate Professors

Dara Chan, Sc.D., C.R.C., Career Counseling and Development for Adults with Developmental Disabilities; Community Participation and Integration of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder; Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Measures; Spatial Analysis of Environmental Accessibility and Resource Use

Eniko Rak, Ph.D., C.R.C,  Life Transitions and Quality of Life Outcomes; Impact of Health Literacy and Self-Management Competencies on Well-Being; Professional Identity Development in Students in Counseling Programs

Assistant Professor

Blaise Morrison, Ph.D., C.R.C, P.C., Psychosocial Adjustment Counseling for Families Affected by Chronic Illness and Disability; Family Therapy Interventions for Adjusting to Life After TBI, Stroke, and SCI; Caregiver/CarePartner QOL; Interdisciplinary Psychosocial Research; Community Participation and Employment Outcomes in Individuals with Acquired Brain Injury; Psychiatric Rehabilitation; Family Functioning After Disability Onset

Clinical Assistant Professors

Terra Rose, Psy.D., L.P., LCMHC-QS, Supervision and Counseling Skill Development of Graduate Students;  Evidence Based Treatments for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities and Substance Use Disorders, Quality of Life Associated with Organ Failure and Transplant

Judy Schmidt, Ed.D., C.R.C., LCMHCATrauma Informed Care, Counselor Development and Training, Interprofessional Education and Practice in Counselor Training

Adjunct Faculty

W. Leigh Atherton, Ph.D., Substance Abuse, Dual Diagnosis and Motivational Interviewing
Michael P. Griffin, Ph.D., Tests and Measurements, Assessment
Amy Johnson, Ph.D., Multicultural Psychology, Anxiety and Depressive Disorders, Women’s Issues, Couples Counseling, Clinical Supervision and Training
Katie Tompkins, M.S., C.R.C., LCMHC, Co-occurring Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities and Psychiatric Disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CRMH

Graduate-level Courses

CRMH 700.  Foundations of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling.  3 Credits.  

This course will cover topics germane to the history and philosophy of rehabilitation. Students will obtain an overview of the field, its consumers, and methods of service delivery.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 702.  Theories of Counseling.  3 Credits.  

An introduction to the traditional theories of individual and family counseling. Emphasis on application of theories to persons with disabilities, ethics, and multicultural awareness.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 704.  Medical & Psychosocial Aspects of Disabilities.  3 Credits.  

Functional, psychological, vocational, familial, social, and sexual aspects of medical disabilities. Includes the human body system and medical terminology. Focus on assistive technology and functional capacity.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 706.  Tests and Measurement in Clinical Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling.  3 Credits.  

This course is an overview of the selection, administration, and interpretation of major assessment tools. Emphasis is on persons with mental illness or developmental disabilities.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 708.  Career Development and Employment: Counseling Persons with Disabilities.  3 Credits.  

This course will cover career development and counseling with emphasis on community integration in vocational and leisure pursuits of persons with disabilities, particularly those with mental illness and developmental disabilities.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 710.  A Multicultural Perspective of Developmental Counseling through the Lifespan.  3 Credits.  

A multicultural perspective of developmental theories and counseling through the lifespan will be covered with overall themes of positive development, resiliency, and healthy life transitions of persons with disabilities.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 712.  Fundamentals of CRMH Diagnosis & Practice with People with Psychiatric & Developmental Disabilities.  3 Credits.  

An introduction to diagnosing clients with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Focus is on best practice treatment and the vocational, social, and familial implications of living with a DSM disorder.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisites, CRMH 700 and 702.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 714.  Principles of Group Counseling in Clinical Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling.  3 Credits.  

Strategies and techniques in developing and implementing groups in counseling. Attention to group counseling with persons with disabilities, specifically those with mental illness and developmental disabilities.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 716.  Case Management, Rehabilitation Services, and Resources.  3 Credits.  

Emphasis on leadership in all aspects of person-centered service coordination to include transdisciplinary and multi-agency effectiveness, knowledge of community organization and resources, service and support options.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 718.  Co-Occurring Disorders in Clinical Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling.  3 Credits.  

Introduces co-occurence of psychiatric conditions, subdstance abuse, and/or developmental disabilities, examining history including traditional recovery models, contradictory practices, bio-physiological effects, and shift from separate to parallel to integrated treatment approaches.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 800.  Clinical Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling Research & Program Evaluations.  3 Credits.  

Research methods, evidence-based practice, and ethical, legal, and cultural issues related to research and evaluation. Covers basic statistics, library research for rehabilitation-related information, proposal development, and grant writing.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisites, CRMH 700 and 702.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 802.  Practicum in Clinical Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling.  5 Credits.  

Practicum in Clinical Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling Provides students the opportunity to apply knowledge and counseling skills in a clinical setting and move to a more advanced level of counseling skill. Includes clinical training in assessing lethality, identifying and reporting abuse, counselor safety, Rehabilitation Counseling ethics, and HIPAA review.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 806.  Applied Counseling Skills in Clinical Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling.  5 Credits.  

Designed to teach foundational counseling skills that will enable students to begin counseling. Focus on counseling individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Includes ethics and multicultural awareness.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 810.  Internship in Clinical Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling.  10 Credits.  

Direct experience with clients/patients in either PD or DD settings.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 814.  Intro to CRMH Counseling with People with Developmental Disabilities and Psychiatric Disabilities.  3 Credits.  

Historical perspective, description, diagnoses, classification, etiology, patterns of functioning, current best practices with focus on RCP service delivery and community support; day-in-the-life component included.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 816.  Evidence-Based Counseling Practices with People with Developmental Disabilities.  3 Credits.  

Prepares students for counseling practice with persons with developmental disabilities, focusing on achievement of a participatory, person-centered, independent, productive community life.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 818.  Evidence-Based Counseling Practices with People with Psychiatric Disabilities.  3 Credits.  

Prepare students for counseling practice with persons with psychiatric conditions; covers evidence-based practice and coordination strategies focusing or, support of recovery, achievement of healthy, independent, and productive community life.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 822.  Marriage, Couple & Family Counseling in Clinical Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling.  3 Credits.  

Provides a general framework for understanding individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses in the context of the family and related systems.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, CRMH 702.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 890.  Special Topics in Clinical Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling.  1-3 Credits.  

Faculty-mentored independent study to pursue specific interests and topics.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
CRMH 992.  Master's (Non-Thesis).  3 Credits.  

Individual work by a student (supervised by faculty) to explore an area of interest in a research paper, program development, or a professional project.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit.   
CRMH 993.  Master's Research and Thesis.  3 Credits.  

Individual research supervised by a faculty member in a special field of study.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit.   

Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling

Visit Program Website

Director

Eileen J. Burker