Master of Science
Addiction Counseling
Program Overview
Help prevent substance abuse, counsel people with addictive disorders, and provide other services to people suffering from addiction when you graduate with an Addiction Counseling master’s degree program from JWU.
This 18-month full-time program* has two cohort starts each year (fall or spring). Classes meets in the late afternoons and evenings. This flexible schedule allows opportunities for students to work at their field placements during the day and on weekends. Classes are offered in multiple modalities, including face to face, hybrid and remote. The majority of courses are taught by full-time faculty who represent diverse areas of expertise including clinical, addictions, substance abuse, trauma and rehabilitation counseling.
Learn clinical skills by turning theoretical foundations into positive, ethical client interaction and intervention. The counseling training laboratory and clinical field experience sites provide students with hands-on training by licensed professionals.
The 60-credit program includes 12 core courses, 4 electives, a practicum and an internship. This fieldwork puts professional knowledge into practice, starting with a 100-hour practicum followed by an internship under the supervision of clinical professionals.
*A part-time option is available. Part-time students follow a study plan of two courses per semester, completing the program in 3 years.
Individual states may require specific licensing or professional certification in addition to earning a degree in order to practice in the field. Review for more information.
Sample Addiction Counseling Courses
For a full course listing, visit the JWU Catalog:
Core Counseling Faculty
Assistant Professor
As a dual licensed clinician who specializes in both mental health and substance use, Paulhus has experience working in a variety of settings, including home care, outpatient counseling, and crisis work.
Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor Giresunlu’s research interests include counselor and supervisor development and practices in integrated behavioral health settings.
Assistant Professor
Much of Assistant Professor Smarinsky’s clinical work has focused on trauma treatment and prevention in children and adolescents.
How Counseling Can Diminish Sports Performance Anxiety
Associate professors Jessica Paulhus and Yesim Giresunlu, core faculty in JWU Providence’s Counselor Education department, are using their backgrounds in counseling, athletics and martial arts to support student-athletes’ mental health and diminish performance anxiety. It’s part of a collaborative effort with JWU’s Athletics department and other individuals across the university.
During the 2023-24 academic year, the professors co-facilitated two training sessions for student-athletes where they outlined their findings and offered practical strategies for improving game performance.
Therapy that Leverages Nature’s Healing Properties
A member of JWU Providence’s Clinical Health Counseling program’s first graduating cohort, Danielle Gagnon ’16 M.S. uses nature as a synergistic component of her counseling strategy. Throughout her career, she has practiced experiential therapeutic modalities and integrating the healing nature of the outdoors.
Gagnon currently practices in Utah, where she became a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor. In the last few years, she has primarily worked with adolescents who have struggled with anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use and emotional regulation.
Gagnon has trained and is certified in many clinical modalities, including Brain Spotting, Trauma-Focused CBT and SMART Recovery; she is also Safe Zone-certified for working with the LGBTQ+ population. She believes these forms of therapy create a space to allow students to access negative memories or feelings, and then release them, allowing the brain and body to heal.
She has recently joined Evoke Therapy in Utah as a wilderness therapist. Wilderness therapy is an alternative therapy that takes place outdoors; it has been shown to help patients overcome addiction, psychological disorders, stress, and past trauma by exposing them to challenging situations in nature.
When not at work, Gagnon focuses on travel and outdoor adventures, including road trips, hiking, kayaking, and other forms of wilderness exploration.
JWU M.S. Counseling Graduate Opens Connecticut Practice
Morgan Ajello '14, M.S., LPC, NCC, a graduate of the program’s first cohort, is a licensed professional counselor who has opened Omata LLC, a private practice based in Mystic, Connecticut.
Post-graduation counselors must accumulate 2500 to 3500 clinical hours (depending on the state), 100 weekly clinical supervision hours, and pass the NCMHCE exam before they can apply for state licensure, a process that takes a minimum of 2 years.
Faculty Contact
Cheryl Almeida, Ph.D.
Counselor Education Department Chair
401-598-2247
Email
Program Data
JWU’s M.S. in Clinical Mental Health and Addiction Counseling programs are housed in the College of Arts & Sciences’ Counselor Education department.
Admissions Criteria
Annual Report
2022-23 Annual Report: M.S. in Counseling (PDF)
Vital Statistics
