This program, developed within the Department of Psychology, has been approved by New York State as a “license eligible” academic program. It satisfies the state’s educational requirements for professional licensure as a mental health counselor, with a specialization in forensics. It develops skills in interviewing, counseling and assessment based upon established principles and research regarding human development, personality, psychopathology and counseling. Students will be uniquely prepared to work towards licensure as counselors in prisons, juvenile detention centers, probation and parole agencies, and social service agencies that counsel and assess adolescents and adults at risk for criminal behavior. The program offers research opportunities for those students interested in pursuing doctoral education, as well as related courses leading to a certificate as a Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC).
Degree Requirements
The degree requires 60 credits. The program contains a group of twelve required courses (36 credits); three to six forensic mental health electives (9-18 credits); two permitted cognate courses (0-6 credits) for particularized student interests; plus a 600-hour (6 credits) supervised fieldwork internship.
Beginning students are expected to complete the following courses before the completion of their first 30 credits:
- Introduction to Forensic Mental Health Counseling (PSY 755);
- Mental Health Professionals, Social Science and the Law (PSY 700);
- Psychopathology (PSY 745);
- Intermediate Statistics in the Social Sciences (PSY 769);
- Research Design and Methods (PSY 715).
Permission from the program director and completion of PSY 791 is required for those who hope to complete their degree with a thesis. In addition, enrollment in PSY 791 is open only to students who received an A or A- in PSY 715, PSY 737, PSY 738 and PSY 769. Students should take PSY 715 and PSY 769 in their first semester and the other two courses during their second semester. There is no qualifying exam for this degree.
* PSY 790 is required of those students who transferred credits or graduated from the MA program in Forensic Psychology before the FMHC Program was registered in September 2008.
Required Courses
| PSY 700 | Mental Health Professionals, Social Science and the Law | 3 |
| PSY 715 | Research Design and Methods | 3 |
| PSY 731 | Human Growth and Development | 3 |
| PSY 741 | Theories of Personality and Counseling | 3 |
| PSY 745 | Psychopathology | 3 |
| PSY 755 | Introduction to Forensic Mental Health Counseling | 3 |
| PSY 758 | Clinical Instruction | 3 |
| PSY 760 | Counseling and Psychotherapy Methods | 3 |
| PSY 761 | Clinical Interviewing and Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 765 | Group Dynamics and Group Treatment | 3 |
| PSY 769 | Intermediate Statistics in the Social Sciences | 3 |
| PSY 795 | Introduction to Assessment | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 36 |
Required Supervised Internship
| PSY 780 | Fieldwork in Counseling I | 3 |
| PSY 781 | Fieldwork in Counseling II | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 6 |
Note: Students enrolling in PSY 780 and PSY 781 must have completed Clinical Instruction (PSY 758) as a prerequisite.
Forensic Mental Health Electives
Note: All departmental courses numbered 800-899 also satisfy forensic mental health counseling elective distribution requirements.
| PSY 701 | Criminal Behavior | 3 |
| PSY 703 | Violence and Aggression | 3 |
| PSY 705 | Victimology | 3 |
| PSY 707 | Counseling and Rehabilitation of the Offender | 3 |
| PSY 708 | Crisis Intervention and Short-term Counseling | 3 |
| PSY 714 | Alcoholism and Substance Abuse | 3 |
| PSY 716 | Assessment and Counseling of the Juvenile Offender | 3 |
| PSY 718 | Social Science Evidence in Court | 3 |
| PSY 720 | Social Psychology and the Legal System | 3 |
| PSY 722 | Evaluation and Counseling of the Sex Offender | 3 |
| PSY 726 | Mental Health Issues in Policing | 3 |
| PSY 727 | Eyewitness Identification | 3 |
| PSY 729 | Terrorism | 3 |
| PSY 730 | Ethical Issues in Forensic Mental Health | 3 |
| PSY 733 | Dissociation and Trauma | 3 |
| PSY 734 | Criminal Psychological Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 739 | Clinical Crime Scene Analysis | 3 |
| PSY 742 | Family Violence and Disputes | 3 |
| PSY 746 | Empirical Profiling Methods | 3 |
| PSY 748 | Empirical Crime Scene Analysis | 3 |
| PSY 751 | Intellectual and Cognitive Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 752 | Projective Personality Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 753 | Objective Personality Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 754 | Advanced Forensic Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 766 | Personality Profiles of the Homicidal Offender | 3 |
| PSY 779 | Brain and Behavior | 3 |
| PSY 790 | Psychology Seminar in Selected Topics | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 9-18 |
Forensic Mental Health Thesis Track Electives
| PSY 737 | Descriptive and Statistical Data Analysis in Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 738 | Advanced Research Methods | 3 |
| PSY 791 | Prospectus Seminar | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 0-9 |
Note: Students interested in the thesis track must obtain approval from a full-time faculty mentor serving as a thesis sponsor before enrolling in PSY 791. They must also achieve a grade of A or A- in PSY 715, PSY 737, PSY 738 and PSY 769 (or the permission of a thesis sponsor and the program director) before PSY 791 enrollment.
Cognate Courses
Students may enroll in up to two additional graduate courses offered at John Jay College, including those courses in the Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity, Public Administration or other master’s degree programs.
Victim Counseling Specialization
All students who elect this specialization are required to take the following 6 courses in lieu of Forensic Mental Health Electives. Students in this concentration may not also write a thesis.
| PSY 705 | Victimology | 3 |
| PSY 708 | Crisis Intervention and Short-term Counseling | 3 |
| PSY 733 | Dissociation and Trauma | 3 |
| PSY 742 | Family Violence and Disputes | 3 |
| PSY 773 | Child Abuse and Neglect | 3 |
| PSY 774 | Advanced Issues in Victim Counseling and Psychotherapy | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 18 |
CASAC Track Electives
The CASAC track fulfills many but not all of the NY State mandated requirements to become a Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor. Details may be found at https://www.oasas.ny.gov/sqa/credentialing/casacreq.cfm and through the Psychology Department CASAC Advisor.
| CRJ 714 | Social Aspects of Alcohol and Drug Use | 3 |
| PSY 714 | Alcoholism and Substance Abuse | 3 |
| PSY 730 | Ethical Issues in Forensic Mental Health | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 0-9 |
Note: Students pursuing the Credential in Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counseling (CASAC) must complete their fieldwork requirements (PSY 780 and PSY 781) in an OASAS-licensed facility. They must also complete five undergraduate courses in the John Jay CASAC program, in addition to the 60 credits required for the MA in Forensic Mental Health Counseling.
Note: Additional undergraduate courses required for the credential include SOC 161 (Chemical Dependency and the Dysfunctional Family), PSY 268 (Therapeutic Interventions in Chemical Dependency), PSY 255 (Group Dynamics in Chemical Dependency Counseling), PSY 331 (Assessment and Clinical Evaluation in Chemical Dependency Counseling) and CSL 350 (Advanced Topics in Chemical Dependency Counseling).