Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Admission Requirements

Please see the South University academic catalog for program specific admissions requirements.

Course Requirements

Outcomes

The objectives of the South University, Richmond Clinical Mental Health Counseling program are to recruit eligible students from all areas and provide fair and equitable admissions criteria; make available a variety of instructional models and resources to provide the student with the most effective learning arrangements and to provide appropriate learning opportunities for counseling students that will prepare them to perform their expected competencies in an ethical, legal, safe, and effective manner upon graduation; prepare counseling students to communicate effectively; instill the importance and value of continued education and involvement in appropriate professional and community affairs after graduation; and encourage the counseling students to recognize their own strengths and limitations.

• Students will demonstrate knowledge, comprehension, synthesis, and application of the major theories comprising the foundation of counseling from a historical and contemporary perspective.
• Students will demonstrate an awareness and comprehension of the normal and abnormal mechanisms of change within individuals across the lifespan.
• Graduates will demonstrate an ability to properly identify, assess, conceptualize, diagnose, and treat mental disorders in the context of the accepted diagnostic nomenclature.
• Students will gain an understanding and appreciation of the contributions of quantitative and qualitative research and the synergy among the theoretical, clinical and scientific components of the field.
• Students will explore and understand the impact of their personal view as it relates to their world view and the multidimensional nature of cultural influences as a Counselor Educator.
• Students will develop effective verbal and written communication skills necessary to interface with various constituents including clients, treatment teams, and public entities.
• Student will demonstrate an appropriate level of professional development as evidenced by the knowledge and understanding of pertinent ethical and legal principles in the profession, in addition to current/emerging issues in the field.
• Students will achieve an appreciation and level of proficiency concerning the knowledge, skills, and competencies deemed appropriate for use in the profession as identified by the ongoing need for education and training beyond graduation.

Core Faculty

Richmond Campus Core Faculty

Aimee Brickner, Ph.D., LPC, Program Director

Dr. Brickner is the Program Director for Clinical Mental Health Counseling at South University-Richmond. She has a M.A. in Interpersonal Communication from Miami University (OH), an Ed.S in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from James Madison University, and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from James Madison University. Dr. Brickner is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and provides outpatient counseling services at the Charlottesville Counseling Collective in Charlottesville, VA. Her clinical population is diverse and includes many trauma survivors and children in the foster care system. Dr. Brickner’s research interests are in the areas of the intersectionality of trauma and supervision; the distribution of unseen work and emotional workloads in couple’s relationships; and how trauma manifests in different facets of the counseling relationship. 

Faye Barner, Ph.D., LPC, CSOTP, LSATP , Clinical Coordinator

Faye Barner is a licensed professional counselor, licensed substance abuse treatment practitioner, and certified sex offender treatment provider. Dr. Barner has worked in the mental health field for over 20 years in both private and community-based settings. Her passions include working with and securing funding for disadvantage population programming as well as developing and implementing adolescent mentoring programs. She is also a professor in Counselor Education and Supervision. She serves as a mentor and clinical supervisor to a host of students and residents in counseling. Her specialty areas are working with adolescence substance use, sex offenders, and domestic violence survivors. Dr. Barner also provides workshops on mental health and substance use.  Dr. Barner received her Doctor of Philosophy from Regent University in Counselor Education and Supervision.

Tiffanie Sutherlin, Ph.D., NCC, Assistant Professor

Dr. Tiffanie Sutherlin, PhD, NCC has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from George Mason University, a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Liberty University, and a doctoral degree in Counseling and Supervision from James Madison University. Dr. Sutherlin’s research is focused on the intersection of spirituality and/or religion and mental health. Dr. Sutherlin has an array of clinical experiences which include university counseling centers, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and providing intensive in-home therapy. Her teaching philosophy focuses on inviting students to take an active role in their learning by integrating their lived experiences.