NEC’s online Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Community Mental Health prepares you for a career in the mental health field by developing your interpersonal and communication skills. With a Community Mental Health bachelor’s degree, you can also understand how to use community resources and work in support of nonprofit, private, and government agencies.
| 100% Online | Holistic | Expertise |
| Build your pursuit of a degree around your busy schedule. | A liberal arts foundation can help you approach mental health with a complete perspective. | Study under subject matter experts in the field. |
When you earn a Community Mental Health bachelor’s degree, you’ll gain a solid liberal arts foundation and explore how local, state, and federal resources and assistance programs can help various client populations. You’ll learn how to effectively administer counseling and support to different communities. You can also help create more opportunities for people to seek out mental health professionals, as Mental Health America reports that there are 340 people for every mental health counselor.
Students enrolled in NEC’s BA in Community Mental Health can build knowledge and skills in the following:
Earning a bachelor’s degree in community mental health can help professionals enter positions that involve supporting individual and community well-being. They can apply the skills they learned to various environments and population groups. This broad skill set means that there can be several unique career paths to consider.
| Mental Health Counselor
$53,710* |
Family Advocate
$42,900** |
Court Liaison
$38,000** |
| *Salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of May 2023
**Salary data from Payscale as of September 2024 |
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New England College (NEC) is a private, nonprofit college founded in 1946 to serve the needs of servicepeople attending college on the GI Bill after World War II and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. Today, NEC is an innovative, military-friendly institution and one of the top five liberal arts colleges in New Hampshire.
NEC offers 60 associate and bachelor’s degrees, as well as more than 20 master’s degrees and one doctoral degree program, all delivered by dedicated faculty focused on giving students opportunities to live what they learn. With access to many clubs, outdoor activities, natural areas, internships, and professor-led trips, NEC students have many ways to meet new people and try new things.
At NEC, the world is your classroom.
New England College in New Hampshire has earned recognition as one of the best Online Colleges in New Hampshire, as acknowledged by Forbes Advisor, a credible source for evaluating higher education programs.
New England College in New Hampshire has earned recognition as a leading online college in NH, as acknowledged by Intelligent.com, a credible source for evaluating higher education programs.
New England College in New Hampshire has earned recognition as a leading college in NH, as acknowledged by EduRank, a credible source for evaluating higher education programs.
Assistant Professor, Psychology
Office: Science Building 116A, Henniker Campus
Phone: 603.428.2231
Email: awalsh1@nec.edu
Expertise
Lead presenter on assessing student learning and sole presenter on resilience in the classroom for the 2021 NEC Assessment Conference.
Educational Background
Research Interests
Bio
Alex Walsh came to NEC in 2018 after serving as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Mount Ida College from 2014–2018. Alex teaches a range of classes, from lower-level classes such as Introduction to Psychology and Writing and Research in Psychology, to higher-level classes such as Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology.
Alex focuses his work outside of teaching on the importance of assessment of student learning and resilience in higher education. Alex’s assessment work centers on the importance of clear course learning outcomes driving the process of assessment, which has implications at the course and program level. Alex has also begun to run intervention and non-intervention research on psychological factors that influence healthy academic and psychological functioning. Alex’s goal is to uncover trends across multiple years of research that can help Inform optimal practices that promote students’ healthy academic and psychological functioning. Alex has presented his work in both topic areas and looks forward to sharing more of his work in academic settings in the future.
Associate Professor, Psychology
Office: Science Building 118A, Henniker Campus
Phone: 603.428.2270
Email: sgunnery@nec.edu
Expertise and Awards
Educational Background
PhD in Psychology, Northeastern University
MA in Psychology, Northeastern University
BA in Psychology, Stonehill College
Research interests
Bio
Sarah Gunnery has been a member of the psychology department faculty since 2018. Before coming to NEC, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Occupational Therapy at Tufts University, where she completed a federally funded project to map the social and emotional function of the Parkinsonian face. Her research focuses on stigma and quality life in people with chronic health conditions that affect nonverbal communication. She specifically studies facial masking in people with Parkinson’s disease and compensatory strategies to help people with Parkinson’s disease communicate emotion in their face more accurately. Dr. Gunnery serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior and is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.
Full-time students typically complete NEC’s community mental health bachelor’s degree program in four years.
NEC’s Community Mental Health BA Online program requires completion of credits, as follows:
Human Services Major Requirement courses (60 credits)
Liberal Arts & Science Core Curriculum courses (40 credits)
Electives (20 credits)
Individuals who have a community mental health BA can pursue career paths that benefit both individuals and communities. Depending on the position, graduates can also work to support specific communities or demographics.
You can enroll in NEC’s online BA in Community Mental Health program by applying directly on the university website. NEC doesn’t charge an application fee, and it doesn’t require standardized test scores.
Earning a community mental health bachelor’s degree can allow you to make a positive impact. Learn how NEC can help get you ready to be an agent for positive change.