# Mental health counseling course, The Lay Counselor Academy > A 70-hour self-paced course teaching mental health counseling to lay counselors, volunteers, and non-clinicians. By Elizabeth Morrison, PhD. Canonical: https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/ A how-to course on mental health counseling. # Learn essential mental health counseling skills. A self-paced course for everyone who wants to be a better helper. Taught by deeply experienced licensed clinicians and lay counselors. [Read the sample article](#sample) [or enroll now →](https://app.teachfloor.com/the-lay-counselor-academy/c/32305) It's ‘Advice: Why & How We Avoid It,’ from Module 2 of the course. ![A lay counselor speaking and gesturing with her hand on her heart during a session](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/hero-counseling-2.webp) Featured in [The Modesto Bee ](https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article275363006.html) A word from our co-creator ## Why lay counseling matters now. In just under a minute, Elizabeth Morrison shares why the world needs more skilled everyday helpers, and how this course prepares you to become one. Elizabeth Morrison, PhD, LCSW, Co-Creator of the LCA Your browser doesn’t support embedded video. [Download the video](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/video/why-lay-counseling-matters-now.mp4). You're probably the person in your family, community or friend group who people turn to when they need support; you've likely been told you are easy to talk to. This means you're an empathic, skillful listener! This course will build on the skills you already have, deepen your understanding of mental health conditions, and give you practical counseling skills to help others even more. Become the best helper you can be, at a time when the world needs you most. ![A cohort of Lay Counselor Academy graduates standing together after their training](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/hero-counseling-900.webp) Graduation day at one of our in-person courses! ![A community health worker in a moment of conversation](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/what-is-lay-counselor.webp) ## What is lay counseling? Lay counseling is mental health counseling, delivered by helpers who have learned the skills outside of the conventional academic and licensure pathways. They sit with people in hard moments and offer empathic, evidence-based care, bridging gaps that licensed clinicians alone cannot fill. [Learn more →](https://www.emorrisonconsulting.com/what-is-a-lay-counselor/) Courses and certificates ## What is the Lay Counselor Academy? The LCA is a course that equips you with practical skills in mental health counseling. 1. 01 ### The LCA: Self-Paced Our fully asynchronous course, giving you foundational mental health counseling skills on your own schedule. The course is deep and wide, with essential information on core counseling skills to help those with anxiety, depression, substance use struggles, and more. You are here 2. 02 ### The LCA: Live Our flagship course. Fourteen weeks of live, practice-based learning with a cohort of peers. The LCA Live is delivered virtually, and includes 5 personal counseling sessions. [Contact us to register →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/contact/) 3. 03 ### CHW Certification, with a Mental Health Counseling emphasis. Community Health Worker certification in California, with an emphasis on mental health counseling. Learn all CHW core competencies plus essential mental health counseling skills. [Contact us to register →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/contact/) ## Listen to Co-Creators Elizabeth Morrison & Alli Moreno share the story and the mission behind The Lay Counselor Academy. Faculty The academy is small on purpose. You learn from people who are still doing the work, not from a faceless platform. ![Photograph of Elizabeth Morrison](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/elizabeth-headshot.webp) ### Elizabeth Morrison PhD, LCSW, MAC. Co-creator of the LCA and licensed clinician. Elizabeth has a Doctorate in Psychology, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and has a Master of Addiction Counseling. She has been a practicing therapist for over 30 years, working in addiction treatment settings, primary care systems, and specialty care clinics. She is passionate about expanding access to mental health care by training trusted community members to provide mental health counseling. [Read more about Elizabeth →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/teachers/elizabeth-morrison/) ![Photograph of Alli Moreno](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/alli-moreno-headshot.webp) ### Alli Moreno Alli is the Co-Creator of the LCA and a Lay Counselor. Alli co-created The Lay Counselor Academy with Elizabeth. Like most lay counselors, Alli was naturally skilled and built on this with more training, continual learning, and practice. She is passionate about elevating and supporting community members who are already providing mental health support to the people they serve. [Read more about Alli →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/teachers/alli-moreno/) Who it's for ## Is the Lay Counselor Academy for me? Are you often talking to people who share their mental health struggles with you? Then the answer is yes! - If you work in human services as a Community Health Worker, SUD counselor, case manager, health navigator, or similar position… - If you work in a school system, are a first responder, or a faith leader… do crisis work. - If you work in human resources, medical systems, or are a barber or stylist… - If you are serving people in your community who have little or no access to high-quality, culturally concordant mental health counseling. - If you are a helper at heart, and are passionate about supporting others. - If you are busy and need a flexible course that you can complete at your own pace, when it is convenient for you! > Hands down the most valuable course I've ever taken. I use the mental health counseling skills I learned in the LCA every day, with my patients but also at home! Oscar, Community Health Worker and LCA graduate. From the organizations we train ## What it looks like at scale. > The Lay Counselor Academy changed everything for us. The wait time for a behavioral health visit was reduced from 3–4 months to 1 week. I receive fewer SOS calls from my colleagues about patients in crisis. And now we have enough Spanish-speaking staff to provide our patients with mental health care in their native languages! Dr. Guarav Mishra, CBHO San Ysidro Health Centers > I continue to be amazed by the impact the Lay Counselor Academy has had on our team. Time and again, I hear from employees who describe the experience as transformative. They talk about how much they have learned, the confidence they have gained, and how much better prepared they feel to support patients experiencing mental health challenges. > > Over the past four years, Hill Country Community Clinic has sent more than 50 employees through the Lay Counselor Academy. By equipping our case and care managers and SUD teams with evidence-based counseling skills, we are expanding access to care in meaningful ways. Our patients don’t always have to wait weeks for an appointment with a licensed clinician. Because of the LCA course, they can receive support, encouragement, and practical tools when they need them most. > > The benefits extend beyond our patients. Staff consistently report greater job satisfaction, increased confidence in their roles, and reduced feelings of burnout. Our supervisors have also noticed a difference, receiving fewer crisis calls from support staff because employees feel better equipped to respond effectively and compassionately. > > For an organization like Hill Country, which strives to meet people where they are and provide whole-person care, the Lay Counselor Academy has been an invaluable investment in both our workforce and those we serve. Jo Campbell, CEO Hill Country Community Clinic The curriculum ## Seven modules. Fourteen sessions. Seventy hours of practical mental health counseling skills. The Lay Counselor Academy Self-Paced is fully asynchronous. You read articles, watch videos, listen to audio, and write reflections and complete learning checks on your own schedule. 1. 01 Module 1 ### What lay counseling is, why we need lay counselors now more than ever. How biases and judgments can damage our relationships with others, and what we can do to mitigate our own. [Read the module →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/curriculum#module-1) 2. 02 Module 2 ### Core Counseling Approaches What we call 'Home Stance': the essential techniques we use over and over again: warm tone and body language, open-ended questions, empathic reflection, affirming strengths, and the practice of countering shame. Plus, strength-based counseling approaches. [Read the module →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/curriculum#module-2) 3. 03 Module 3 ### Helping people with thoughts that are causing suffering (CBT). How to recognize anxiety and depression, and practical strategies to help others who are suffering with these conditions. [Read the module →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/curriculum#module-3) 4. 04 Module 4 ### Staying on what we call 'Fertile Ground'; ensuring we guide people toward the most helpful things to share about. Using positive psychology to help others build up their happiness practices. [Read the module →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/curriculum#module-4) 5. 05 Module 5 ### Recognizing addiction and using motivational interviewing to help people make changes. How to help when someone shares difficult childhood experiences, and how to protect ourselves from vicarious trauma. [Read the module →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/curriculum#module-5) 6. 06 Module 6 ### How to ask about suicidal thoughts and what we can do to help. Cultural humility and helping others understand their identities. [Read the module →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/curriculum#module-6) 7. 07 Module 7 ### Practical boundaries guidance (including when and when not to self-disclose) to ensure safety for those we are helping and ourselves. How do we end a counseling relationship with care, ensuring those we are helping have a healthy goodbye with us. [Read the module →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/curriculum#module-7) For a full list of learning objectives and session-by-session detail, see our [curriculum page](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/curriculum/). What you actually get ## Inside the Self-Paced course. For $1,200 you'll receive the entire 70-hour, self-paced Lay Counselor Academy Course. - ### The course is yours for life, to return to again and again. Seven modules and fourteen sessions. Move as fast or as slowly as you need. - ### Multi-modal learning: reading, listening, watching and writing. Every session has articles, recorded audio for those who would rather listen than read, and short videos. - ### Learning Checks and Reflective Questions Multiple-choice and true-or-false learning checks reinforce the concepts. Open-ended prompts invite you to write through your own practice. - ### A community of lay counselors An in-course discussion board with fellow graduates and current learners. People who do this work, talking to each other about it. - ### Lifetime access and a certificate Finish the program and receive a certificate of completion. Lifetime access including all future updates included at no additional cost. Read a sample article! ## Advice: Why (& How) We Avoid It _From Module 2._ By Elizabeth Morrison. The article opening is on the right. Drop your email and we will send the full version straight to your inbox. Sent. Check your inbox for _Advice: Why (& How) We Avoid It_. It can take a minute or two to arrive. If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. You already have the sample article on its way. Ready to go further? [Enroll in Self-Paced →](https://app.teachfloor.com/the-lay-counselor-academy/c/32305) · [See pricing](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/pricing/) From Module 2 — Advice: Why (& How) We Avoid It We engage in deeply focused, empathic, mindful listening, with an attitude of unconditional positive regard for the person we are working with. Giving advice is not counseling, and often damages our relationship with those we are trying to help. How can we break the advice habit? Counselors practice listening to others share about deep and often painful issues, without judging, and without immediately relating (“me too”). We avoid advice or jumping in to ‘fix’. We work to maintain a ‘know nothing’, without an agenda about what the person we are helping “should” do. _From the Module 2 flipbook._ Taught by Elizabeth Morrison. ![Cover of the California Health Care Foundation's 2025 evaluation report of The Lay Counselor Academy](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/chcf-evaluation.webp) An external evaluation ## The California Health Care Foundation evaluated the academy in 2025. Their report concluded that The Lay Counselor Academy successfully increases mental health counseling knowledge, skills and confidence for those who engage in the course. The evaluation also found The Lay Counselor Academy meaningfully expands a culturally concordant mental health workforce in communities where licensed clinicians are scarce. We are proud of the findings in this formal evaluation! Don't take our word for it, when you can read it yourself! [Read the evaluation →](https://www.chcf.org/publication/lay-counselor-academy-evaluation-strengthening-behavioral-health-workforce/) In the press ## What the press are saying about our work. ![California Health Care Foundation](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/press/chcf.png) ![STAT News](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/press/stat.svg) The Modesto Bee ![Steinberg Institute](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/press/steinberg.png) ![California Healthline](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/press/healthline.svg) - [California Healthline Asian Health Center Tries Unconventional Approach to Counseling ↗](https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/asian-lay-counseling-mental-health-therapist-shortage-oakland-california/) - [STAT News Amid a dire nationwide therapist shortage, could lay counselors help close the gap? ↗](https://www.statnews.com/2024/01/18/mental-health-therapist-shortage-lay-counselors-needed/) - [the Modesto Bee Severe shortage of mental health clinicians prompts Stanislaus County to try bold approach ↗](https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article275363006.html) - [the Steinberg Institute 2023 Steinberg Institute Champions: Elizabeth Morrison & Alli Moreno ↗](https://steinberginstitute.org/champion/elizabeth-morrison-and-alli-moreno/) - [CHCF Blog New Workforce of Lay Counselors Strives to Bridge Mental Health Care Gaps ↗](https://www.chcf.org/blog/new-workforce-lay-counselors-strives-bridge-mental-health-care-gaps/) Take it with you ## Get a copy of the LCA book. Three hundred pages of LCA articles, the same essays we use to teach the basics of mental health counseling. Sold at cost: just printing and shipping. Available in English and Spanish. ![The Lay Counselor Academy book, English edition](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/lca-book-cover-en.webp) [Purchase your copy here](https://buy.stripe.com/28EbJ15fT4Ej47ag4tcMM06) ![La Academia del Consejero Laico, edición en español](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/lca-book-cover-es.webp) [Compra tu copia aquí](https://buy.stripe.com/00w4gzcIl0o3avy5pPcMM05) Read more ## See below for more information. 1. [![](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/pdf-thumb-course-options.webp) ### LCA Course Options Download ↗](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/downloads/LCA_Course_Options.pdf) 2. [![](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/pdf-thumb-self-paced-faq.webp) ### LCA Self-Paced FAQs Download ↗](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/downloads/LCA_Self_Paced_FAQs.pdf) 3. [![](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/images/pdf-thumb-self-paced.webp) ### LCA Self-Paced Details Download ↗](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/downloads/LCA_Self_Paced_QR.pdf) What it costs ## Two ways to learn. The same Lay Counselor Academy Course. The Self-Paced course is fully asynchronous: start any time and work at your own pace, with lifetime access to the full Lay Counselor Academy curriculum. [Enroll in Self-Paced](https://app.teachfloor.com/the-lay-counselor-academy/c/32305) [See full pricing →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/pricing/) Serving a Spanish-speaking community? A Spanish version of the course is coming soon. [See the Spanish site →](https://thelaycounseloracademy.com/es/) If you are a human service organization, and would like to enroll your staff, email [Angelica@emorrisonconsulting.com](mailto:Angelica@emorrisonconsulting.com) - Self-Paced Asynchronous, anytime. $1,200 Lifetime access on the course platform. Group rates for organizations on request.