The Lay Counselor Academy, Self-Paced
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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 or enroll now

This is our ‘Core Counseling’ session. It's in Module 2 of the course.

A lay counselor speaking and gesturing with her hand on her heart during a session
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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
Graduation day at one of our in-person courses!
A community health worker in a moment of conversation

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

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. 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. 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

  3. 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

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

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
Photograph of Alli Moreno

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

Is the Lay Counselor Academy Self-Paced for me?

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.

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. 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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

For a full list of learning objectives and session-by-session detail, see our curriculum page.

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 Session 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.

One email. No upsells. Unsubscribe any time.

Cover of the California Health Care Foundation's 2025 evaluation report of The Lay Counselor Academy

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

In the press

What the press are saying about our work.

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.

Read more

See below for more information.

  1. LCA Course Options

    Download

  2. LCA Self-Paced FAQs

    Download

  3. LCA Self-Paced Details

    Download

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 See full pricing

If you are a human service organization, and would like to enroll your staff, email [email protected]