Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling

This course is the application of the biblical texts to clinical mental health counseling and marriage and family therapy that utilizes a Christian perspective sensitive to multicultural settings. This course will orient students to basics in the interpretation of biblical data, the biblical narrative relevant to counseling, and how to apply these concepts when providing Christian-oriented counseling services to clients. Students will learn how to contextualize the biblical narrative for clinical practice within a Christian population.

This course is an introduction to the history, philosophy, roles, and functions of mental health counseling within the context of other mental health professionals, mental health services, systems, and programs. This includes the principles of mental health for prevention, intervention, consultation, education, and advocacy in a multicultural society. A key focus of the course is how the biblical texts and Christian traditions of soul-healing provide perspectives on human nature, suffering, and redemption to develop a model of clinical mental health counseling consistent with students' own biblical worldview.

This course emphasizes personal and spiritual well-being and growth within the context of professional development as a clinical mental health counselor and/or marriage and family therapist. To this end, students will be asked to personally engage in a psycho-educational process of self-care and self-understanding through readings, reflection papers, and assessments. Spiritual development will be encouraged through a biblical understanding of and connection with God and His transformational processes, such as spiritual disciplines and connection to others through a weekly small group. The student's professional impact and ministry will be developed as a natural outgrowth of their active engagement with these processes of development. Additional fee for assessment materials.

This course provides students with an overview of God's design for developing and maintaining meaningful relationships. His design includes four foundational areas which include: 1) Receiving God's love as the starting point for all other relationships; 2) Finding one's true identity as God's workmanship; 3) Loving others as we have been loved by God; and 4) Using what was learned from the first three areas to connect well in personal and professional relationships. In order to establish a paradigm from which to work with couples and families, students will be introduced to family therapy models and will receive practical resources for getting started. Couples and families are viewed in the context of larger influential systems which have their own cultural and community distinctiveness.

In this course, students study the practice of professional counseling within the context of ethical and legal standards and potential future directions of the field. Information about legal responsibilities and liabilities in the practice of marriage and family therapy is also covered, including research, family law, confidentiality issues, and codes of ethics. The course focus is on the following four areas: Models of ethical decision-making are presented and practiced through case presentations; ethical standards that govern the professional practice of counseling and marriage & family therapy are studied and integrated with personal, theological, and cultural values and professional and legal standards; legal standards that impact the field of professional counseling and marriage & family therapy are examined in light of the realities of daily practice; and the future direction of counseling and marriage & family therapy as a profession and ministry is explored.

This course provides an advanced understanding of research statistics, report development, implementation, program evaluation, needs assessment, and ethical and legal considerations. The course also will focus on research methodology, data analysis, and the evaluation of research. Students apply this understanding in a variety of venues such as clinical mental health counseling and research, marriage & family research, and research that needs to be done within the religious community. Students will be introduced to research as it is conducted for single-subject designs, experimental/quasi-experimental designs, and system-oriented designs. Both quantitative and qualitative processes are explored. Students conduct literature review and produce a research proposal.

This course provides an understanding of mental illness with focus on the behavioral manifestations, experiential dynamics, and relational/family impact of these disorders. Study is done in the most current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in order to learn the categories of symptoms of psychopathology necessary to diagnose and treat mental disorders. A variety of perspectives on psychopathology are presented to form a whole-person (or bio-psycho-social-spiritual) and systemic context for understanding. Students are challenged to determine theologically what they believe are the standards for pathology and how these correlate with the DSM.

This is a course in applied developmental counseling. Drawing from the biological, cognitive, socio-emotional, and spiritual markers set forth by the major theories of human growth, students will be able to conceptualize the needs of their clients within a developmentally-appropriate framework. Personal exploration of one's own developmental process is built into course assignments. Consideration is also given to the process of spiritual transformation as an integral part of the Creator's design for growth.

This course presents students with an understanding of the psychometric theories and practical approaches concerning the assessment of individuals, couples, and families, while equipping the student with the skills and competencies necessary to incorporate assessment strategies into the helping process. Assessment, including marriage and family therapy methods and major mental health assessment methods and instruments, are covered. Focus is placed on information-gathering methods, evaluating test validity and reliability (controlling for factors that may influence assessment results), and application of assessment practices as an integral part of counseling and marriage & family therapy. Additional fee for assessment material.

This course is an introduction to the theory and practice of group counseling. The process of doing groups and the application of the group process to a variety of settings and situations is discussed. The counselor as a group leader is emphasized. The class relies heavily on the component of a psycho-educational group experience, both as a group member and co-leader.

This course introduces students to career development theory and its application. Students will have the opportunity to learn the history of and current trends in career development counseling. Students will be offered training in the use and application of career counseling strategies, assessment tools, and resources (including web-based resources). Students will also learn about the relationship between work and mental health, career development across the lifespan, and issues with diverse populations, as well as ethical issues and competencies for professional practice. Additional fee for assessment materials.

This course consists of two components: (1) A 300-hour supervised practice of counseling under the direct clinical supervision of a site supervisor in an approved counseling internship setting, of which at least 120 hours must be direct services to clients, and (2) weekly seminars that include faculty instruction and small group case discussion. The clinical practice emphasis is on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of various disorders and how they affect individuals, couples, and families. This course will utilize formal case presentations, student and instructor feedback, and didactic instruction. Case consultations will focus on enhancing students' competencies in assessment and diagnostic interviewing, case conceptualization, cultural contextualization, goal setting, treatment planning, counseling skills, and case management. (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory). Additional fee for technology use. Small group section enrollment is limited to 12 students.

This course consists of two components: (1) A 300-hour supervised practice of counseling under the direct clinical supervision of a site supervisor in an approved counseling internship setting, of which at least 120 hours must be direct services to clients, and (2) weekly seminars that include faculty instruction and small group case discussion. The clinical practice emphasis is on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of various disorders and how they affect individuals, couples, and families. This course will utilize formal case presentations, student and instructor feedback, and didactic instruction. Case consultations will focus on enhancing students' competencies in assessment and diagnostic interviewing, case conceptualization, cultural contextualization, goal setting, treatment planning, counseling skills, and case management. (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory) Additional fee for technology use. Small group section enrollment is limited to 12 students.

This course addresses the biological, developmental, relational, emotional, behavioral, and spiritual issues involved in understanding human intimacy and sexuality. You will learn how to integrate basic diagnostic and evidence-based treatment skills with authentic Christian beliefs and practices.

This course is designed to increase your understanding of various ways to use clinical care and knowledge from the mental health professions in member care. You will consider ethics, professional relationships, influence of untreated pathology on the community, and various personal, interpersonal, and systemic dynamics. You will explore Biblical, spiritual, and psychological underpinnings, as well as types of clinical resources, referral procedure, and collaboration with clinical service providers.

You will learn the basic model common to short-term cognitive therapies and its application to treating dysfunctional emotions and self-sabotaging behaviors. You will learn cognitive, behavioral, and emotive interventions as well as techniques to help prevent relapse. You will also consider how to integrate your client's faith/spirituality with the basic model and interventions.

This course introduces students to developmental, self-regulation, and systems perspectives used to understand, diagnose, and treat disorders of childhood and adolescence. Students will gain an understanding of the normal and abnormal developmental issues of children, the process of mastering self-regulation throughout development in various domains, the impact of relational dynamics within various systems (family, school, church), and the trend of the self's consolidation and conceptualization of these various vectors of life. The student is then able to form diagnosis and treatment plans that flow from their relational understanding of the child's life based on the above models. Treatment issues are covered within the confines of treatment planning (as opposed to how to do therapy), including such areas as applied behavioral analysis, cognitive-behavior treatment, interpersonal treatment, psychopharmacology, community and school-based treatment. Additional fee for assessment material.

In this course, you will be introduced to the theoretical, philosophical, and historical bases on which addiction is explained and treatment and prevention are grounded. You will also study the biological, psychological, and sociological origins of substance use and related behavioral addictive disorders.

This course provides students with a biblical, sociological, and interpersonal framework from which to study and counsel couples. Practical tools are presented for how to work with couples through the ups and downs of life together. The course content is designed with the understanding that students will be working with couples in clinical, multicultural, church, and parachurch settings. Students are encouraged to be working with couples while taking this class.

This course provides a foundational understanding of family systems theory as it relates to clinical concerns. Course content helps students to conceptualize and distinguish the critical epistemological issues in marriage and family therapy. Students are introduced to historical development, theoretical foundations, and contemporary conceptual directions in the field of marriage and family therapy. An overview of the different models of family systems theory is addressed, and students are expected to apply this understanding of systems theory to their family of origin and other systems.