Certificate in Christian Counseling
If you are looking for graduate-level training to equip you with counseling skills but are not sure you want our full MA in Counseling (MAC) degree, then this certificate program may be just what you are looking for. Courses within the certificate program will emphasize helping/counseling skills, an understanding of a broad range of human struggles, and how we grow and change.
What is Christian Counseling?
Simply put, Christian Counseling is counseling that seeks to impart the love, compassion, and wisdom of God to those who are struggling with life’s problems. The ultimate goals include symptom relief, skill acquisition, insight, and maturation in the faith.
Who is This Counseling Certificate For?
The counseling skills and knowledge gained from our certificate program fit with a professional model but are also useful for pastors, church leaders, and lay leaders who want to improve their work within the church. Small group leaders, educators, and pregnancy counseling volunteers have also found these courses helpful. Mental health professionals seeking distinctly Christian and faith-based counseling skills may also wish to complete the certificate.
Many certificate holders may wish to consider a future MAC degree. Our admissions counselors can walk you through the process.
What Are the Specific Requirements?
The certificate program requires a completed undergraduate or equivalent degree, and completion of a degree application. Upon completion of the certificate, students may choose to transfer appropriately completed courses into the MA in Counseling (MAC) degree program.
Curriculum within the Program
Required Courses – 9 Credits
MAC510 Helping Relationships
MAC500 Human Development and Change
MAC512 Psychopathology
Electives – 6 Credits
MAC525a Ethics and Professional Orientation (2 credits)
MAC602 Counseling and Physiology (3 credits)
MAC704 Models of Counseling (3 credits)
Addictions Series – online (1-3 credits)
Summer Counseling Institute Courses (2 credits)
Optional Courses
The following counseling courses have prerequisites or may require approval before registration:
MAC601 Marriage and Family Therapy – Prerequisite: Helping Relationships or Pastoral Counseling, including a recommendation from the professor
MAC621 Child and Adolescent Counseling – Prerequisite: Helping Relationships or Pastoral Counseling, including a recommendation from the professor
MAC605 Advanced Counseling Skills – Prerequisite: Helping Relationships or Pastoral Counseling, including a recommendation from the professor
(These courses can only be considered after completing all core courses and may be substituted for electives.)
Total Required Credits – 15
Ready to start your journey?
Whether you are looking for more information regarding a program, scheduling a visit, starting the application process, or just wanting to talk to someone about your dreams, our admissions department is always available to assist you and answer any question that you might have.
What are professors saying?
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In Defense of Missional Theology: A Response to Mark Galli
Mark Galli, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, has devoted a four-part series in Christianity Today to critiquing missional theology and evangelicalism’s embrace of the missional purpose of the church: see 1) https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/unfortunate-pedigree-of-missional-church.html; 2) https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/church-does-not-exist-for-sake-of-world.html; 3) https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/purpose-of-world-to-become-church.html; 4) https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/churchs-sickness-unto-death.html. Christianity Today has a well-earned reputation as being the publication of centrist evangelicalism (founded, as it is, by evangelical pillars Billy Graham and Carl F. H. Henry); and Mark Galli, its current editor-in-chief, has a well-earned reputation for level-headed, irenic analysis.
