All Licensed Counselors Need It.
Other Counseling Professionals Want It.

Continuing Education is a requirement for all Professionally Licensed Counselors. Wouldn’t it be convenient to attend Continuing Education Classes taught by a local counselor with expertise in your area of interest, that you could interact with beyond the training? We can help! Every year the Missio Graduate School of Counseling offers graduate-level counseling and psychology courses that may be of interest to you for your continuing education needs.

3 Ways you can Obtain Continuing Education Credits:

1. Each course can be taken for graduate credit. After completion of the course, you can obtain a CE certificate and transcript from our academic office.
2. Some courses can be taken for continuing education only. After completion of the course, you can obtain a CE certificate from our academic office.
3. Trainings and Seminars

Continuing Education Frequently Asked Questions

Will completing this course count towards required CEs needed for my mental health license?

Courses taught in Missio’s MA in Counseling (MAC) program are designed to meet the criteria for continuing education units as defined by Pennsylvania’s State Licensing Boards for Counselors and Psychologists. While the Seminary may seek specific approval for individual courses, any counseling-related course offered by Missio meets the standards set by the licensing boards given that (a) Missio is a regionally accredited graduate institution, and (b) the courses correspond to the scope and practice of counseling and psychology. Of course, prospective attendees are responsible to ensure that the course meets their particular requirements for continuing education.

Will I receive a certificate at the end of the course?

You will receive a certificate of completion of your CE provided that you attend the course in its entirety, complete the online CE Survey, notify the Academic Office that you have completed it (215.368.5000 x111), and provide an address for Missio to mail you a certificate. Most certificates are distributed within one week of the completion of the course. In addition, you may request an official transcript showing academic credits from the Academic Office by calling (215.368.5000 x111) or submit your request via the website.

What if I have questions, concerns, or complaints about the course I am taking?

Missio Graduate School of Counseling strives to offer the highest quality of continuing education. If you should have questions or concerns, you are encouraged to contact the Student Advancement office (215.368.5000, x106). We encourage students to voice concerns about course content first to their professor. In the unlikely event that you have a grievance, you should submit a written request to the Vice President of Student Advancement stating your name, course, and specific grievance. Should you not be satisfied with the response you receive, you have the right to appeal to the Academic Affairs Committee.

What if I wish to withdraw or otherwise desire a refund?

Full refunds may be requested from the Academic office up to one week prior to the course start date. Refunds for non‐attendance may be requested; however, penalties will apply.

Missio Seminary, Graduate School of Counseling, has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP #4562). Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Missio Seminary, Graduate School of Counseling is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

i Section 41.59(d)(3) of Pennsylvania’s State Board of Psychology regulations states the following, “The Board has approved the following sponsors: (i) Accredited colleges or universities as long as the course/program corresponds to the scope of practice of psychology and generates semester/quarter hour credit.” Pennsylvania’s State Board of Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors states the following (§49.36 (a)), “In addition to providers approved under §49.34 (relating to registration of continuing education providers who offer one course or program), the Board finds the following entities have currently met the standards in §49.35 (relating to standards for courses and programs). Accordingly, the following are approved providers: … (3) Accredited colleges and universities (graduate level courses and continuing education programs).

In order to achieve licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), counselors typically need to fulfill requirements in three areas: academic, national examination, and counseling hours.

How can the Graduate School of Counseling help?

Our 60-hour Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC) degree is designed for students who wish to pursue licensure in the Commonwealth of PA. In addition, many of the courses assist students and alumni in other states to also pursue licensure.

All classes and programs are available on-line. The majority of our on-line classes are in a synchronous format. This means that you can engage with your professors and classmates from the comfort of your own home! For more information please contact our admissions department here.

In order to achieve licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), counselors typically need to fulfill requirements in three areas: academic, national examination, and counseling hours.

Missio provides the opportunity for CCEF students to possibly convert their non-accredited CCEF credits to accredited credits.

“As we look more closely at life, it becomes clearer and clearer that Scripture is about counseling: diagnostic categories, causal explanations of behavior and emotion, interpretation of external sufferings and influences, definitions of workable solutions, character of the counselor, goals for the counseling process…These are all matters to which God speaks directly, specifically, and frequently. He calls us to listen attentively, to think hard and well, and to develop our practical theology of conversational ministry.”

– David Powlison Faculty and Executive Director, CCEF

The Certificate in Advanced Professional Counseling (CAPC) is designed for any student with a completed master’s-level degree in counseling who desires to pursue licensure and is in need of more credits or courses. Prospective students must have a completed MA in Counseling with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Any person seeking entry into the CAPC must also complete an application that includes an official transcript from an accredited graduate institution. See application for more information.

Application for this certificate is open each term. Please apply using our online application system, or the forms linked on this page.

The design of [Missio’s] Certificate in Advanced Counseling program allows exposure to a variety of counseling topics, with a focus on practical application and higher-order thinking skills. I’m really impressed by the dedication and care for the students, and the way instructors shepherd to teach shepherding, and counsel to teach counseling.

– Beiye Gu CAPC, 2013

All classes and programs are available on-line. The majority of our on-line classes are in a synchronous format. This means that you can engage with your professors and classmates from the comfort of your own home! For more information please contact our admissions department here.

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.

Our MAC students are those who are drawn to walk alongside hurting people, seeking to be conduits of God’s healing to emotional and relational brokenness. Missio prepares them to skillfully apply the grace and truth of the Gospel first to their lives and then to those of their counselees.

At our Philadelphia campus, MAC students come to class one night a week, one Saturday a month, for three years and learn to engage science and culture from a Christian perspective, with wisdom and discernment. Students are equipped for professional and non-professional counseling contexts, as they learn effective evidence-based counseling skills from faculty who are practicing clinical counselors. The MAC program is tailored to Pennsylvania state licensure requirements.

What do our graduates do with their degree?

The MAC program trains Christians for a broad spectrum of service. Missio’s Graduate School of Counseling program meets the needs of students in a variety of career and avocational settings. MAC graduates serve on pastoral teams or in counseling ministries in their local churches, in social service and mental health organizations, in para-church ministries, in specialized counseling services, and more. MAC’s curriculum is designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and self-awareness needed for effective, Christ-centered counseling. Courses, retreats, and fieldwork experiences address key professional counseling areas of study while maintaining a biblical and ministry focus.

Whether full-time, part-time, or bi-vocational, the programs available through our partnership with Kairos University are designed to prepare and empower you to better follow Jesus in the world. These online program offerings are highly contextual and allow you to integrate your vocation and your studies. You will also be supported by a mentor team throughout your program of study!

Whether you’re looking to pastor a church, serve overseas, or advance your theological understanding to better serve your community, there’s something for you. Programs and courses are online. You’ll have the opportunity to engage in synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences as part of your program.

We are excited about the doors God will open both in Philadelphia and globally. We hope you’ll join us! For more information, please contact our admissions department here.

Missio encourages everyone to take advantage of the wide range of courses offered at the seminary. Most individuals enroll for academic credit in pursuit of a degree program. An auditor is extended the opportunity to enroll in classes for personal enrichment without receiving academic credit, as space allows.

The level of participation by an auditing student is determined by the instructor. The auditing student may complete assignments and take any tests given to the class, but faculty members will not grade this work or provide any feedback. Students who are not pursuing a degree may audit a class after completing a non-degree application from the Admission Office.

Audit fees vary per program and can be obtained from the student development department or Business Office. There is no refund for dropped audits once the class has begun. Students may sign up to audit a class at any point in the term (the audit fee remains the same). Those who wish to change from audit to credit must do so before the end of the first week of classes. In addition, advanced standing will not be granted for any course previously audited. Students who have passed a course at Missio may audit the same class at no charge.

Auditors do not need to complete out of class assignments and will not receive a grade for the course. Audited courses would not be eligible for transfer into any program at Missio since auditors are not matriculated students.

Are you engaged in ministry and looking for ways to equip yourself with the skills needed to continue reaching your community? Missio offers advanced studies that train men and women to become practical, advanced missional leaders in their churches and ministries. Regardless of whether you are a ministry professional or a lay leader, our courses will help you gain a robust knowledge of theology, engage culture, and gain the wisdom to become an effective leader.

Whether you are looking to develop a theology of cities based on Scripture, reinvigorate an established church or organization, or learn to interpret Scripture in a way that leads to effective communication, our Certificate in Advanced Pastoral Studies offers exciting and challenging courses. At Missio all of our courses are geared to incarnate and communicate the story of Jesus with humility and authenticity. We strive to foster an environment where our students will develop the commitment, skills, capacities, and transferable habits to be effective missional leaders.

God has communicated in His own Word that He created the universe and the people in it with a purpose. God has existed in three Persons from eternity past in perfect harmony, with no need of anything or anyone more for Him to be “happy and satisfied.”

Nevertheless, He chose to create anyway, creating beings unlike Himself, so He could share the joy and love of the harmony the Three Persons of the Trinity had already been enjoying from eternity. And, even when that creation rebelled and corrupted itself, He did not crush it and start over (though He justly could have); nor did He simply sit back and demand the glory due Him. No, He reached out, and pursued – as on a mission. How far did that mission take Him? Even to brutal death at the hands of creatures He could have easily snuffed out even as they cursed Him and spit on Him. . . .

Everything about God has to be understood within the context of that unfolding drama.

Missional Theology is a vital way in which we, at Missio Seminary, help teach, train, and guide our students to engage the culture and participate in the mission of God. We seek a posture of generous orthodoxy in which we train in the essentials that have been affirmed by the church throughout time. God has created the universe and the people in it for a purpose. It is our belief that through missional theology we can work together for this greater purpose of God to engage and impact the culture.

Our entire curriculum is used to train in missional leadership, understand God’s Word from a Christotelic perspective, and instruct in a way that encourages students to go and be the message of God to a hurting culture. Our approach to theology is practical and will equip you for real-life ministry.