The Division of Psychology and Counseling provides training for students who are called to a ministry of counseling in a broad spectrum of areas including the local church, the mission field, denominational agencies, Christian counseling centers, private practice and social service agencies. The mission of the division is to train men and women to apply the gospel of Jesus Christ to people in need using the disciplines of psychology and counseling. The counseling degree programs will provide an environment where graduate students can fulfill the academic and practicum requirements necessary for most state licensure while being trained to understand client needs from a Christian perspective and offering biblically sound solutions. Students are selected for counseling practicum by application. Those who complete the MAMFC, MACE/MAMFC, or MACC degrees meet the academic entrance requirements for study in the doctor of philosophy program in psychology and counseling.
The MAMFC degree provides a theoretical foundation and practical training in counseling along with the seminary and educational ministries core courses.
The MACC degree provides students the opportunity to do additional theological studies within a counseling program. It contains the same courses as the MAMFC supplemented by additional courses in the School of Theology providing a stronger biblilcal and theological component.
The MACE/MAMFC provides an extended program of studies for the individual who desires to combine counseling skills with the study of the educational programs of the church.
Students may also add a 15-hour concentration of studies in counseling to either the Master of Arts in Christian Education or the Southwestern Master of Divinity degrees.
Pastoral Care and Counseling encompasses ministries of biblical counseling and compassion carried out within the context of the local church. “Pastoral” does not refer to the role or title of the one offering care or counsel, but rather to the context in which it is offered. Courses equip Christian ministers to provide biblical counsel and ministries of compassion to both the church and the community. This program is based upon the conviction that the Bible alone is sufficient as well as superior to anything the world has to offer for counseling and ministries of compassion.
Pastoral Care and Counseling is the provision of biblical counsel in both formal and informal settings. The training and knowledge gained in Pastoral Care and Counseling courses benefit not only senior pastors, but specialized ministers and anyone called to Christian ministry.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 provides a biblical foundation for Pastoral Care and Counseling at Southwestern: "We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all men."
Students who pursue this degree receive a strong theological foundation, including studies in the original languages, systematic theology, hermeneutics and ethics. With this foundation and the concentration in biblical counseling studies, the graduate is uniquely prepared to minister in a variety of formal and informal counseling ministries.