Christian Counseling

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Professor

Jeffrey S. Black, Ph.D., Chair

Associate Professor

William J. Librizzi, Psy.D.
James C. Meyer, Ed.D. 

Assistant Professor

Susan K. Childers, M.S.

Part-time Faculty

Thea Gallagher, M.S.

Adjunct Faculty

Charles L. Arnold, M.S.
Karl Benzio, M.D.
William W. Clark, Ph.D.
Geraldine Huminski, M.S.
Baron S. King, M.S.
Patience Lee, Ed.D.
David J. Wiedis, J.D.
 

The Department

Helping People Find Direction in Life

There are many indicators to suggest people from all walks of life are struggling: divorce; broken relationships; single-parent households; addiction; depression and suicide; anxiety disorders; and problems controlling sexuality, eating, and anger. How do we even begin to deal with these difficulties? What is the individual’s level of responsibility in the midst of these emotional and behavioral struggles? Is there a moral choice to be made? Where does the brain functioning fit into understanding our problems of living? Most importantly, how does a Christian understand and solve these struggles within the context of a relationship with Jesus Christ?

These questions and many more are the focus of the Master of Science in Christian Counseling (MSCC) Degree Program. Since its inception, the MSCC Degree Program has trained men and women to be biblically-minded, professionally competent counselors who offer lay and professional help in a variety of ministry and professional settings. Graduates of the program serve in the church, inpatient and outpatient counseling agencies, addiction recovery treatment centers, residential care; as mental health service providers, in pastoral ministry, and school settings. Students who complete the MSCC Degree Program are prepared to work as Licensed Professional Counselors in most any counseling setting.

Objectives

The graduate program in counseling seeks to accomplish three main objectives:

1. To build a knowledge base in the areas of Christian psychology, spiritual formation, counseling theory and practice, counseling ethics, and research psychology.
2. To aid in the development of assessment, counseling, and academic and professional literature research skills.
3. To promote emotional, interpersonal, intellectual, and spiritual maturity necessary to effectively promote Christian character growth in others.

Educational Strategy

The program’s educational strategy includes seven distinctive components:

1. Personal Attention and Respect 
   The faculty and staff are committed to giving students the same personal attention and respect they will one day give to their counselees. From assistance with the application process and advice in registering for courses, to classroom interaction, one-on-one small group supervision, and career mentoring and placement, faculty and staff make it a priority to treat each student as a unique individual with specific skills and specific goals. Personal attention and respect are essential to helping each student reach his or her full potential.
2. Development of the Whole Person
   Helping students achieve academic excellence is very important to the faculty. Additionally, we believe that effective counselors are those who mature spiritually, relationally, and psychologically. As they grow professionally, students are challenged and assisted to develop and maintain health in their spiritual, family, and private lives—inside and outside the classroom and small group training lab—as they pursue competence as counselors.
3. Nurturing Community 
   The faculty believe people thrive in a safe, supportive, and nurturing community. The faculty strive at all times to keep students immersed in small groups with both peers and faculty to provide this kind of nurturing community.
4. Balanced and Relevant Curriculum
   The faculty are vigilant to assure that all of the coursework is relevant, current, sensitive to a multicultural environment, and practical for counselors in training who will soon work with persons with many serious problems. They are committed to offering a curriculum that balances contemporary scholarship and professional standards with timeless biblical truth. The Program’s counseling faculty are themselves involved in professional practice and counseling ministry as an ongoing part of their own professional identity.
5. Approachable and Involved Faculty
   The faculty are committed to teaching by example, so they are both approachable, available, and involved in the lives of their students. This individual attention creates the opportunity for students to benefit from their experiences as counselors.
6. Supervised Training Experiences
   The faculty believe counseling is an art that must be practiced in order to be mastered from the first day to the last day in the program. Students participate in intensive small group and/or practical field experiences that prepare them for professional practice. They will learn through hands-on development of skills that also incorporates current technology.
7. Dependency on the Spirit of God
   The faculty believe counseling people when they are most vulnerable and talking to them about the most intimate and difficult struggles in their lives is a serious and sacred calling that must be approached with humility even with the most advanced training. No one is really adequate for this task without help from the Holy Spirit. Faculty are committed to helping students learn to depend on the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit as they apply God’s Word to their own lives and to the lives of others.

Core Values

Understanding people and their problems and helping them change and find solutions are not easy tasks. Students in the MSCC program are equipped for this task by an experienced faculty who base every aspect of the students’ training on the following core values:

1. The Centrality of Christ in Psychological Health
   The Bible makes no distinction between spiritual and psychological affliction, therefore, the faculty believe that spiritual health is psychological health. People cannot experience wholeness without intimately knowing Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, and obeying Him completely. It is through His work and His Lordship that men and women have the power to change, the power to love, and the power to overcome.
2. The Authority of the Bible
   The Bible is God’s authoritative, comprehensive, and sufficient written revelation. It is the only reliable source for understanding the complex nature of people, their problems, and the possibilities for change. The Bible provides counselors with a comprehensive, theoretical framework for understanding the diverse problems they confront, as well as a blueprint for promoting change in someone seeking counsel.
3. The Importance of Relationships
   By God’s design, change takes place in a complex matrix of relationships. Men and women grow in their relationship with Him, just as they grow in their relationships with others. The relational environments in which people live either contribute to their behavioral and emotional problems, or promote change and growth. Helping men and women develop mature, loving relationships and community is an indispensible part of the counseling process.
4. The Indispensable Role of Suffering
   Human beings suffer because we live in a sinful and fallen world. Interestingly, the suffering people experience is not the cause of their psychological problems; rather, it is their response to suffering that causes their problems. The primary focus in counseling is not to help people escape suffering or manage their symptoms, but to help people understand, respond to, and overcome their suffering in ways that enable them to live in a manner that pleases God, and to rejoice in their relationship with Him in the midst of their suffering.
    

The Program

The goal of the MSCC Degree Program is to thoroughly equip individuals to perform competently in counseling ministry and professional practice as they integrate their Christian faith with professional standards and practices in any setting in which they serve.

Students in the MSCC Degree Program take 32 credit hours in four core areas that focus on basic counseling theory, a biblical-theological view of persons and their problems, fundamental skills in counseling and psychological assessment, as well as training in marriage and family counseling, and small group therapy and ministry. Each core area is complemented by a small group intensive training experience. Small group training provides students with the controlled training environment essential in developing their skills and the character needed to use those skills effectively. In addition to the core counseling classes, students also complete 12 credit hours of biblical-theological study and 4 credit hours of counseling electives. Students are encouraged to extend their studies in one of two specialization tracks: professional counseling (meeting the curricular requirements for professional licensure) or marriage and family counseling.

Graduates of the MSCC Degree Program have gone on to successfully serve in counseling roles as pastors; missionaries; youth workers; campus student development directors; social workers; behavioral health specialists; professional counselors or therapists in inpatient, outpatient, correctional, specific treatment, and private practice settings. Many graduates also pursue post-graduate certificates and doctoral degrees.
 

Related Program Information

Profile of the MSCC Student Body

One of the most enriching elements of the MSCC Degree Program is the diversity of the student body. Such diversity provides opportunities to learn and grow from multiple perspectives.

Age and Career Diversity:
The majority of students enter the program in mid-life, already having a wealth of life experiences. Most are employed full-time in professions ranging from education, church, or parachurch ministries to medicine, law, social work, corrections, human resources, or business.

Gender and Cultural Diversity:
At any given time the student body is composed of students, 74 percent of whom are women, who represent every major racial group and numerous ethnic cultures from around the world.

Church Diversity:
Students in the program come from a variety of church backgrounds. They are evangelical in their doctrine and committed to integrating their faith into their professions.

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