School of Liberal Arts and Sciences

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Brenda L. Mellon, PhD, Dean

Professor

Jeffrey S. Black, PhD, Chair, Department of Counseling and Psychology
Juliet J. Campbell-Farrell, PhD
Ruth H. Kuchinsky-Smith, PhD

Associate Professor

James C. Meyer, EdD
Matthew J. Miller, PsyD

Assistant Professor

Sarah Ensslen, MS

Instructor

Ashlyn M. Jones, MS

Adjunct Faculty

Charles L. Arnold, MS
Susan K. Childers, MS
William W. Clark, PhD
David J. Wiedis, JD
 

The School

Helping People Find Answers

Human beings struggle in profound ways: broken marriage relationships, divorce, single-parent households; addiction, depression and suicide, anxiety disorders, and problems controlling eating, sexuality, and anger; ADHD and autism. How do broken lives change? Where do problems of living begin, and how does personal responsibility factor into human suffering? Where does brain functioning fit into understanding problems of living? Most importantly, how does a Christian understand and solve these struggles within the context of a relationship with Jesus Christ and the Christian community?

These questions and many more are the focus of the Master of Science in Counseling degree program. Since its inception, the Counseling Department has trained men and women to be biblically-minded, professionally competent counselors who offer professional help in a variety of counseling settings. Graduates of the program serve in the church, inpatient and outpatient counseling agencies, addiction recovery treatment centers, crisis counseling programs, residential care mental health providers, pastoral counselors, and private practitioners.

Program Objectives

The Master of Science in Counseling degree at Cairn University is designed to provide academic and professional training to persons pursuing a career or ministry in counseling. The counseling curriculum is organized around the premise that Christian counselors must be knowledgeable and competent in all areas of professional practice and in their ability to integrate a biblical worldview into their understanding of people, their problems, and models of helping. Students who complete the program are academically prepared to complete the requirements for professional licensure.

Cairn’s structure of core lecture courses paired with cohort lab experiences gives students the opportunity to develop counseling skills while building deep relationships in a biblical community and undergoing the personal transformation and growth as a whole person essential to effective professional practice as a counselor. Cairn University’s Oasis Counseling Center also provides students with opportunities to engage in professional practice under the supervision of the counseling faculty.

Program Distinctives

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 their counselees. From assistance with the application process and advice on registering for courses to classroom interaction and one-on-one small group supervision, faculty and staff make it a priority to focus on each student as a unique individual. This is essential to helping each student realize his or her full potential.
2. Development of the Whole Person
   Although helping students achieve academic excellence is important, the faculty believe that effective counselors are those who mature spiritually, relationally, and psychologically as they grow professionally. Inside and outside the classrooms and laboratories, students are challenged and assisted in developing and maintaining health in their spiritual, family, and private lives as they grow in professional competence as counselors.
3. Nurturing Community 
   The faculty believe people mature and serve others more effectively when their training takes place in a safe, supportive, and nurturing community. As a result, students are immersed in small group training environments throughout their counselor training.
4. Balanced and Relevant Curriculum
   By constructing and refining the curriculum, the faculty are vigilant to assure that all coursework is current, relevant, and practical for counselors who will soon be working with the most troubled people. The curriculum emphasizes contemporary scholarship and professional standards integrated with biblical truth.
5. Approachable and Involved Faculty
   The faculty are committed to teaching counseling by example. This requires personal involvement with students both inside and outside the classroom. The counseling faculty is involved with students as people immersed in professional life and ministry.
6. Real-to-life Laboratory Experiences
   The counseling faculty teach counseling as 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 laboratories and/or practical field experiences that serve as realistic training environments. Students learn through hands-on, trial-and-error rehearsals under the watchful eyes and artful supervision of the faculty.
7. Dependency on the Spirit of God
   The faculty believe that 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. Counseling must always be approached with humility. Even with the most advanced training and experience, no one is truly adequate for this task without help from God’s Spirit. The faculty are committed to helping students learn how to depend on the wisdom and power of God’s Spirit in their attempts to help others.

Core Values

Understanding people and their problems and helping them change are challenging tasks. Students in the Master of Science in Counseling program are equipped for this task by an experienced and diverse faculty who base every aspect of counselor training on the following core values:

1. The centrality of Christ in psychological health
   Christ is the ultimate source of life and health. People cannot truly experience wholeness - psychologically or spiritually - without knowing Christ intimately and obeying Him unconditionally. As our Creator and Lord, He alone can give us the power and freedom to change, live, and love as healthy people.
2. The authority of the Bible for guiding people
   The Bible, God’s written Word, is the only reliable and sufficient source of knowledge for providing an authoritative and comprehensive framework for fully understanding the complex nature of human beings, their problems, and the ways they change. The Bible provides counselors with the conceptual and ethical foundation essential for choosing and implementing counseling interventions. Whether one counsels in a formal therapeutic setting or in an informal discipleship or ministry context, the same biblical guidelines remain relevant and applicable.
3. The importance of relationships in human growth and healing
   Created in the image of God, people need relationships to grow and stay healthy. The relational environments in which people exist play an important role in either contributing to their difficulties or promoting their health and growth. Helping people find or build honest and loving communities of relationships is an essential part of counseling people and promoting their well-being.
4. The indispensable role of suffering in people’s lives
   Although suffering is an inescapable part of human existence, it is not the source of people’s psychological problems. The key is how people choose to respond to suffering. The primary focus of Christian counseling is not to help people escape suffering, but rather to help them understand, respond to, and use their suffering in ways that enable them to discover and enjoy otherwise untapped spiritual truths and resources.
5. The significance of character development in effective counseling and discipleship
   For counseling to be effective, its ultimate goal should not be to just solve people’s problems or relieve their emotional pain, but also to help them acquire and display the character of Jesus Christ in the midst of whatever problems or pain they are experiencing. Modeling the character of Jesus Christ in what is said and done to those who are counseled is the first and foremost responsibility that Christian counselors have. Effective character-directed counseling requires the spiritual resources of faith, prayer, and worship.
    

The Program

The goal of the Master of Science in Counseling degree program is to thoroughly equip men and women to function competently in counseling ministry and professional practice as they integrate their Christian faith and a biblical worldview with professional standards and practices in any setting in which they serve.

Students in the Master of Science in Counseling degree program take 48 credit hours in core areas that focus on basic counseling theory, a biblical-theological view of persons and their problems, fundamental skills in counseling and psychological assessment, and training in marriage and family counseling, and small group therapy and ministry. All students participate in intensive training groups that provide a guided learning environment designed to develop essential skills and the personal and professional character needed to counsel effectively. Students are encouraged to complete an additional 12 credit hours enabling them to meet the curricular requirements for professional licensure.
 

Related Program Information

Profile of the Master of Science in Counseling Student Body

One of the most enriching elements of the Master of Science in Counseling degree program is the diversity of the student body. Such diversity provides opportunities to learn and grow from multiple perspectives.

Age and Career Diversity:
A large percentage 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:
The student body in the program is 73% female and 27% male. Forty-nine percent of the students are white, 27% are African-American, and 14% are Hispanic.

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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