Masters in Christian Counseling (M.C.C.)

Masters in Christian Counseling (M.C.C.) (60 and 30 credit hour programs)

**The 60 credit hour program is for those students that come in with a Bachelor Degree

**The 30 credit hour program is for those students that come in with a previous Masters Degree, and courses will be selected from the 60 credit hour list below.

NOTE: The selection of courses listed below will depend upon what the student has or has not completed in previous work.

The 60 credit hour course is as follows:

BC-510 Integrative Counseling II 4 credit hrs

BC-545 Marriage Counseling 4 credit hrs

BC- 505 Counseling Women 4 credit hrs

BC- 530 Group Counseling 6 credit hrs

BC- 495 Human Sexuality 4 credit hrs

BC- 480 Counseling the Addicted 4 credit hrs

BC- 525 Counseling Victims of Violence 4 credit hrs

BC- 560 Counseling Victims of Substance Abuse 4 credit hrs

BC- 575 Integrative Counseling III 4 credit hrs

BC- 610 Intensive Counseling 4 credit hrs

BC- 460 Nouthetic Counseling 6 credit hrs

BC- 625 Counseling the Depressed 4 credit hrs

BC- 690 The Counseling Business 4 credit hrs

BC- 675 Independent Research Paper (5,000 Words) 4 credit hrs

 

Course Descriptions for Master in Christian Counseling

M.A. in Christian Counseling students are a diverse group who display essential qualities of wisdom, maturity and skills necessary for excellence in the field of counseling. It is a professional degree program within the field of counseling for those who wish to operate a counseling center or serve as a pastoral counselor within a church setting.

BC-510 Integrative Counseling II 4 credit hrs

This integrative counseling course will prove to be a wise and safe guide for those seeking to thread their way through the land mines of modern psychological theory. With this help, one can build for themselves a truly Christian understanding of psychology, carefully grounded on biblical presuppositions and yet alert and receive certain truths gleaned from modern research.

BC-545 Marriage Counseling 4 credit hrs

Marriages are in trouble today. That is clear. Effective methods of combating this trend are less evident. Counselors, pastors and social workers need more than mere theories or mere moralizing. They need a practical and comprehensive model for understanding couples and their problems. They need a thorough Christian perspective that is biblical, compassionate and human. A thorough overview of the assessment process includes practical, workable guidelines for: creating realistic, mutually-agreeable goals for counselor and clients; estimating the number of sessions needed to reach those goals; and planning the actual assessment, intervention and termination sessions. specific techniques for enhancing cooperative change, intimacy, communication, conflict resolution and forgiveness within the marriage. But keeping couples from slipping back into old patterns is one of the counselor’s most difficult tasks. So Worthington concludes with suggestions for solidifying change and effectively concluding the counseling relationship.

BC- 505 Counseling Women 4 credit hrs

The newest addition to the popular Quick Reference Guide collection, The Quick Reference Guide to Counseling Women focuses on the special needs of women in counseling situations. It is an A.Z. guide for assisting people-helpers, pastors, professional counselors, youth workers, and everyday believers, to easily access a full array of information to aid them in formal and informal counseling situations. Each of the 40 topics covered follows a helpful eight-part outline and identifies (1) typical symptoms and patterns, (2) definitions and key thoughts, (3) questions to ask, (4) directions for the conversation, (5) action steps, (6) biblical insights, (7) prayer starters, and (8) recommended resources.

BC- 530 Crisis and Trauma Counseling 6 credit hrs

Crisis and Trauma Counseling is a biblical, practical guide to pastoral and professional Christian Counseling. The student will learn how to counsel and coach both believers and nonbelievers who are in crisis, how to walk alongside them through the hours, weeks, and months following their trauma, and how to help them find the path to complete restoration.

BC- 495 Human Sexuality 4 credit hrs

The field of human sexuality is one of ever-increasing complexity, particularly for Christian therapists and psychologists seeking to be faithful to Scripture, informed by science and sensitive to culture. This course offers a survey and appraisal of this field from a Christian perspective, which grounds sex therapy in the biblical affirmation of physicality and the redemptive purposes of human life. Integrating the latest research within a Christian worldview, the authors explore sexual dysfunctions as well as various clinical issues and treatments.

BC- 480 Counseling the Addicted 4 credit hrs

This course offers a practical, comprehensive, and biblical guide to counseling those struggling with addiction issues. We live in an addictive age, and many people are suffering silently. For anyone who is called to counsel those with addictions, this course will help prepare the counselor to confront and treat these problems with greater confidence and will be a welcome guide to bring hope, life, and freedom to those in bondage.

BC- 525 Counseling Victims of Violence 4 credit hrs

Resources for Christian Counseling presents current research and practical tools for counseling contemporary problems concerning violence in the family setting. The authors in this series deal with a broad range of human concerns from a biblical perspective. Comprehensive and practical, this course is a valuable resource for the counselor who has the responsibility of trying to help bring order and grace back into the home.

BC- 560 Counseling Victims of Substance Abuse 4 credit hrs

This course provides a sound, practical and biblical perspective overview of substance abuse counseling.

Using an integrated approach, it describe innovative methods for meeting clients’ needs through personalized assessment, treatment planning, and behavior change strategies, showing the counselor how to select the most effective treatment modalities for each client.

BC- 575 Integrative Counseling III 4 credit hrs

This course is part of the professional series that offers counselors the latest techniques, theory, and general information that is vital to their work. While many books have tried to integrate theology and psychology, this book takes another step and explores the importance of the spiritual disciplines in psychotherapy, helping counselors to integrate the biblical principles of forgiveness, redemption, restitution, prayer, and worship into their counseling techniques.

BC- 610 Intensive Counseling 4 credit hrs

This course shares accounts of how many Christian Counselors have used Scripture based treatment to radically help their clients overcome bipolar, dissociative identity, and obsessive compulsive disorders, postpartum depression, panic attacks, addiction, issues from childhood sexual abuse, homosexuality, and more. BC- 460 Nouthetic Counseling 6 credit hrs

The approach of nouthetic counseling introduces a wide range of issues, topics, and techniques in counseling: *Who is qualified to be a counselor? *How can counselees change? *How does the Holy Spirit work? *What role does hope play? *What is the function of language? *How do we ask the right questions? *What often lies behind depression? *How do we deal with anger? *What is schizophrenia? These and hundreds more questions are answered in this comprehensive resource for the Christian counselor.

BC- 625 Counseling the Depressed 4 credit hrs

Within the Resources for Christian Counseling series, this course focuses on therapies for depression, the “common cold” of psychological problems. Author Hart combines science with Christian insights to provide hope for those who feel hopeless.

BC- 690 The Counseling Business 4 credit hrs

This course attempts to demystify business development concepts for Christian counselors and pastors who are starting or managing counseling centers. Emphasis is placed on how to apply effective planning and budgeting and how to maximize marketing at low cost. A perfect mini-course in administration and marketing for counselors with business anxieties.

BC- 675 Independent Research Paper (5,000 Words) 4 credit hrs

This work will be student driven and completed as a “mini-thesis” surrounding a given sub-topic within the discipline of Christian Counseling. Scholastic guidelines will be given to the student far in advance.

Course Outcomes

Upon the successful completion of the Bachelor Degree in Christian Counseling program, the students should be able to:

· Serve in ministry such as a local church and develop abilities and virtues that will prepare them for their calling and career

· Provide an in-depth Biblical foundation to supply the values, knowledge and skills needed to effectively serve in Christian Counseling ministry

· Formulate essential principles and ethics of Christianity

· Achieve personal growth in Christian counseling ministry through the integration of theory and practice

· Be conversant with an array of counseling approaches, both Christian and secular

· Display an advanced competence in interviewing skills and counseling techniques

· Show familiarity with the classical personality theories

· Gain the necessary knowledge, practice, and skills for working with individuals, couples, children, families, and small groups in a variety of mental health settings

· Understand and explain the issues and problems that people face in life from a thoroughly Biblical point of view

· Impart the truth and power of God’s Word and the gospel into the lives of others that will bring emotional healing and health

**Ordination is included with both the 60 and 30 hour programs.