Arizona Theological Seminary (520) 303-7261

Required courses are taught in online classrooms with an instructor and fellow students and will meet for several hours each week - usually in the evenings.

Do you find that family and friends often come to you for help with their problems?  Do you feel God has gifted you with a heart that desires to help people, care for them and provide encouragement in their time of need? Do you wish you were better trained and equipped, more skilled and better able to use God’s Word during these times?

The Counseling/Chaplaincy Program brings to our role as counselors a recognition of the importance of the spiritual dimension in people's lives, a willingness to work with the spiritual issues they present and our desire to integrate our Christian faith with our practice in a meaningful way. Our courses are of interest to those wishing to train as pastoral counselors, chaplains, or pastoral care givers. Students will develop their listening, counseling or supervisory skills for use in their roles and can be extended into settings such as nursing or teaching. The ethos and core values of the courses are Christian counseling centered and our particular interest as a training center lies in the integration of Christian faith and counseling practice.

The Pastoral Counseling or Chaplaincy program is a career-oriented course of study that can accommodate both full and part-time students, students with or without professional experience, and incoming freshmen and transfer students.

Careers for counselors are most often within the education, church/ministry or psychology departments. They include but are not limited to:

    * Student affairs
    * School counseling
    * Geriatric or pediatric counseling
    * Family and marriage therapy
    * Substance abuse counseling
    * Rehabilitation
    * Clinical counseling or chaplaincy
    * Pastoral counseling

These degree programs qualify you for ordination with the General Conference of the Evangelical Baptist Church.

Curriculum

The total amount of credits needed for an Associate of Arts in Pastoral Counseling or Chaplaincy degree is 65 credits.

General Education (GE) core courses are online and may be taken in your own time frame during weekdays, evenings/weekends, or in conjunction with the counseling/chaplaincy required courses. All General Education core classes must be completed by the graduation deadline.

Below is a recommended framework of GE courses for completing the degree.

Additional Materials Fee:

American Association of Christian Counseling Workbooks

Caring for People God's Way - $165.00 (with Unit 1)

Breaking Free - $165.00 (with Unit 2)

Marriage Works - $165.00 (with Unit 3)

Stress and Trauma Care (with Military Applications) - $165.00 (with Unit 4)

Note: Completion of theis program will also qualify our graduates to be Board Certified Biblical Counselors with American Association of Christian Counselors

REQUIRED CURRICULUM

Unit 1: Foundations in Pastoral Counseling, Counseling Theory & Helping Relationships   9 crs

Textbook: Called to Counsel - John Cheydleur 

PC 100 Introduction to Christian Counseling - Faith and Life
PC 101 Marriage and Family
PC 102 Challenging  and Emerging Issues in Biblical Counseling

Unit 2: Mental Health Services - Psychopathology: Individual Assessment & Counseling   9 crs

Textbook: Normative Transitions - Charles R. Figley PhD, Hamilton McCubbin PhD

PC 110 Foundations of Spiritual Care, Discipleship, and Godly Living
PC 111 Helping Process Skills, Case Management and Counseling Ethics
PC 200 Applications in Mood Change, Medicine and Addictions

Unit 3: Conflict Management and Relationship Counseling and Marriage & Divorce Recovery       9 crs

Textbook: The Spiritual Work of Marriage - David C. Olsen, How to Counsel a Couple in Six Sessions - H. Norman Wright

PC 201 Core and Enrichment Issues
PC 210 Challenging Issues I and II
PC 211 Intervention and Policy Issues

Unit 4: Trauma, Abuse and PTSD - Crisis and Abuse Counseling       9 crs

Textbook: Stress and the Family: Coping with Catastrophe - Charles R. Figley PhD, Hamilton McCubbin PhD.

PCC 300 Crisis Counseling and Trauma Techniques
PCC 301 PTSD with Military Applications
PCC 302 Chaplains Role

TOTAL: 36 credits

Curriculum

The total amount of credits needed for a Bachelor of Arts in Counseling or Chaplaincy degree is 110 credits.

General Education (GE) core courses are online and may be taken in your own time frame during weekdays, evenings/weekends, or in conjunction with the counseling/chaplaincy required courses. All General Education core classes must be completed by the graduation deadline.

Below is a recommended framework of GE courses for completing the degree in two years.

Additional Materials Fee:

American Association of Christian Counseling Workbooks

Caring for People God's Way - $165.00 (with Unit 1)

Breaking Free - $165.00 (with Unit 2)

Marriage Works - $165.00 (with Unit 3)

Stress and Trauma Care (with Military Applications) - $165.00 (with Unit 4)

Note: Completion of theis program will also qualify our graduates to be Board Certified Biblical Counselors with American Association of Christian Counselors

REQUIRED CURRICULUM

Unit 1: Foundations in Pastoral Counseling, Counseling Theory & Helping Relationships   9 crs

Textbook: Called to Counsel - John Cheydleur 

PC 100 Introduction to Christian Counseling - Faith and Life
PC 101 Marriage and Family
PC 102 Challenging  and Emerging Issues in Biblical Counseling

Unit 2: Mental Health Services - Psychopathology: Individual Assessment & Counseling   9 crs

Textbook: Normative Transitions - Charles R. Figley PhD, Hamilton McCubbin PhD

PC 110 Foundations of Spiritual Care, Discipleship, and Godly Living
PC 111 Helping Process Skills, Case Management and Counseling Ethics
PC 200 Applications in Mood Change, Medicine and Addictions

Unit 3: Conflict Management and Relationship Counseling and Marriage & Divorce Recovery       9 crs

Textbook: The Spiritual Work of Marriage - David C. Olsen, How to Counsel a Couple in Six Sessions - H. Norman Wright

PC 201 Core and Enrichment Issues
PC 210 Challenging Issues I and II
PC 211 Intervention and Policy Issues

Unit 4: Trauma, Abuse and PTSD - Crisis and Abuse Counseling       9 crs

Textbook: Stress and the Family: Coping with Catastrophe - Charles R. Figley PhD, Hamilton McCubbin PhD.

PCC 300 Crisis Counseling and Trauma Techniques
PCC 301 PTSD with Military Applications
PCC 302 Chaplains Role

TOTAL: 36 credits

Curriculum  *prerequisite Bachelor's degree

The Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling or Chaplaincy is an academic degree  oriented towards ministry. The M.A.PC. is designed for students whose studies will focus on counseling, chaplaincy work, communication, instruction and academia. The Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) model is used in which each course will have a lead instructor who will assemble additional team instructors in an effort to provide a comprehensive learning experience using the PAL method.

Program Requirements

The complete program consists of 61 total academic credits. There is required fieldwork and the writing of a full-length thesis, for which 6 credits are granted.

The student writing a thesis should propose a thesis topic before the end of the first semester, and upon approval, the student should begin research as soon as possible thereafter. The thesis must be submitted within the final semester the completion of all coursework.     

The review committee evaluates the writing of the master's thesis. The committee consists of the thesis director and two professors.

CO 500 Psychology and Theology
CO 510 Human Development
CO 515 Healthy Sexuality
CO 516 Cults and Deprogramming
CO 520 Counseling Theories and Strategies
CO 530 Crisis Counseling
CO 540 Counseling Children & Adolescents
CO 550 Marriage and Family Counseling
CO 600 Addiction Counseling
CO 601 Psychopathology
CO 610 Assessment and Diagnosis
CO 611 Group Dynamics
CO 620 Cross-Cultural Counseling
CO 630 Ethics and Law
CO 640 Testing & Assessment (4 credits)
CO 650 Professional Life Coaching (6 credits)
CO 660 Practicum (6 credits)

Master's Thesis (6 credits)

Total 61 credits