Graduate Counseling Program FAQ

What is so different about your program?

Graduate counseling programs at Christian colleges or universities will have some similarities. These programs will differ from non-Christian programs in their integration of Christian Theology with Psychology/Counseling. Huntington University's Graduate Counseling Program offers students the following distinctives:

• The program meets or exceeds all of the state requirements for counselor licensure

• The integration of Theology and Psychology/Counseling is pursued in all classes with an additional class on the models and practice of integration

• A strong emphasis is placed on spiritual formation: students don't just get to know about God; they get to know God

• A strong emphasis on self-awareness and how this awareness can enhance the therapeutic relationship

• All professors are actively seeing clients

• Student's will receive a minimum of two hours of weekly supervision, for more than a year, during the clinical portion of their training
  
  
  When are the courses offered?
  
  Our classes meet Mondays through Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. and again from 6:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Each class meets one time each week for a two and a half hour period.
  
  Is your program a traditional semester long program?
  
  Yes. The academic year includes a fall semester, spring semester and two summer terms. Each fall semester will be 14 weeks of classes and each summer term is 6 weeks. We believe that this provides the best opportunity for students to achieve skill and knowledge, acquisition and application.
  
  What is the cost of the program?
  
  The tuition for the Graduate Counseling Program is comparable to or lower than for other graduate programs in the area.  (Check this page in the next few weeks for exact tuition figures.)  There are a few other costs connected to some classes. There is a $150.00 lab fee per student for the group class, which allows us to pay licensed counselors to facilitate our required personal growth groups. There is a small fee for the clinical manuals that students will use during Practicum and Internships.
  
  What will my professors be like?
  
  The professors for the Graduate Counseling Program will be, at minimum, master's level trained (most will hold doctoral degrees). The majority of the professors will be licensed counselors who are actively seeing clients. Professors will be committed to the task of integrating Theology and Psychology/Counseling and will energize your course materials with personal clinical examples.
  
  Does the program have a particular theoretical orientation?
  
  The HU Graduate Counseling program will present each student with all of the major theoretical approaches to counseling. The full-time and adjunct program faculty practice from a variety of theoretical frameworks including: Psychodynamic, Person-Centered, Cognitive-Behavioral, Adlerian, Gestalt, Family Systems, and Solution-Focused, among others. We encourage each student to be open to a variety of theoretical orientations and evaluate each one based upon scripture, his/her gifts and abilities, and his/her individual style and preferences. The faculty are not interested in the training and development of "cookie cutter" counselors. We strive to understand and work with student's unique giftedness and calling and expand their knowledge and skills to better prepare them to participate in that calling. We believe that a student's calling is where his/her passion meets the world's pain.
  
  How much experience will I actually get counseling?
  
  You will begin to practice your counseling skills with individuals during your first semester in the Helping Relationships class. After a set number of the foundation classes are completed, you will begin to see clients in the HU Counseling Clinic. This Counseling Practicum will be 100 hours of practice with 50% being direct client contact through individuals, couples, families or groups.
  
  Following your successful completion of Practicum, you will secure an internship site off campus for your three Supervised Internships. Each of these three Internships will take place over a period of one semester and will include 300 hours of clinical practice with 50% direct client contact. Students will receive some assistance in locating an Internship site but ultimately this is the students' responsibility. The Practicum and three Internships meet the state requirement of 1,000 hours of clinical practice in your graduate program.
  
  During your Practicum, you will receive one hour of weekly individual supervision and two hours of weekly group supervision. This exceeds the state licensure requirements. During your three semesters of Internship, you will receive weekly supervision from both your site supervisor and a university supervisor. The university supervision may be individual or group supervision.
  
  How does graduate work differ from undergraduate work?
  
  In graduate work, you will expand your knowledge of a particular discipline as well as expand your knowledge of self. Graduate work will cover more breadth and depth of subject matter with more attention given to original sources such as Freud, Jung, Adler, Skinner, etc. Graduate work encourages higher-level critical thinking including analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Graduate students are required to take more responsibility for their own learning in conjunction with considerably more reading and writing than undergraduates do. Most classes will require more than 1,000 pages of reading for the course. Likewise, your writing skills will be expanded and enhanced in your graduate program in order to prepare you for your postgraduate work.
  
  Upon graduation, you will be writing case summaries and reports for insurance companies, psychiatrists/psychologists, social workers, other counselors, school corporations, the courts, etc. Additionally, you may be writing research proposals or dissertation proposals for your doctoral program.

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