About the Program
The Holistic Counseling Program is designed to develop counselors who value integration of body, mind, and spirit and who see integration as wholeness-an essential expression of personal health. The holistic counselor understands that personal health also depends upon individual experiences of connectedness with the human community and with the natural world that supports it. Holistic counselors are aware that many of today's mental, physical, and social illnesses stem from a lack of integration - disintegration, resulting in persons dissociated from themselves, the community, and the environment.

The program's primary goal is to develop well-trained master's level counselors capable of working effectively with individuals and groups in ways that reflect the Program's philosophy. Holistic Counseling studies facilitate student mastery of theoretical material related to the holistic perspective, as well as the counseling process as a practical art.

Since research over the past 35 years has consistently shown that counseling effectiveness depends primarily on counselors' personal and interpersonal skills (rather than on a specific theoretical orientation), an important goal is to foster personal development. In light of this, the successful applicant will demonstrate a personal philosophy and character that reflect the ideals of the Holistic Counseling Program.

In recognition of one interconnected creation, courses address approaches through the body, the cognitive-emotional, and the spirit. Emphasis is on wellness, with symptoms seen as calls to self-realization. This Program is designed for counselor-guides who function as agents of healing for individuals, groups, and institutions in times of change and crisis.