School of Counseling Certificates for Degree-Seeking Students

Addictions Counseling (9 credit hours)

 The Addictions Counseling Certificate is designed to provide specialized training for those who wish to work with individuals in the broad area of addictions. These students will be trained to work with a wide range of issues but will receive specific training related to human addictions that is grounded in Christian theology. 

This certificate requires an additional 3 courses above your Master’s degree. Course options: 

• CED7162: Psychopharmacology for Counselors (required) 
• CED7832: Addictions: Treatment & Intervention (required) 
• CED7842: Neurobiology of Addiction 
• CED7852: Eating Disorders: Etiology, Assessment, & Counseling Interventions 

Child and Adolescent Counseling (8 credit hours)

 The Child & Adolescent Counseling Certificate is designed to provide specialized training for those planning to work primarily with children & teens. These students still fulfill all licensure requirements & are also trained in working with adults. However, they receive systematic training in important areas needed to provide Christian counseling to children & adolescents. 

This certificate requires an additional 4 courses above your Master’s degree. Required courses: 

• CED6412: Child & Adolescent Psychopathology 
• CED6802: Trauma in Developmental Context 
• CED7452: Introduction to Play Therapy 
• CED7463: Advanced Techniques: Play Therapy for Children & Adolescents
  

Christian Sex Therapy (8 credit hours)

 The Christian Sex Therapy Certificate is designed to provide specialized training for those students who wish to work with individuals in the broad area of sexuality. These students will be trained to work with a wide range of issues but will receive specific training related to human sexuality that is grounded in Christian theology. 

This certificate requires an additional 4 courses above your Master’s degree. Required courses: 

• CED6512: Human Sexuality: A Therapeutic Integration 
• CED6522: Basic Issues in Sex Therapy 
• CED7532: Sexual Dysfunctions, Addictive, Compulsive & Paraphilic Sexuality 
• CED7542: Sexuality: Medical Issues, Trauma & Abuse 

Marriage and Family Therapy (12 credit hours)

 The graduate certificate in Marriage & Family Therapy (MFT) is designed to provide specialized training for students who desire to work specifically with couples & families, as well as individuals within the family context. Using both a systems theory perspective & a Christian theology integrationist perspective, students develop the knowledge & skills to practice marriage & family therapy in a variety of settings. From a family systems perspective, students are trained to address the whole person & to move the hurting family system toward healthy functioning. This certificate fulfills the academic requirements in most states for licensure in marriage & family therapy (LMFT) & for clinical membership in the American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (AAMFT). The MFT certificate requires CED6962: Counseling Practicum, CED7962: Counseling Internship I, and CED7972: Counseling Internship II in lieu of CED6922, 7932, and 7942. CED7642 will replace the degree requirement of CED6612: Family Systems Theory. 

This certificate also requires an additional 5 courses above your Master’s degree. Course options:

• CED5612: Person of the Marriage & Family Therapist 
• CED6512: Human Sexuality: A Therapeutic Integration 
• CED6632: Family Wellness in Society 
• CED7642: Couples, Marriage, and Family Therapy I 
• CED7643: Couples, Marriage, and Family Therapy II 
• CED7653: Advanced Couple, Marriage, and Family Therapy Interventions 

Click here for more information

Spiritual Formation in Counseling (8 credit hours)

 The Spiritual Formation in Counseling Certificate promotes the student’s spiritual formation while developing extensive knowledge in spiritually-focused counseling interventions & historic approaches to spiritual formation, particularly as applied to church-based contexts. Courses are designed to train beyond the competencies outlined by ASERVIC toward the ability to facilitate spiritual formation, which is seen as the goal of Christian counseling. 

This certificate requires an additional 4 courses above your Master’s degree. Course options: 

• CED6232: Assessing Spirituality & Religion 
• CED6242: Counseling for Non-Christian Spiritualties 
• CED6282: Spiritual Development Across the Lifespan 
• CED7212: Religion, Spirituality, & Mental Health (required) 
• CED7222: Evidence-Based Interventions for Spiritual Formation 
• CED7262: Integrating Spiritual Direction into Counseling 
• CED7282: Church-Based Counseling 
• CED7292: The Spiritual Formation of the Counselor 

Trauma Counseling (8 credit hours)

The Trauma Counseling Certificate is designed to provide specialized training for those students who wish to work with individuals who have experienced trauma. These students will be trained to work with a wide range of issues but will receive specialized training in the biology & development of trauma & interventions for both children and adults. 

This certificate requires an additional 4 courses above your Master’s degree. Required courses: 

• CED6802: Trauma in Developmental Context 
• CED6812: Trauma & Biology 
• CED7812: Adult Trauma Intervention 
• CED7802: Child Trauma Intervention 

Thesis Option 

Those students who hope to pursue additional graduate training (such as a doctoral degree) or desire focused research on a topic of interest are encouraged to select the thesis option. A completed thesis project can be utilized to be submitted to a journal or for conference presentation. Methods of Research (CED 7713) must be taken the first fall semester to pursue the thesis program. The Thesis track is not a certificate & will not appear on the diploma. All prospective Thesis students must read the Thesis Program section in the current academic catalog prior to enrolling in the thesis program. 

The Thesis Program requires an additional 4 credits of work above your Master’s degree. Required courses: 

• CED7761: Research I 
• CED7771: Research II 
• CED8711: Thesis I 
• CED8721: Thesis II 

School of Counseling Certificates for Non-Degree Students

Integration (15 credit hours)

Pastoral Care (17 credit hours)

The Pastoral Care Certificate is designed for church, community, para-church, lay ministers, non-profit leaders, and others in health care who desire more practical training in caring for and understanding the needs of the people in their ministry field. These students will be trained on a variety of topics to aid in understanding human growth & development & psychopathology, and the role of faith in these areas. Students will also receive specialized training in practical skills to improve relational ministry while working with those in their community. 

For this certificate, all of the following courses are required: 

• CED5122: Foundations in Counseling 
• CED6143: Psychopathology: Diagnosis & Treatment of Mental Disorders 
• CED6153: Helping Relationships for Pastoral Care 
• CED6162: Crisis Response & Intervention 
• CED6512: Human Sexuality: A Therapeutic Integration 
• CED6612: Family Systems Theory 
• CED7113: Human Growth & Development 

Graduate Certificate Program Coordinators

Addictions Counseling – Dr. DeVon Mills  dmills@richmont.edu

Child and Adolescent Counseling – Dr. Charles Allen  callen@richmont.edu

Christian Sex Therapy – Dr. DeVon Mills dmills@richmont.edu

Integration – Dr. Preston Hill phill@richmont.edu

Marriage and Family Therapy – Emily Aikins eaikins@richmont.edu

Pastoral Care – Dr. Preston Hill phill@richmont.edu

Racial Trauma, Intervention, and Justice – TBA

Spiritual Formation in Counseling – Dr. Preston Hill phill@richmont.edu

Trauma Counseling – Dr. Stanley Hoover  shoover@richmont.edu

Application Requirements

School of Counseling Graduate Certificate Applicants

• School of Counseling application form with a $50 nonrefundable application fee (payable online)
• One official transcript from each college attended

Application Checklist – School of Counseling