Graduate Certificates provide opportunities for specialized training and can be added to the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health, Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy degrees, or Master of Science in Integration and Pastoral Care. Certificates typically require four additional courses. Most students choose to add one or sometimes two certificates to their program. For more information about specific courses for each certificate, see the current Graduate Catalog.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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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:
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:
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:
The Integration Certificate is designed to provide specialized training for those in the health and mental health fields, as well as ministry, who desire to know how to effectively integrate Christian faith and spirituality into their daily work. These students will be trained to consider the relationship between spirituality, both their own and their clients’, and the role of faith in experiencing personal healing and transformation.
For this certificate, all of the following courses are required:
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:
This multidisciplinary certificate is designed to provide specialized awareness, knowledge, and skills for counselors, ministers, and laypeople who engage with racially and culturally diverse individuals within their work scope. The oppressive effects of racism, whether covertly or intentionally, permeate and influence our interpersonal conversations, the structure of organizations, and clinical and ministerial intervention. In learning to engage with racially different individuals, students will learn racially-impactful social and religious history and current trends, and be equipped with relevant knowledge and skills related to racial trauma and social justice intervention. This certificate does not require a prior Master’s-level degree and is open to Richmont School of Counseling, School of Ministry, and non-degree students.
For this certificate, all of the following courses are required:
*Richmont School of Counseling students and graduates that have successfully completed CED7153: Social and Cultural Issues in Counseling effective Fall 2018 or later may substitute CED7302.
Students may add a certification once they are accepted and enrolled in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling or Marriage and Family Therapy Programs. Talk with your advisor about what certificates might be a good fit for your course of study. Specific questions about each program should be directed to the 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 Checklist – School of Counseling