863-441-3000
Email: director@thelovechurch.org
The degree-granting educational service of The Love Church Worldwide
The
SPIRITUAL COUNSELING
Degree
For students interested in bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees
related to Spiritual Counseling,
Depending on your
background, you may be able to earn a masters degree for from just under $1,000
to roughly $2,500!
We honor your past experience and we accept all your past
college or university credit, no matter how long ago it was earned!
In this introduction, we will discuss what spiritual counseling is,
what it is not, and how you can become a qualified Spiritual Counselor
by combining your previous academic background, new learning, and your
“real-life” experience.
We will also review what you may expect to learn and offer
actual course descriptions.
WHAT
EXACLY IS SPIRITUAL
COUNSELING?
It is a form of ministry that looks and functions a lot like
conventional psychotherapeutic counseling, although its thrust is toward the
spiritual side of our “being” rather than the psychological.
Spiritual Counselors operate from the “belief system” that “we
are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Or, said in more conventional church terms,
“we are in the world but not of it.”
ü
We
believe the teachings of Christ (and all the great spiritual traditions) that say
that we are eternal souls, creatures that are on this earth for only a short
time but that our true identities dwell in Infinity. Thus, the Spiritual Counselor will work with
clients in such a way as to see today’s challenges in the context of not only
this week, this year, or even this life, but in the context of eternity.
ü
You
will “counsel” in the sense of being a co-traveler, a person who shares the
client’s journey. Often this involves a
journey toward living in a state of conscious awareness of our spiritual
nature. But, sometime, this path will
lead through painful, dark places, but our job is to always help our clients keep
in mind that they are infinite children of God and have access at every moment
to unlimited healing and joyful power!
ü
A
Spiritual Counselor will help clients deal with grief and loss, issues
surrounding death and dying, devastating abuse as well as life’s bitter
disappointments.
ü
You’ll
help with the discovery, processing, and release of psycho-spiritual blocks
that impair our ability to live full and happy lives.
ü
You’ll
act as a teacher and guide to those who are on spiritual quests, helping with
such things as an understanding of what different spiritual paths “look like”
and what the great world religions teach (this is called “Comparative World
Religions”).
ü
As
a Spiritual Counselor, you’ll regularly encounter clients who want to expand
their prayer life, learn the art of spiritual meditation and “being in God’s
presence,” as well as, perhaps, working with clients’ dreams. At the end of this course, you’ll be able to
counsel and guide people through these powerful realms.
ü
Career
and Lifestyle changes, new directions for one’s life may, on the surface, look
like mental health issues but, in fact, they have to do with one’s spirit. Here, clients may be bogged down, tired,
lacking enthusiasm or vision for their lives…but a competent Spiritual
Counselor will be able to assist people achieve a life transformation that will
enable their spirits to soar! You will
learn practical techniques for assisting people in discovering not only their
own internal talents, but help them to unfold their innermost desires
for manifesting richly happy lives.
WHAT
SPIRITUAL COUNSELING IS NOT
Spiritual counseling is not
mental health counseling. This academic
major will not prepare you to be a licensed mental health professional unless
you are independently qualified psychologist, social worker, or
psychotherapist.
That being said, Spiritual Counseling is a ministry (you may
study with us to become an ordained minister.
Call 863-441-3000 for information, or visit
http://www.thelovechurch.org/onlineordination.html.
)
YOUR
QUALIFICATIONS AS A SPIRITUAL COUNSELOR…
and
WHY CLIENTS SHOULD USE YOUR SERIVCES….
As public interest in Spiritual Counseling grows, many self-styled “experts” are setting up shop, claiming to be competent in this important field. Clients are often delicate, even fragile, as they emerge from trauma, seeking meaning and psycho-spiritual balance. A poorly-trained, egotistical, or power-hungry person can do a lot of damage. Thus, when you are awarded your degree in Spiritual Counseling, whether a bachelors or a masters, you will be certifying that you have the basic education required to act as a co-traveler and guide to those who are searching for balance and spiritual meaning in their lives.
A
LOOK AT THE COURSES -- What You’ll Learn…
Because you are adult learners, each of you will bring your own
unique combination of academic and life experience to the program. Our government charter permits us to grant
you one-half of the total credits required for your degree on the basis of
real-life experience. And, as a matter of policy, we accept as transfer credits
all previous college, university, or
continuing education units that you have earned in the past, no matter how long
ago they were awarded.
Thus, each student will have a different number of courses that
are required. Some students bring in
enough background that they are able to obtain their degree very quickly, often
in a month or two. Others take from a
few months to a year. (See
“Masters Degree” information, pasted at the bottom of this section on Spiritual
Counseling.)
Not everyone will have to take each of the following courses
and, in fact, for masters and doctorate degrees, much of your educational
experience will involve either an internship, field work, or independent
research followed by a thesis.
Here is a partial listing of the goals of this academic major as
well as the sorts of courses that are available for Spiritual Counseling majors
to give you an idea of the scope of our offerings.
THE CONCEPT OF WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
· You will gain an overview for students to examine the field of Spiritual Counseling, its modes of practice, unique ethics, and qualifications required to counsel clients competently.
· Spiritual Counselors, to be effective, must be divinely called to the field. Then, the graduate Spiritual Counselor must be able to comprehend the sacred nature of this uniquely important profession. As a graduate of our program, it is intended that you will have honed the skills needed to balance the sister disciplines of priest-minister, teacher, counselor.
· You will have a college degree credentialing you as an academically-prepared professional in this growing field.
· Should you elect that option, you will be offered the opportunity to learn the basics of establishing your own Spiritual Counseling practice, as well as how to market your services, as well as daily management techniques.
A SAMPLE OF COURSES AVAILABLE IN OUR SPIRITUAL COUNSELING
DEGREE PROGRAM:
· BASIC SPIRITUAL / PASTORAL COUNSELING techniques, including reflective listening, grief work, drug and alcohol issues, family issues, gender issues, sexual harassment, domestic violence, anger management, communications skills, and parenting issues
· CONTEMPLATIVE AND MEDITATIVE PRAYER techniques.
· INTRODUCTION TO MIND-BODY MEDICINE: The student will be exposed to the ground-breaking work of Herbert Benson and Joan Borysekno, co-founders of the Harvard Mind-Body Clinic, Exceptional Cancer Patients founder, Bernie Siegel, M.D., “Reinventing Medicine” expert, Larry Dossey, etc.
· The student will learn “The Relaxation Response,” types of meditation, practical and easily-achieved self-hypnosis, healing prayer, and Mindfulness Meditation.
· HEALING AND “ENERGY WORK” will be explored, including seminal work such as Barbara Ann Brennan’s “Hands of Light.” The student will explore Reiki, the practice of using holy energy to help bring warmth and healing to physical bodies. “Anointing of the Sick,” will be explored, a re-thinking of “Extreme Unction,” or what was called “The Last Rites.” Actually, “Last Rites” were always intended to bring about healing!
· THE COURSE IN MIRACLES. While controversial in its origin, this series of three books have become so much a part of the modern world that the Spiritual Counselor and modern minister must have a basic understanding of the teachings they contain. Undoubtedly, some of your parishioners and clients will be working with The Course in Miracles. Among others, the student will be exposed to the pivotal work of author-teachers such as Marianne Williamson and Hugh Prather. Some of the topics touched upon in these modules will include “There are only two feelings, Love and Fear,” Replacing Pain with Joy, Improving Self-Esteem and Self-Image, The Road to Peace, Forgiveness, and Perception as “Reality.”
· FORGIVENESS: Few of us have managed to avoid being profoundly injured by someone. Often, multiple times. “Forgive and forget,” we’re told. But, should we do so? Students will look at the three phases of forgiveness as taught by tne late Fuller Seminary professor of theology and ethics, Lewis B.Smedes. He wrote, “Forgive & Forget: Healing the Hurts WE Don't Deserve.” Smedes wrote: "It is creative. When we forgive we come as close as any human being can to the essentially divine act of creation. For we create a new beginning out of past pain that never had a right to exist in the first place. We create healing for the future by changing a past that had no possibility in it for anything but sickness and death. "When we forgive we ride the crest of love's cosmic wave; we walk in stride with God. And we heal the hurt we never deserved.”
· CHRIST THE PSYCHOLOGIST: Christ is known as many things: Son of God, Son of Man, Rabbi (Teacher), Savior, Redeemer, Healer, even as a carpenter and a fisherman. But, Christ as psychologist? In this module, the Spiritual Counseling student will look at the teachings of Christ in light of the modern science of psychology. He taught us that there is nothing that he did that we can’t do…that we should serve, feed, clothe, respect, even love others…he taught that to be happy and to “find the kingdom” (which is within) that we have to re-learn how to be playful and innocent like little children. He taught us to manifest our desires (seek and ye shall find) and he taught us to forgive, even to seek social justice (standing in front of the woman “taken in adultery” he said, “Whichever of you is without sin, cast the first stone.”
· DREAMWORK: With thousands of years worth of dreams described in the Bible and other ancient texts, and with hundreds of “expert” books on the market today telling you “easy, sure-fire ways” of interpreting dreams, what is the truth? We’ll look at Notre Dame theological expert John A. Sanford’s “Dreams: God’s Forgotten Language” and the Saint James College Spiritual Counseling student will also learn reliable, sure-fire ways of working with clients to determine the probable meaning of their dreams. You’ll also learn the critical, health-giving nature of dreams, you’ll learn about REM, Alpha waves, lucid dreaming (how to “come awake” in your dreams and change their direction…and how to “incubate” dreams, or how to assign your subconscious mind the task of having certain kinds of dreams in order to reveal, explain, and heal.
TO
REGISTER, call 863-441-3000, or visit: http://www.serve.com/thelovechurch/SaintJamesCollege/z-application.html
Information about SAINT JAMES
COLLEGE’S MASTERS DEGREES
A Masters is a post-graduate degree and it is one of the most prestigious and sought-after degrees in our time. Not only is it becoming a nearly-essential qualification for top leadership position, it provides you with the academic and practical knowledge to operate a department, a parish, or an entire business. Whether you are an entrepreneur or a rising executive, a Masters degree will help you to showcase your expertise as a leader in your career field.
Greater earnings come with a Masters degree: Statistically, someone with a Masters earns a considerable higher annual income of someone with a bachelors degree.
Statistics in chart complied in 2003. They are even higher today!
Courtesy of http://www.salary.com
Earn millions more over a lifetime with a masters degree: A master's degree-holder is projected $1.4 million dollars more over the course of a working lifetime than someone with a high school diploma. According to a report issued by the U.S. Census bureau, masters graduates should expect to earn $3.3 million over a lifetime, while someone with a professional degree, such as a doctor or lawyer, could make even more -- $4.4 million. Translating that to current annual earnings, the census bureau report indicates that the average master's degree graduate makes $32,000 more a year than a high school graduate. The gap spreads to $69,000 for those with professional degrees.
In 2006, masters-prepared workers earn an average of $84,615
annually.
(A college graduate with a bachelor’s degree can expect to earn $2.1 million working full-time between ages 25 and 64, which is a full million dollars more than a high school graduate can expect to make, according to the Census Bureau. This is the latest report we could find and was published in 2002. Presumably, the earnings projections are higher today. The report is titled “The Big Payoff” if you wish to research it further.)
Online
Education is growing incredibly rapidly:
Salary.com says: “Online education is widely accepted as being
just as valuable as the classroom experience.”
They add: “The growing popularity
of online courses is undeniable, with online
enrollment currently growing at a staggering 33% a year. There are more than 3
million students currently involved in distance or online learning
according to the Distance Education and Training Council. And in today's
increasingly connected world, this number continues to grow, and at a faster
rate.”
Cost of a Masters degree in traditional school settings: A masters degree can cost about $35,000-$40,000 for the average two years of required study at a public college or university. Masters of Business Administration costs are even higher: in 2006, approximately $100,000, and consists of 36-credit hours in required academic study.
Pay
considerably under $5,000 for a
A
The next two paragraphs offer important cost information….
Credit for Real-Life experience: Our government charter permits us to grant up to 50% of the required 36 credit hours based on your Real Life experience. So, if you have been in business, management, or administration for some time and have acquired significant hands-on experience that we can credit toward your Masters degree, you may be required to complete only 18-hours of study.
ALL
previous college / university credits will be accepted: Unlike most colleges and
universities,
Accreditation: Firstly, we are accredited by the
Association of Accredited Bible Schools and we strive to uphold the highest
standards of ethical and academic excellence of any college of university in
The study
showed that roughly one-fifth of those who were awarded a non-traditional
under-graduate degree went on to obtain a masters or doctorate. 97% of the non-traditional undergrads were
accepted by the grad school that they preferred. Three percent reported some difficulties in
presenting a non-accredited degree or transcripts from a non-accredited
college, or for having obtained real-life experience credits. The bottom line is that the study showed
that a full 94 percent reported no
difficulty in being admitted to graduate school due to having an unaccredited
degree or earning it through non-traditional or online education.
(See Sosdian, Carol P. and Sharp, Laure M., The External Degree as a Credential: Graduates’ Experience in Employment and
Further Study, Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Health, Education and
Welfare.)
The second caveat is that