The Master of Arts in Biblical Counselling Psychology
The Master of Arts in Biblical Counselling Psychology program is designed to prepare you as a Marriage and Family Therapist and to positively impact individuals, couples and families in the community. Our comprehensive curriculum will give you a broad academic and clinical experience that is uniquely grounded in the identity and values of a Christian university.
Our program emphasizes the development of competence in working with diverse populations. The curriculum includes training in trauma and crisis intervention, community collaboration, recovery-model approaches and evidence-based practices.
Our purpose is to help you to understand and practice principles of living and ministry that are revealed in the Scriptures. We will teach you to think biblically about people and their problems.
You will come to understand how lasting change takes place and how the Lord can use you to comfort, encourage, admonish, and walk side by side with others as we seek to live for his glory.
MAIN COURSES
BC501- Introduction to Biblical Counseling
This course offers a general introduction to basic concepts and distinctive features of biblical counseling. Students will discuss what biblical counseling is, the role of the counselor in biblical counseling, the different kinds of counseling that are needed, the place of counseling in the ministry of the church and how biblical counseling theory and practice relate to and differ from some of the more common secular models and theories. Part of the course will involve a personal improvement project in which the student will evaluate his own counseling qualifications, design a plan for improving some area of his life, put that plan into action, and then evaluate his progress as the course draws to a close.
BC502 - Essential Qualities of a Biblical Counselor
This course will help the student to understand the Christ-like character and functional qualities of the discipler and counselor. The course will also provide the environment for self-examination for present and future growth, both in his personal walk with Jesus Christ and as a skilled biblical counselor.
BC503 - Methods of Biblical Change
This course provides an overview of the counseling process presenting a comprehensive methodological model for promoting biblical change in people. The goal of this course is to encourage biblical thinking and procedures in the process of helping people.
BC506 - Theology & The Psychologies
This course is designed to critically analyze secular and evangelical integrationist theories of psychology and psychotherapy, and to recognize those theories or psychologies as part of larger belief systems, perhaps logically derived from erroneous starting points, while also comparing them to what has been revealed from Scripture and what falls into the study of theology, practical theology, and biblical counseling. The course will probe the anthropological presuppositions of treatment theory and seek to bring a thoroughly biblical critique to their foundational assumptions as well as methodology. Issues like theories of the subconscious, psychoanalytic approaches to personality, establishing norms, psychological testing, making the distinction between the normal and abnormal, major and mood disorders, schizophrenia and multiple personality disorders are among the psychological constructs and their popular theoreticians that will be explored. All persons encountered in counseling practice will have been exposed to foreign belief systems other than that promoted by the Scripture and, to various degrees, adopted those worldviews—even those who profess to know Christ in a saving way. Therefore, the wise counselor ought to be equipped to recognize points of departure from truth.
BC511 Theological Basis of Biblical Counseling
This course offers a consideration of the theological realities that form the basis of a proper approach to counseling. Special emphasis is given to the nature of God and of man (fallen and unfallen), a biblical definition of the image of God, the nature of sin, the realities of regeneration and progressive sanctification, the concept of “the flesh” (old man and new man), an understanding of the heart and mind as used in Scripture and the place of the local church in the ministry of counseling.
BC521 - Problems & ProceduresThis course is designed to apply the biblical principles taught in the Introduction to Biblical Counseling (BC501) and the Methods of Biblical Change (BC503) courses to a range of specific counseling problems. Topics discussed include anger, fear, depression, homosexuality, anxiety, eating disorders, incest, child abuse, counseling youth, counseling divorcees, and crisis counseling. During the second semester of this course, each student will research and present to the class a detailed biblical counseling outline for a teacher-approved counseling issue. Prerequisite: BC501, BC531, BC503, BC511.
BC531 - Hermeneutics
This course is an introduction to the science and art of interpretation, with special attention to the application of Scripture to counseling. Various interpretive approaches on key scriptural passages will be examined, especially as they relate to the biblical counselor and his task.
BC532 - Advanced Hermeneutics
This course is designed to continue to develop the skills of the graduate student with the science and art of biblical interpretation for greater accuracy in the application of truth in a counseling context. A proper hermeneutical approach will be modeled for difficult passages that are frequently used in counseling, especially as they relate to the use of texts from a variety of genres in Scripture. The focus of this course is for the graduate student to learn how to properly interpret each book of the Bible, with its special literary genre and subgenres, in order to be well-equipped to accurately apply its truth. Prerequisite: BC501, BC531.
BC542 - Marriage & Family Counseling
Marriage and family problems are present in the majority of counseling cases. This course will give an overview of general marriage and family counseling issues relating to the content and process of counseling. It will then proceed to specifically deal with some of the major difficulties that troubled marriages and families experience from a biblical perspective. Included in the course are discussions of the biblical basis and purposes of marriage, family stages, in-law problems, developing unity, husband/wife roles and responsibilities, correcting communication problems and how to resolve conflicts that arise.
BC556 - ACBC Membership Seminar
All students are encouraged to seek membership in and certification by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). This seminar will prepare the student for membership by taking the Theological and the Counselors Exams and and by beginning supervised counseling as part of their ACBC membership process. Prerequisite: BC501, BC531, BC503, BC511, BC502, BC512,
BC521, BC590/591 (BC580).
BC557 - Counseling & PhysiologyThis course addresses a biblical view of medical issues, involving biological and psychosomatic diseases, syndromes, and illnesses. The spiritual and physical aspects of counseling will also be addressed.
BC560 - Biblical Conflict ReconciliationThis course is designed to help the student think biblically about conflict and how to respond to conflicts in a way the glorifies the Lord. In particular, the student will be taught a model and a plan for how to think about struggles in relationships and evaluate their own typical patters of response. These principles apply to business and the church but there will be special focus on handling marriage difficulties.
BC580 - Counseling Observation & PracticumThis course consists of observations and discussions of counseling sessions and practice in counseling by correspondence. It is designed to help the student learn practical skills in counseling by observation, evaluation, critique, discussion and actual practice. Prerequisite: BC501, BC531, BC503, BC511.
BC592 - Applied Soul Care IThis is a supervised and evaluated internship, consisting of at least two actual counseling sessions per week, and a total of 25 hours of counseling. Prerequisites: All core courses.
BC593 - Applied Soul Care IIThis course continues the internship experience requirement of BC592 with another term of supervision and evaluated internship, consisting of at least two actual counseling sessions per week, and a total of 25 hours of counseling. Prerequisites: All core courses.
BC598 - Thesis ResearchThis research course requires the student to produce and defend a counseling topic in a seminar format on campus. The defense must deliver biblically researched solutions to a precise counseling problem, taking the form of a 20-to-30 page, fully-documented outline. Thesis topics are approved by the Thesis Coordinator; research is pursued under an appointed faculty advisor. The course entails (1) getting an approved thesis topic, (2) developing an approved research outline, and (3) defending that thesis in our research symposium. Prerequisites: All core courses.
Sample of MABC Elective CoursesBC518 - Counseling From ProverbsThis course is an expositional study of the book of Proverbs with its special relevance to counseling. Prerequisite: BC501, BC531.
BC519 - Counseling From EcclesiastesThis course is designed to help the counselor to work with individuals who are struggling with a materialistic cosmology. Prerequisite: BC501, BC531.
BC555 - The Biblical Counseling MovementThis course reviews the history of the modern Biblical Counseling Movement and leads students to engage the current leaders through a focus on contemporary issues.
BC572 - Counseling WomenThis course outlines the basic concepts and distinctive features of woman-to-woman biblical counseling, in order to equip women to fulfill their scriptural mandate to mentor/counsel other women and bring ultimate glory to God. It will focus on Gospel-centered counseling in the context of one Christian woman coming alongside another woman with words of truth from God’s Word in the context of relationship to encourage, admonish, comfort, and challenge. Emphasis will be placed on practical principles of gospel application, the qualifications of the biblical counselors, the roles of the counselor in the ministry of the local church, and the key aspects of progressive sanctification.
BC574 - Developing a counseling ministryThis course trains students to establish a Biblical Counseling ministry within a local church or parachurch organization. Special focus is given to models for counseling ministries, strategies for developing counseling personnel, principles from Ecclesiology, successful organizational structures, policies and procedures for operational effectiveness, resources and documentation, and legal matters.
BC575 - Counseling & Legal IssuesBiblical counselors often face many real and often challenging problems involving the law in their counseling. Most are not ready to handle such difficulties and are left scrambling to find help when they come across them. This course helps students understand the basic framework of the legal system and provide them with practical solutions to comply with legal requirements while maintaining biblical fidelity.
BC597 - Practicum in TeachingA faculty-directed practicum concerning the principles and practices of effective teaching of Biblical Counseling in conjunction with a semester-long teaching opportunity. Emphasis will be placed on teaching technique, the learning process, and curricular design. Prerequisite: All core courses.
BC599 - Thesis CompositionThis guided independent research requires the student to advance a thesis, presenting the biblical understanding and counseling methodology for a specific problem that could be encountered in counseling, taking the form of a 100 to 120 page, fully documented paper. Thesis topics are approved by the Department Chair and the Thesis Coordinator; research and composition are pursued under an appointed faculty advisor. Prerequisites: All core courses.