Dec 12, 2024

Academic Catalog - Spring 2023

Academic Catalog - Spring 2023 [ARCHIVED]

Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling

The primary purpose of the Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling program is to equip students for service in vocational counseling ministries in the church or in a parachurch ministry that is properly related to the church. This Seminary program is designed to be completed in a minimum of two to three academic years. Candidates for this degree should consult with Biblical Counseling faculty before beginning their program of study.

Philosophy of the Biblical Counseling Program

Under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and for the glory of His name, the counseling programs at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary are committed to equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission through the ministry of Biblical Counseling. We will provide Christians who are called to the ministry of counseling the training and experience that is needed to explain and apply the authoritative and sufficient written Word of God in a clinically informed manner.

The guiding foundation for SEBTS’s Biblical Counseling program is that the Holy Scriptures are the written Word of the Living God and are necessary for understanding people as spiritual, moral, relational, and psychological beings (2 Timothy 3:14-17; Psalm 1). SEBTS’s counseling program prepares students to counsel from within the framework of a biblical anthropology, developing a biblical, God-related understanding of human problems, and implementing truthful, graceful, timely, relevant, and practical Christ-centered methods of problem-solving and change (Psalm 1:1-2; Hebrews 4:12-13).

Read the full central affirmations of Southeastern’s Biblical Counseling Program.

Degree Description

The MDiv B.C. is better preparation for those with long-term local church ministry goals. The MA in B.C. is for those who will be specializing primarily in vocational counseling ministries. Pastoral candidates seeking a specialization in counseling ministries are advised to complete both the MDiv following the Pastoral Ministry track and the MA in B.C. The Registrar can help a student design a program of study leading to the completion of both degrees.

Students seeking professional licensure will need to complete additional hours of academic and practical training beyond those offered in either the MDiv B.C. or the MA in B.C. degrees. Southeastern also offers several courses that are intended to be a part of the preparation for state-approved professional board licensure or certification. Course requirements vary from state to state, so the student is responsible to be aware of their state’s criterion and to take the courses that are necessary for that particular licensing or certifying board. These courses are not necessary for the degree (although they may be used to fulfill an elective requirement). We do not believe it is necessary or prudent for church-based counselors to be licensed by state-approved professional boards. The purpose of these courses is to prepare students for missional engagement with the mental health culture. We recommend that those who desire to pursue these optional courses have completed a bachelors degree with a major or minor in psychology and then discuss this with a SEBTS counseling professor to evaluate the student’s vocational objectives and make sure they are consistent with our program philosophy and goals.

Admission Requirements

Admission to this program is limited to persons holding a Bachelors degree or its equivalent who also meet all other admission requirements for the seminary.

Degree Requirements

Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling (MA B.C.) students complete 34 semester hours of core studies and 31 semester hours of counseling courses for a total of 65 credit hours with an overall GPA of 2.0 or better.

*NOTE: In the MA Core, Biblical Counseling students take BCO 7900 - Counseling Practicum Mentorered Internship as an approved substitution for PMN7900.

Master of Arts Core - 34 Hours

Theological Studies Selective (3)

Choose one of the following courses:

ETH 5100 - Introduction to Christian Ethics 3 semester hr(s).
PHI 5100 - Christian Philosophy: Worldview, Western Thought, and Apologetics 3 semester hr(s).

Christian History (3)

HIS 5130 - Baptist History: Identity, Heritage, and Polity 3 semester hr(s).

Bible Exposition (3)

Choose one of the following courses:

CED 6300 - Bible Exposition for Ministry to Women I 3 semester hr(s).
PRS 6100 - Bible Exposition I: Hermeneutics and Preparation 3 semester hr(s).

Ministry Studies (6)

EVA 6610 - Personal Discipleship & Disciple-making 3 semester hr(s).
MIS 5000 - Introduction to Great Commission Studies 3 semester hr(s).

Biblical Counseling - 31 Hours

Biblical Counseling (15)

BCO 6000 - Foundations for Counseling 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 6551 - Counseling Individuals with Problematic Emotions 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 6552 - Counseling Individuals and Families with Addiction and Trauma 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 6560 - Marital and Pre-marital Counseling 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 6570 - Counseling Parents and Children 3 semester hr(s).

Counseling Practicum (10)

BCO 7500 - Practicum Preparation Lab 1 semester hr.

Choose three of the following courses:

BCO 7501 - Counseling Practicum I 3 semester hr(s). *
BCO 7502 - Counseling Practicum II 3 semester hr(s). *
BCO 7503 - Counseling Practicum III 3 semester hr(s). * ^
BCO 7900 - Counseling Practicum Mentorered Internship 3 semester hr(s).

Biblical Counseling Selectives (6)

Choose two of the following courses:

BCO 6500 - Counseling Theory 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 6610 - Clinical Research for Marriage and Family Counseling 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 6620 - Family Systems: History and Theory 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 6630 - Family Systems: Contemporary Approaches to Family Therapy 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 6890 - Developmental Issues Across the Life Span 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 6950 - Psychopathology: Assessment and Diagnosis 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 7120 - Ethical and Professional Issues in Family and Individual Counseling 3 semester hr(s).
BCO 7130 - Evidence-Based Practices for Counseling 3 semester hr(s).

Notes:

*Students will be required to complete a grand total of 120 hours of supervised counseling while taking these three skills implementation courses (BCO7501, 7502, and 7900/7503). Supervision is to be understood in a broad sense and will occur with progressive forms and degrees of oversight/monitoring.

^Students in this degree will complete 10 hours of personal counseling with a counselor that has a least a Master’s degree in counseling, is appropriately credentialed, and has at least 5 years of counseling experience. Students should verify that their counselor satisfies these requirements, prior to beginning their counseling, by submitting their counselor and their qualifications for approval by the counseling program coordinator. Upon termination of counseling, a letter of completion by their counselor must be submitted to the counseling program coordinator. This letter of completion must be submitted in order to register for Practicum III (which ideally is the student’s last semester).