What is Southwestern College?

Founded in 1976, Southwestern College (SC) is a fully accredited, private, nonprofit graduate school educating mental health professionals. With record enrollment of 170 students, SC offers masters degrees in Counseling, Art Therapy and Counseling with a Concentration in Grief & Loss. The Art Therapy degree program is one of 27 programs nationwide approved by the American Art Therapy Association. The Grief, Loss and Trauma counseling degree program is one of two such programs in the nation. SC also offers professional certificates and community education programs for licensed mental health professionals and the general public.

Whom do we serve?

Since 1986, SC has operated the Southwestern Counseling Center in Santa Fe, which provides a wide range of high quality art therapy and mental health counseling services to over 600 residents of northern New Mexico each year. The clientele is 60% female, 42% minorities and 79% report incomes of less than $20,000. The number of client sessions increased by 80% during the past year and no one is ever turned away because of an inability to pay the modest fee. In addition, SC student interns are providing over 40,000 hours of counseling and art therapy services to hundreds of New Mexico residents each year through a network of 90 nonprofit mental health agencies while they prepare to join the growing demand for qualified mental health professionals. This represents an annual contribution valued at $2.3 million of free counseling services to the mental health and well being of New Mexicans, especially the population that has the least access and can least afford mental health services.

Why is SC qualified for your support?

SC is governed by a nine member Board of Trustees and has 15 full-time faculty and staff and 30 part-time faculty members, all with advanced degrees and years of professional experience. In addition, SC has over 450 graduates with master’s degrees serving agencies and schools throughout New Mexico and the nation, helping to transform the lives of their clients. The SC budget is $1.8 million, with 90% from tuition and 10% from fundraising and grants. Community support is growing, and the leadership of SC has been with the College for over 20 years. The physical facilities (6 buildings on 2.5 acres) require expansion to accommodate the increasing enrollment while maintaining the unique approach to transformational education and small class size. SC has a total economic impact of over $11 million each year in Santa Fe.