Southwestern College Santa Fe, NM
Why Southwestern College for a Master’s in Counseling?
Let’s get right to it.
- The field of Counseling is becoming increasingly mechanistic and formulaic. “Techniques” and “so-called “Evidence-Based Practices” are fine, as far as they go. But Transformational Counseling will always be about the Therapeutic Relationship, and the Therapeutic Relationship will depend on the therapist’s capacity and willingness to deeply understand themselves first, which then allows them to co-create deep connections with their clients. Decades of research supports the Therapeutic Alliance (and “Readiness for Change”) as the most important factors in therapeutic success. Makes sense to me. The field keeps ignoring that incredible body of research, but it is sitting there, plain as day, for anyone to see.
- Southwestern College focuses on the deep, personal development and transformation of our students as “therapists-in-training.” We don’t just dump or download content or research studies into passive receptacles (grad students), though this is a common model in graduate studies in Counseling. We create experiences that allow our students to develop their own Inner Knower, cultivate their Inner Authority, so that they trust themselves in creating deep, authentic connections with clients, informed by compassion and curiosity, not fear of differentness, or a need to exert false control over the therapeutic journey.
- We fully expect our students to develop a higher consciousness (our mission of “Transforming Consciousness through Education” is not an empty motto around here…) We require them to keep working toward a philosophical homeland, a spiritual awakening, or a re-connection with forgotten parts of their own beings, or souls, or whatever language they want to use for their journey. (We do not prescribe the language—we help you explore your own).
- We are less interested in what kind of information a therapist has, and more interested in what kinds of therapist has the information. Content is clearly acquired in our programs, but content at this point in history (YouTube, Web-based resources) is easily acquired—depth of character and self-knowledge are not. They are cultivated through challenge, in relationship, and that is what we do at Southwestern College.
- We can also report that in our most recent survey of Southwestern College graduates, 99% of the respondents reported that they passed the licensing exam on the first try. Boom. Yeah, that too.
- At Tierra Nueva Counseling Center, you will get to work with great diversity, but more about that in the next Tierra Nueva blog article.
- Oh, and there is LOTS of work in this part of New Mexico (Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and more remote parts as well.) You can stay and work here after graduation. It’s a magical land…
- Here are some examples of what our graduates have been doing over the years:
- And hey—it’s Santa Fe! It is an international art market and award-winning destination, honored by Conde’ Nast and a billion other writers. You can Google it. Heck, I Googled it for you:
So those are only some of the reasons you should get your MA in Counseling at Southwestern College. I didn’t even mention the certificate programs, the diverse faculty, and on and on and on…
I will save those for the next round of writings…
Former SWC President, Jim Nolan, Ph.D., LPCC
