March 25, 2002
Truett to offer counseling degree for ministers
___By John Hall
___Staff Writer
___WACO--Truett Theological Seminary will offer a joint counseling degree with Baylor University's department of educational psychology to better prepare students for ministerial positions.
___The degree was created in response to numerous student requests for more counseling classes, according to Richard Watts, who designed the majority of the program. Students want more information about how to counsel people because it will be a cornerstone of their planned ministry, he said.
___The faith-based curriculum will help students understand how to undertake two important variables in counseling--accessing the strength and abilities of the client and building a strong client-counselor relationship, Watts said. Utilizing a person's faith to solve a problem allows a counselor easier access to the client, he said.
___"The advantage of counseling from a Christian perspective is that in working with Christians, they want you to use their spirituality to help them," Watts said. "Other approaches essentially leave a member of their family out, namely God. Working from the client's religious perspectives, you are addressing that which gives their life meaning."
___The curriculum, which is one of three joint degree programs offered by the seminary, is one of the benefits of attending a seminary connected to a large Baptist university, said David Garland, associate dean for academic affairs at Truett. However, the program is meant to train students for ministry in the church and not to be private counselors.
___"Jesus did not call us to go out and counsel the world but to make disciples," he said. "Counseling expertise is of value if it helps in that task."
___The joint degree will give students some latitude in their careers as well as give them options that otherwise may have been closed to them, Garland suggested.
___"Having a master of science in education degree would allow missionaries to enter into countries which would not welcome someone with only a master of divinity," he said. "It can also give graduates expertise for ministries where counseling is important such as youth ministry, college ministry, pastoral care."
___The degree plan maintains the core curriculum of Truett but also includes 48 hours within the counseling program. By completing the degree, the graduate will meet the academic requirements to be licensed in the state of Texas. The graduate would then need 3,000 supervised hours of work to meet state licensing requirements. Insurance companies require a counselor to be licensed before they will consider paying for treatment.
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