MA Psychology, Systems Counseling Specialization

The Master of Arts degree program in Psychology, specializing in Systems Counseling, is academically and personally rigorous. Your education at LIOS Graduate College is designed to build confidence and resiliency by encouraging you to practice your learning inside and outside of class, in the crucible of lived experience.

The Psychology MA program at LIOS Graduate College prepares you for an outstanding career as a licensed mental health counselor or a licensed marriage and family therapist. In their internship settings, LIOS students consistently receive high ratings, especially for their self-awareness and the capacity to artfully engage in the therapeutic relationship with clients. This focus on developing the self of the therapist, creatively engaging in relationships with clients, and blending systemic counseling theories with solid skills lies at the heart of the Systems Counseling program.

Multiple models of counseling theory are taught with an emphasis on developing the specific competencies of the therapist: the art of joining and active listening, creating resiliency within a family system, and crafting conversations of possibility and change. Throughout the two-year program, Psychology students are also introduced to subjects critical to understanding human behavior. Human Development, Sexuality, and Assessment and Diagnosis are just some of the courses that help you become a Systems Counselor of Psychology. LIOS students also learn about the professional life of the therapist by studying ethics, laws and current issues within the mental health field.

In addition to the academic program, students will participate in internships during their second year. The nine-to-eighteen-month supervised clinical internships, set up in a variety of community settings, require a total of 600 hours of internship time. Students are also in ongoing consultation groups with faculty consultants and peers concurrent with the internship.

All LIOS Graduate College Psychology faculty have years of clinical experience and training and have active clinical practices within the Seattle area. Faculty publications include books and journal articles on counseling theory, marriage and family therapy, the training of therapists, family of origin therapy, and systems consultation.

 

The LIOS Graduate College curriculum currently meets education requirements within the state of Washington for licensure as a Mental Health Counselor and meets curriculum requirements for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist with the addition of one elective course, also offered by LIOS Graduate College. Graduates who are licensed as Marriage and Family Therapists with the state of Washington qualify for membership with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).
 

For information relating to post-Master's degree licensing requirements contact:

• Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) - Mental Health Division
   
• Licensure information for Marriage and Family therapists
   
• Licensure information for Mental Health Counselors