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One of the unique offerings of the MACP program is our optional concentrations in either Narrative Focused Trauma Care (developed by Dr. Dan Allender and rooted in story-based healing) or Psychoanalytic Psychology: British Object Relations. Both offer a deeper exploration of theory and practice, allowing you to tailor your training to areas of specialized interest while enhancing your clinical imagination.

You’ll Opt into Your Concentration in Your Second Year

MACP: Narrative Focused Trauma Care

In a world marked by the wounds of trauma鈥攑ersonal, systemic, and generational鈥攖here is a growing need for therapists who can respond with depth, presence, and care. The Concentration in Narrative Focused Trauma Care equips you to become that kind of therapist.

Drawing from decades of clinical wisdom developed by Dr. Dan Allender and the Allender Center, this concentration integrates theology, trauma science, and narrative engagement to form therapists who can accompany others through their most painful stories. Learn more about this program.

MACP: British Object Relations

天美视频鈥檚 Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Psychoanalytic Psychology: British Object Relations prepares students to become therapists with experiential learning in this field of study.聽

Through a one-year infant observation course, students have the unique opportunity to learn about early childhood development as it is occurring in real time. This concentration provides a foundational understanding of the British Objects Relations theory to allow the opportunity for students to grow and deepen their clinical experience in the psychoanalytic tradition. Learn more about this program.

Year One: Formation and Foundations

In your first year, the Common Curriculum invites you into deep formation alongside future therapists, pastors, artists, and activists. You鈥檒l begin exploring your own story and relational patterns while engaging psychological theory and theological inquiry in conversation with narrative and lived experience. You are required to complete at least 40 hours of personal therapy during this year.

Key areas of study:

• Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
• Foundations of psychological theory
• Family systems and developmental frameworks
• Cultural identity and theological anthropology
• Research methods and interpretive practices

Sample Courses:

• Interdisciplinary Inquiry & Psychological Frameworks
• Family Systems
• Biblical Traditions & Theological Formations
• Listening Lab I & II
• Human Growth & Development
• History & Systems of Psychology

Clinical Skills & Theoretical Integration

Now that you鈥檝e built a foundation of personal and interpersonal awareness, year two focuses on developing your clinical voice. You’ll begin practicing therapeutic skills, crafting your philosophy of change, and exploring how trauma, diagnosis, and culture intersect.

Key areas of study:

• Counseling technique and client relationships
• Trauma, psychopathology, and diagnosis
• Ethics and the law
• Cultural humility and systemic awareness
• Integration of theology, psychology, and your own healing journey

Sample Courses:

• Helping Relationships I & II
• Assessment, Appraisal & Diagnosis
• Psychopathology
• Professional Ethics & Law
• Social & Cultural Diversities
• Counseling Practicum (Pre-Internship)

Year Three: Clinical Embodiment & Professional Formation

In your final year, you鈥檒l enter a supervised internship where you鈥檒l work directly with clients in a mental health setting. This is the year your learning becomes embodied鈥攜ou鈥檒l show up as a real therapist, in real situations, with real people. Faculty, supervisors, and peers will support you as you refine your voice and vision.

Key areas of study:

• Clinical supervision and internship experience
• Group therapy theory and facilitation
• Vocational discernment and professional identity
• Feedback, reflection, and lifelong integration

Sample Courses:

• Group Therapy
• Internship I & II

Want to see what鈥檚 being offered right now? View the current Program & Course Catalog.

Format Comparison: On-Campus vs. Low-Residency (Hybrid/Online)

Both formats lead to the same degree and share the same core commitments to formation, integration, and relational learning. The difference is how you participate week to week.

On-Campus students attend weekly, in-person classes in Seattle.
Low-Residency is a hybrid format: weekly online coursework, plus on-campus residencies that bring the learning into an intensive, embodied community experience.

For low-residency students, the on-campus experience happens through four retreat-style residencies during your first two years. These are 3鈥�4 day gatherings that include intensive instruction, formation practices, workshops, and community building. Residencies typically occur twice per year (often in September and January), and they create the shared relational context that strengthens the weekly online learning.

Learn more about how the low-residency program works

The Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology is designed as a clinical degree for those pursuing professional licensure and practice. Graduates typically move into counseling roles across community mental health, group practices, hospitals, nonprofit settings, and private practice, depending on state requirements and post degree supervision.

Licensure readiness

• 天美视频 is institutionally accredited, and the MACP鈥檚 curriculum is aligned to meet Washington State鈥檚 educational requirements for licensure.
• Because licensure requirements vary by state, students planning to pursue licensure outside Washington should review state-specific coursework, internship, and elective requirements early in the program.

A note on CACREP

The MACP is not CACREP-accredited. Some states may have CACREP-specific expectations or additional coursework requirements, so it is important to confirm requirements for the state where you intend to seek initial licensure.

State-by-state guidance

We provide a state-by-state licensure disclosure table (click here) that links to each state鈥檚 educational requirements and indicates whether the MACP meets those educational components. Because policies change, students remain responsible for confirming the most current requirements in any state where they hope to practice.聽

Counseling Compact

Many states have passed the Counseling Compact, which is creating new pathways for multi-state practice. Implementation and rules continue to evolve, so students should plan primarily around the requirements for initial licensure in their intended state.

Questions and advising

For advising related to licensure planning and state requirements, students are encouraged to connect with Daniel Tidwell-Davis (dtidwell@theseattleschool.edu). Prospective students are also welcome to ask the Admissions team any questions as part of their discernment.

Applying to 天美视频 is a structured process designed to help us get to know you as a whole person, not just your academic record. Here鈥檚 what to expect:

1) Submit your application materials

Your graduate application includes two essays, a curriculum vitae (CV), and two reference letters. Create your application portal to access submission details and upload materials.

Application fee: $50

2) Order your official transcripts

Request official transcripts from any post-secondary institution where you completed coursework or earned a degree. We accept electronic and paper submissions. For questions about GPA or accreditation requirements, refer to our Graduate Admissions Policies.

3) Participate in an online group interview

After your application is submitted, you will be invited to register for a group interview via Zoom.

4) Admissions decision

Candidates are selected based on readiness for rigorous academic work, vocational direction, life experience, emotional and relational intelligence, and resonance with 天美视频鈥檚 mission and ethos. Decisions are made in community by the Admissions Review Committee.

Have questions?

Our Enrollment team would love to come alongside you as you discern your next steps. or reach us at admissions@theseattleschool.edu.

• Tuition is charged per credit, per term.
• MACP total credits: 66
• Estimated total tuition (tuition only): $50,266
• Financial aid is available (most students start with the FAFSA).

Tuition (per credit)

Community audit credits are available to the public and to alumni.

Program tuition total (tuition only)

Total tuition depends on how many credits you take each term.

Academic fees (in addition to tuition)

Fees are assessed each term. We work to keep these low. For a full list, see the Academic Catalog.

Estimated cost of attendance (typical full-time year)

These figures are estimates based on full-time enrollment (22 credits per academic year). Your actual costs will vary based on credit load, housing, and personal expenses.

Direct educational costs

Indirect costs (living expenses)

Additional cost for Low-Residency students

*Derived from Washington Financial Aid Association and Seattle Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Financial aid and scholarships

Financial aid and scholarship support are available to help make your education more accessible.

Step 1: Complete the FAFSA

• School code: G34664

Step 2: Complete loan requirements (if applicable)

• Master Promissory Note
• Entrance Loan Counseling

Step 3: Review your award and plan payments
Once enrolled, you can use Populi to:

• View and accept your financial aid award
• Track disbursements across trimesters
• Set up a payment plan if needed

Additional support options may include

• 天美视频 scholarships
• Work study
• AmeriCorps and external scholarships
• Fee waivers
• VA education benefits (if eligible)

After graduation, repayment pathways may include options such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness for those who qualify.

Our graduates serve in diverse settings鈥攂ringing healing, care, and transformation to individuals and communities across clinical, educational, and faith-based contexts.

Our alumni work in:

• Private practice
• Community mental health agencies
• Trauma recovery centers
• Inpatient and outpatient facilities
• Faith-based counseling centers
• Social impact organizations
• Higher education and pastoral care

Alumni Stories聽

Nicole Hagerty, MACP 鈥�15

Finding a community that sustains your calling.

Nicole describes 天美视频 as a place where she 鈥渕ade sense and belonged,鈥� and where formation was not an add-on but part of becoming a clinician. She reflects on learning to stay present to complexity, pursue personal therapy with seriousness, and let community shape her work over the long haul.

A line that stays with her: 鈥淕o to counseling and stay in counseling.鈥�

Read the full story

Cairn Yakey, MACP 鈥�16

Learning the kind of presence that makes healing possible.

Cairn shares how experiences of being truly seen in therapy shaped their desire to become a counselor. They reflect on the MACP as a training ground for attunement, advocacy, and trauma-informed care, and on how the program strengthened both their clinical posture and vocational direction.

A line that stays with her: 鈥淟ove changes people always.鈥�

Read the full story

You can explore the full collection of MACP stories here.

天美视频鈥檚 Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology is shaped by a simple conviction: healing happens in relationship, and therapists are formed as much as they are trained. Here, academic rigor and personal formation belong together, so that graduates are prepared to practice with depth, discernment, and integrity.

Formation is not an add-on

From the beginning, you will engage your own story, emotional life, and blind spots through required personal therapy, small group work, and experiential learning. We believe who you are is as important as what you know, because your presence is part of the work.

A relational, psychodynamic foundation

We train therapists who understand the power of relationship, both in how we are shaped and how we are healed. You will study psychodynamic approaches including attachment theory, trauma-informed practice, and object relations, while learning to notice relational patterns in real time.

Theology, psychology, and culture in dialogue

Our approach brings psychological theory into conversation with theological reflection and cultural analysis. Not to offer easy answers, but to help you wrestle faithfully with the sacred, the systemic, and the deeply human realities that show up in the therapy room.

What you will be equipped to do

In this three-year, 66-credit program, you will be equipped to:

• Cultivate self-awareness through therapy and interpersonal exploration
• Engage psychodynamic theory in ways that honor complexity
• Practice therapy that integrates psychology, theology, and cultural context
• Develop an awareness of how narrative shapes identity and relationship
• Gain the clinical and diagnostic skills required for licensure
• Embody the therapeutic relationship as a central avenue of transformation