California Institute of Integral Studies
Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, Concentration in Somatic PsychologySan Francisco, USA
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
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EARLIEST START DATE
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STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* 1st Priority deadline: Submit by February 15th at 11:59pm PT for guaranteed review. After this date, some programs may be full and only interview for waitlist spots or not be able to further review applications
Key Summary
Scholarships
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Introduction
Honoring the whole person lived experience
The Somatic Psychology program follows a scholar-practitioner pedagogy, while also emphasizing deep personal inquiry and bodily experience. We embrace a range of disciplines to enhance our work, including neuroscience, traumatology, Jungian psychology, and socio-cultural sensitivity.
Students in the Somatic Psychology program develop an integral approach to counseling psychology that includes evidence-based modalities and a broad understanding of individual and family systems. A range of disciplines are explored, including neuroscience, traumatology, Jungian psychology, and socio-cultural approaches. Clinical skills are emphasized, as well as key academic competencies in research and presentation.
CIIS affirms that successful practitioners must have knowledge of their own responses, reactions, and a sense of meaning as they work with others. Students are expected to enter deeply into their own bodily experience, exploring the capacity for empathy, feeling, and expression. The program also examines the familial, social, and cultural roots that affect each person.
Admissions
Curriculum
The Somatic Psychology curriculum is designed to meet the California Board of Behavioral Sciences requirements for the California Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) license including: 60 total semester units, 6 units of practicum, 12 units in courses explicitly related to family therapy, and classes in psychopathology, substance dependency, professional ethics and the law, and cross-cultural counseling. While states differ in their licensure requirements, California requirements often meet or exceed those of other states.
Students are required to participate in the first-year retreat, and to complete 50 hours of personal psychotherapy with a licensed mental health professional during their course of study.
All students are required to participate in a year-long practicum in their final year of study. The practicum affords students the opportunity to apply learned clinical skills under the supervision of a licensed therapist and to integrate feedback into clinical practice. For those on the MFT track, 225 practicum hours are required for graduation. For those on the LPCC track, the requirement for graduation is 280 practicum hours.
During year two of the program, students will work with our Field Placement Office to research, apply to, and secure a placement that matches their therapeutic interests. The Center for Somatic Psychotherapy, one of CIIS’ six award-winning community mental health clinics, is one option for practicum. Others include schools, hospitals, hospice, community mental health, and child/family settings.
Personal Therapy Requirement
Students are required to complete 50 hours of personal psychotherapy with a licensed mental health professional.
Program Outcome
The Somatic Psychology curriculum has the following three objectives:
- To develop skills sufficient to serve as professional psychotherapists and counselors at the MA level.
- To integrate significant personal growth in the context of the program and will commit to personal development for effective self-use in clinical practice.
- To actively engage in an exploration of their own social attitudes and beliefs, seek to understand differences and their attending power dynamics, and develop competencies in applying diversity sensitivity to their clinical practice.
- To gain a broad and deep knowledge of the scholarship associated with the field of Somatic Psychology, including an understanding of historical and contemporary issues, theories, and approaches.
- To gain an in-depth understanding and capacity to apply Somatic Psychology theory to the clinical practice of Somatic Psychotherapy.