Counseling Programs
At a Glance
Certificates
Specialized Training
* Masters programs are eight semesters for students in our fall cohorts or 10 semesters for students in our spring cohorts. There are three semesters per year (fall, spring and summer).
Hope Heals
Counseling is more than a career. It’s a calling that will connect you with individuals and families – sometimes for days, sometimes for years – as they navigate life in a quest for understanding and hope.
At George Fox, we’ll show you how to be fully present with people in their time of need. You’ll broaden your perspectives in a diverse learning community, deepen your knowledge under the guidance of faculty mentors and learn how to care for the spiritual, emotional and social needs of the clients you serve.
This is your chance to create a safe space. For kids to grow. For families to mend. For people grappling with loss and struggling to move forward. Guide them through the darkness and bring hope to light.
George Fox University also offers graduate programs in psychology and social work.
Create Clarity. Restore Inner Peace.
Become a source of transformation in the lives of your clients and a standard bearer for holistic care in your professional network.
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Flexible & Predictable
Get an education that fits your life. Choose from online and in-person courses with predictable schedules designed for the working professional.
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Culturally Informed & Holistic
Explore diverse belief systems with your professors and peers, examine spirituality within the context of counseling practice and learn to care for every dimension of the clients you serve.
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Intellectually & Professionally Transformative
Cultivate your critical thinking skills in a program that meets the highest accreditation standards. You’ll elevate your career trajectory and enhance your standing as an ethical professional.
Advance Your Career. Stay Grounded in Your Life.
Our counseling programs offer consistent and predictable schedules no matter which modality you choose, allowing you to stay employed and lead a full life.
Hybrid Track
Attend in-person classes at our Portland Center on two weekdays and select weekends each term. Enroll in the fall for in-person daytime courses with occasional live Zoom sessions, and complete the program in eight semesters (a little less than three years). Enroll in the spring for in-person weekend courses and live Zoom evening sessions, and finish in 10 semesters (slightly more than three years).
Online Synchronous Track
Attend live Zoom classes on two weekdays and select weekends each term with your digital cohort. Join us at our Portland Center for a two-day intensive residency during your first year and a one-day residency during your final year.
Care for the Whole Person
Dedicate your career to caring for the whole person, including their spiritual side. We’ve created a safe space to explore diverse belief systems and the role they play in people’s lives, and you’ll learn how to talk about these issues with sensitivity and depth in your future practice.
“George Fox created safety by just allowing us as students to have conversations and ask questions that didn't feel judgmental, whether we were talking about Native American religion or Catholicism or Christianity,” says Marchelle Carl, a counselor associate at The Northwest Catholic Counseling Center. “Now I can have better conversations with my clients to really work through healing their whole self and not just a part of themselves.”
Turn Knowledge into Action
Hone your professional skills in state-of-the art clinic simulation spaces and transform lives in personalized internship placements. You’ll also have the option of earning a certificate through the Trauma Response Institute or the Northwest Center for Play Therapy Studies, the largest university-based center of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.
“The most fulfilling thing about my internship through George Fox was the supervisors,” says Tim Ide, a marriage and family therapist associate. “All of them were right on point, and I know other students would say the same thing. At the end of the day, great supervision was huge for me.”
Cultivate Your Intellect. Grow by Leaps and Bounds.
Thrive in a learning community that cultivates intellectual curiosity and fresh perspectives. You’ll bond with students from an array of personal and professional backgrounds and collaborate with faculty mentors who understand the highs and lows of counseling. The insights you gain will transform the way you approach not only your career, but your life.
“At George Fox, rigorous and meaningful courses are delivered in small, intimate classes, and knowledgeable and caring instructors make student success a personal mission,” says Jillianne Williams, children’s pastor and teacher at Roots Early Learning Center. “I developed lasting friendships, personal and professional confidence, and a new view of the world and my role in it.”
Find Your Program
Choose from two master’s programs, two certificates and specialized training:
Sammy Rott
Marriage and Family Therapist graduate student intern
Our curriculum goes beyond counseling history, theory and techniques by focusing on experiential learning in most classes. The counseling program here challenges us to regularly self-reflect in becoming aware of our own biases, understanding what our worldviews are, and how to ethically acknowledge the boundaries of our professional competence.
Questions?
Kelly Peterson
Admissions Counselor, Graduate Counseling Programs