Usually students must first earn a bachelor's degree and finish a seminary program before beginning their studies leading to a pastoral counseling degree. Then they work on a master's of divinity degree for pastoral counseling. Students working on this degree are trained in psychology while they continue their theology education. They may earn a master's or doctorate in mental health studies. Their studies typically include concentrations in studies of human development and personality, marriage, family and community dynamics, interpersonal dynamics, cultural systems and research methods.
A major portion of the time involved in working for a pastoral counseling degree is devoted to clinical training. To be certified by the American Association of Pastoral Counseling students need at least 1,375 hours of supervised clinical experience in post-graduate training in which a counselor provides therapy to individuals, groups, families. A degree also involves completing 250 hours of working in both long-term and crisis situations under an approved therapist's supervision.
Many schools offer programs leading to degrees in pastoral counseling. A few of these schools include Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland, Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and College in Kansas City, Missouri, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, Wesley College in Florence, Mississippi, New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan, as well as many others.
Other schools, such as Argosy University, offer online degrees in pastoral counseling. Pastoral counseling degrees can be rather specific. There are specialized online degrees for marriage counseling, in addition to degrees for working with people struggling with problems including depression, financial problems, addictions and parenting problem children.
The Rev. Anton Boison, father of clinical pastoral counseling, first bridged the gap between mental health and faith in 1925 with his Counseling Pastoral Education program. In the 1930s psychiatrist Dr. Smiley Blanton, and well-known minister Dr. Norman Vincent Peale collaborated, furthering the pastoral counseling movement. In 1963 the American Association of Pastoral Counselors was founded to certify pastoral counselors. The number of certified AAPC pastoral counselorss has tripled from the mid-1970s to today.