Holistic Graduate Programs Mission:
The holistic graduate programs in counseling and leadership are designed to prepare professional counselors and leadership specialists with a holistic approach to their work. Consonant with the mission of the University, the holistic graduate programs seek to help students learn and understand how to observe, evaluate, and incorporate the integration of body, mind, and spirit into their personal and professional lives. The program defines integration and wholeness as an essential expression of personal and system well-being, compassion, and social justice. Three options are housed within holistic graduate programs: Master of Arts in Holistic Counseling, Master of Arts in Holistic Leadership, and The Expressive and Creative Arts Certificate Programs. Each provides career path options designed to meet program goals and student needs.
Based on the program vision of a five-level helix model, we integrate the following perspectives into program philosophy and course curriculum: personal development skills, one-to-one counseling and helping skills; small system skills; large system skills; and global system skills. Holistic counselors in training and holistic leadership specialists in training are presented with the idea that personal and system wholeness depends upon connectedness with the human community and with the natural world that supports it. In recognition of our interconnectedness, courses address approaches through the body, the cognitive emotional and the spirit. Emphasis is on wellness, with symptoms seen as calls toward self-realization and system wholeness.
This program is designed for future counselors and leaders to function as agents of support for individuals, groups, and whole systems in times of change. The primary goal is to develop well-trained master’s level practitioners capable of working effectively with individuals, groups, and larger systems in ways that reflect the program’s philosophy, the University mission and our changing world. The holistic graduate programs facilitate student mastery of theoretical material related to a holistic perspective, the counseling process as a practical art, and leadership skill development as a transformative process of change.
Holistic Graduate Programs give students the opportunity to develop a strong sense of professional identity and gain skills and expertise in the profession. Courses present the knowledge and skills required to understand, perform, and apply research. Faculty and staff provide tools to aid in certification, licensure and job placement. In alignment with our philosophy and the Salve Regina mission, all courses provide a strong base for understanding the diverse views and cultures within professional environments and the client populations we serve.
Student Mission Effectiveness Statement:
As a student of Salve Regina University, I have chosen to join a community of learners who strive to work for a world that is harmonious, just and merciful. I pledge to uphold the University’s mission and its standard of scholarship. In doing so I will:
- Assume responsibility for my education by exercising personal and academic honesty.
- Strive to become a lifelong learner and a responsible citizen of the world.
- Promote mercy and justice by respecting the dignity and rights of all.
- Recognize and learn to appreciate the unique giftedness of each person.
- Aspire to grow in wisdom and spirituality.
In fulfilling this commitment, I expect to have an experience in higher education that uniquely marks me as a student and graduate of Salve Regina University.