The program is committed to both (1) preparing counseling psychologists for advanced doctoral studies in psychology and (2) providing training and experience that prepare students for practice. Its goal is to train psychologists who have a sound knowledge of the bases of counseling and psychotherapy. Adopting a multicultural perspective, the program also emphasizes the importance of multicultural competence in both research and practice.

To qualify as a professional psychologist or psychotherapist, a student may be required to complete additional education and licensure proceedings, depending on the national requirements of the country in which he/she wishes to work. According to Greek law 4093/2012 and subsequent regulations [Government Gazettes: 229/19.11.12, 3324/12.12.12 and 258/08.12.2014], degrees awarded for programs of studies accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC, Webster’s accreditation body), are eligible for recognition of professional equivalency to degrees awarded by the Greek standard system of higher education.

Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Explain the main approaches to counseling and psychotherapy and the role of the therapeutic relationship.
• Describe important theories of human development and examine their significance to counseling psychology.
• Discuss the major categories of psychological disorders and use this knowledge to assess and diagnose psychopathology.
• Describe the mechanisms of action for a variety of psychopharmacological agents and evaluate the role of psychopharmacology in counseling psychology.
• Describe the importance of professional ethics and demonstrate how ethical standards and legal requirements are relevant to the practice of counseling and psychotherapy.
• Administer and interpret various widely-used psychological tests.
• Construct the appropriate research design, collect data and implement the necessary statistical techniques to answer research questions relevant to counseling psychology which add to the discipline.
• Demonstrate practical counseling skills that can be applied to individuals and groups to address a broad range of issues and settings.
• Integrate theory, experience, behavioral observation and analysis to systematically enhance counseling knowledge and skills.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of various counseling approaches to the different cultures, values and world-views of various clients and thereby choose appropriate approaches.

The 48 credit hours required to complete the MA in psychology with an emphasis in counseling psychology program are distributed as follows:

Requirements for admission to the psychology (MA) with an emphasis in counseling psychology program include:

• A bachelor’s degree in psychology from a recognized university or equivalent.
• A cumulative GPA of a 3.0 from the applicant’s undergraduate degree granting institution.
• Completion of undergraduate coursework in the following areas: (1) introductory or general psychology, (2) statistics, (3) research methods or experimental psychology.
• Preference in the admission process will be given for applicants demonstrating completed coursework in the following areas: (1) social psychology, (2) biological psychology, neuropsychology or physiological psychology, (3) personality theory, (4) human development or developmental psychology, (5) abnormal psychology.
• Submission of a curriculum vitae* that includes prior employment and related experience.
• Submission of two letters of recommendation* from persons familiar with applicant’s professional and academic experience, and one academic reference.
• A personal statement* of approximately 600 words describing the applicant’s academic and professional goals, and reasons for applying for the program.
• A required personal interview with senior program faculty members prior to admission decision.

*These required materials must be electronically uploaded to the application account.