MC Specializations

There are three specializations offered in the Master of Counselling program.

• Master of Counselling: Counselling Psychology
• Master of Counselling: Career Counselling
• Master of Counselling: Art Therapy

For information about specific courses in each of these specializations, please see the GCAP website.

Counselling Psychology

Students in all specializations may be able to license as psychologists depending on the selection of courses and their academic background. The courses in the Counselling Psychology Specialization, however, are designed to meet the graduate course requirements for licensing with the College of Alberta Psychologists. Students from other provinces are encouraged check with their provincial regulatory body for course and program requirements. Provisions will be made for students to obtain, as additional electives, other courses required to qualify to begin the licensing process.

Students in this stream are encouraged to have a stronger psychology background than students in other streams. In order to meet the total of 72 psychology credits required by the College of Alberta Psychologists, students should ideally enter the program with 36 credits in psychology or educational psychology.

Students without a comprehensive psychology background may be admitted to the program, but will require additional undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate course work to meet the academic requirements for licensing. Courses are offered through Athabasca University to enable students to meet these additional academic requirements. Students may also be required to pick up prerequisites for particular graduate courses.

Career Counselling

This specialization is on hold and is not currently accepting students.

The career counselling specialization will provide the specialized knowledge and skills needed to offer quality career development services. Career counsellors assist individuals, groups, or communities to achieve greater self-awareness, develop a life and work direction, increase understanding of learning and work opportunities, and become self-directed in managing learning, work, and transitions.

Professionals with this specialization may end up working in human resource development, career education, career counselling, employment counselling, and community rehabilitation. They may also provide training in personal but job-related areas, such as job-search, interviewing, self-exploration, time management, anger management, and entrepreneurship. Career practitioners may work in schools, post-secondary institutions, private vocational colleges, community-based agencies, private practice, federal and provincial government departments, organizations like Workers' Compensation, private agencies, human resources departments in larger businesses, and joint labour-business partnerships.

Art Therapy*

Students in the Art Therapy Specialization take art therapy courses through the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute (VATI). VATI was established in 1982 and is accredited by the Private Career Training Institutions Agency (PCTIA) of British Columbia. VATI offers a Graduate Level Diploma Program in Art Therapy. Students in the Master of Counselling: Art Therapy (MC:AT) take core program courses through GCAP and then access several specialization courses through VATI. The VATI courses are recognized for transfer credit into the Athabasca University MC:AT.

The MC:AT is designed to provide students with both a solid foundation in counselling practice as well as specialized training in Art Therapy. Art Therapy provides individuals with an opportunity to explore personal problems and potentials through painting, sculpture, or drawing. The symbolic communication of emotions and experiences through art leads naturally into other more traditional verbal forms of counselling processes. Applicants to the Art Therapy Specialization must have an abnormal psychology course, either undergraduate or graduate level. Students may be admitted to the program without this prerequisite if they meet all other program prerequisites; however, it must be completed before they begin any of the art therapy components of the program.

* This program is offered under the written consent of the Minister of Advanced Education effective February 24, 2014, having undergone a quality assessment process and been found to meet the criteria established by the minister. Nevertheless, prospective students are responsible for satisfying themselves that the program and the degree will be appropriate to their needs (for example, acceptable to potential employers, professional licensing bodies, or other educational institutions). Reconfirmed March 27, 2014.