New Track in the M.A. in Pastoral Care and Counseling Degree to Offer a Trauma-Informed Approach to Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care

October 26, 2021

Beginning Fall 2022, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary will offer a new track in chaplaincy and spiritual care within its master of arts in pastoral care and counseling (MAPCC) degree. Best for those discerning ministry outside of professional counseling settings, the chaplaincy and spiritual care track will equip students for hospital, military, movement, prison, hospice, first responder, campus, and urban ministry. Upon completion, students will also fulfill the academic requirements for associate certified chaplain certification through the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc.

“The need and urgency for chaplains and spiritual guides to provide emotional and psychological support has grown exponentially,” said Dr. Rodolfo Nolasco, Jr., director of the MAPCC program and the Rueben P. Job Professor of Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Theology. “Garrett-Evangelical has the capacity, faculty, and resources to be able to meet this pressing need. Through an integrated approach of psychology, theology, spirituality, and cognitive disciplines, students will explore what it means to be fully human and how best to address the suffering that is all around us in order for persons and communities to flourish.”

The chaplaincy and spiritual care track was designed specifically to increase and deepen one’s self-awareness while developing skills in interpersonal, contextual, and institutional engagements. Graduates of the MAPCC in chaplaincy and spiritual care will be able to:

1. Demonstrate general knowledge of Scripture, history and doctrine, practices of the Christian traditions
2. Demonstrate knowledge of theological and psychological foundations of human persons and communities
3. Demonstrate the ability to analyze gender, racial, economic structures that shape human beings in the practice of pastoral care and counseling, chaplaincy, and spiritual care
4. Demonstrate self-awareness and on-going commitments to pastoral identity formation
5. Demonstrate the capacity for critical, reflective, faithful, and creative thinking in the ministry of pastoral care and counseling
6. Demonstrate competencies for effective person-and-community-centered and trauma-informed approach to chaplaincy and spiritual care across ministry contexts.

On November 17, 2021, at 11 a.m. (CST), a launch event, titled “Chaplain at Work,” will be held for all who desire to learn more about the MAPCC chaplaincy and spiritual care track. Nolasco and Rev. Michael Washington, Chaplain and CPE Supervisor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, will lead this virtual information session. To register now, go to Garrett.edu/ChaplainAtWork.

The MAPCC program is a graduate degree focused on integrating theology with psychological theories to address human suffering and facilitate the healing and flourishing of persons and communities. In addition, to the chaplaincy and spiritual formation track, Garrett-Evangelical will continue to offer the clinical track that fulfills the educational requirements for licensure as a licensed professional counselor with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. To learn more, go to Garrett.edu/MAPCC.

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, a graduate school of theology related to The United Methodist Church, was founded in 1853. Located on the campus of Northwestern University, the seminary serves more than 450 students from various denominations and cultural backgrounds, fostering an atmosphere of ecumenical interaction. Garrett-Evangelical creates bold leaders through master of divinity, master of arts, master of theological studies, doctor of philosophy, and doctor of ministry degrees. Its 4,500 living alumni serve church and society around the world.