ITP
Graduate Education Integrating Psychology and Spirituality since 1975
theory | training | application
M.A. in Spiritual Guidance The Master’s in Spiritual Guidance (MASG) at ITP is designed for students who have a passionate interest in spirituality and a deep desire to serve as professional spiritual guides or spiritual directors. This program also benefits professionals in counseling, psychotherapy and other related fields who desire additional training to work with clients’ spiritual issues. We live in a religiously and spiritually pluralistic society. The ITP approach to Spiritual Guidance is designed to serve spiritual seekers of all backgrounds, ranging from those deeply involved in specific faith traditions to those who define themselves as spiritual but not religious. With an exciting multi-cultural and multi-faith orientation, ITP provides students with both theoretical and practical training. The MASG curriculum focuses on specialized training to develop spiritual discernment and awareness of psychological issues, cross-cultural sensitivities, and understanding of psychological and spiritual development. Our program is unique in that it focuses on the professional practice of spiritual guidance drawing from a variety of spiritual traditions. This program has been designed by a school of psychology with over 35 years’ experience training counselors and clinicians. The result is a well-rounded and stimulating curriculum with a strong grounding in Transpersonal Psychology and Transpersonal Counseling. To meet the needs of students worldwide, this two-year program requires only three week-long intensives per year in the San Francisco Bay Area, in addition to the online coursework. Throughout the year students work in small, online learning communities taught by leading practitioners in the field. ITP’s academic community includes authors, scholars, artists and ritualists dedicated to intellectual and creative expression within a challenging academic framework. Many of the ITP Spiritual Guidance faculty are licensed clinicians as well as spiritual guides.
Program Highlights • Two-year low-residency program • Dynamic online learning integrated with week-long intensives • Nondenominational spiritual orientation • Master’s thesis project • Practicum & internship training • Mentoring by multi-faith faculty • Program grounded in psychological theory
Career Opportunities • Professional practice in Spiritual Guidance • Spirituality workshops & seminars • Spiritual retreat leadership • Group facilitation: support groups, end of life, life transitions, men and women’s spiritual work • Hospital care for patients & families • School/summer camp youth ministry • Pastoral care for spiritual communities, religious institutions and schools • Spiritual Guidance within a therapeutic practice; for psychotherapists, clergy, body workers, or other practitioners of the healing arts • Spiritually-oriented research • Education and training • Hospice care • Grief work
ITP
Low-Residency Programs: M.A. in Spiritual Guidance “At ITP, I was able to deeply explore personal issues while developing professional and life skills that I will be able to use the rest of my life.” - Anne Huffman, student
Required Coursework
Spiritual Guidance Skills Introduction to Spiritual Guidance Practicum I, Beginning Spiritual Guidance Practicum II, Intermediate Spiritual Guidance Skills Practicum III, Advanced Spiritual Guidance Skills Internship I, II & III: Supervised Professional Practice Right Relationships in Spiritual Guidance Marketing Spiritual Guidance Psychology Skills Jungian Symbology for Spiritual Guidance Lifespan Development Psychosynthesis I & II Cultural Diversity for Spiritual Guidance Focusing Spiritual Guidance, Sexuality & the Divine Erotic
Inner Development for Spiritual Guides Spiritual Practice I, II, III, IV, V, VI & VII Group Process Scholarship & Research Transpersonal Theory & Research Thesis Project Preparation Thesis Writing & Critical Thinking Thesis Project Completion Total Quarter Units: 54
Prerequisites: • • •
Bachelor’s Degree in any subject from an accredited school, with 3.0 GPA Foundational psychology course(s) may be required by the program chair Three sessions with an approved spiritual guide
Note: During the program, students are required to receive 30 hours of personal spiritual guidance and 20 hours of personal therapy. In addition, a course in World Religions is required prior to Year 2 for students who have not already completed one.
For more information, contact Annette Wagner at awagner@itp.edu or 650-493-4430 ext. 296