Health Counseling and Psychology, BA

BA in Health Counseling and Psychology
Location: AU Seattle
Credits for Degree: 180 quarter credits
Standard Mode of Instruction: Classroom
Standard time to completion: 36 months

Program Overview

The BA in Health Counseling and Psychology (HCP) is a professional preparation degree embedded within a liberal arts undergraduate framework. Students undertake foundational coursework in psychology, health sciences, mind-body integration, and counseling as well as basic research skills and clinical fieldwork toward understanding and promotion of physical health and wellbeing. The program addresses biological, social and behavioral factors of health, as well as how culture, geography, race and experiences factor into physical wellness. Students completing the major will gain the following competencies in health counseling and psychology:

• Develop an understanding and appreciation of the complex interplay between one’s physical well-being and a variety of biological, psychological, and social factors.
• Learn how psychological research methods, theories, and principles can be applied to enhance biomedical approaches for promoting health and treating illness.
• Learn about the stress response, trauma, coping and resiliency and their impact on the etiology and course of health problems.
• Apply foundational counseling skills to assist individuals in coping with psychosocial stress while increasing wellbeing.
• Develop skills for designing wellness programs to improve personal health habits and lifestyles.
• Acquire an understanding of the perspective of the individual in dealing with symptoms and complex healthcare systems and settings.
• Understand the impact that chronic, disabling, or life-threatening illnesses have on patients and their families.
• Discover how psychological principles, counseling methods and strength-based approaches can be applied to help individuals prevent, manage and cope with chronic illness, and increase motivation for positive changes.

Upon completion of the BA in Health Counseling and Psychology, graduates will be prepared to work in the fast-growing applied healthcare sector in roles such as wellness coordinator, case manager, care coordinator, behavioral health specialist or residential site coordinator.  HCP graduates will also be well-prepared to pursue graduate school; indeed many HCP graduates continue into an Antioch MA Psychology program.

Customization is Key

In the BA HCP Program, each study plan is based on the student’s past experience, current needs and interests, and future goals. Students work in close collaboration with faculty advisors to shape their studies. Students build on earlier college work and on competencies learned at home, at work, through independent reading and volunteer activities.

Shared Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the BA Health Counseling & Psychology Program can expect to evidence the Shared Learning Outcomes common to all AU undergraduate programs:

• Engage in critical inquiry that employs relevant sources and methods
• Consider diverse perspectives including opposing points of view and marginalized voices
• Connect learning with theories and experience through reflective practice
• Analyze power, oppression, and resistance in pursuit of social, racial, economic and environmental justice
• Communicate effectively in oral, written, and visual forms
• Examine issues in both local and global contexts

General Education Requirements & Liberal Arts Core Competency Demonstration

To meet the general education requirements each student must transfer in or take a minimum of 6 quarter credits in each of Communication, Arts & Humanities, Science & Qualitative Reasoning, and the Social Sciences. In addition, each student presents evidence by graduation of competency in the breadth and depth of a liberal arts degree through a portfolio of best work. 

Students have access to a wide variety of courses from which to fulfill General Education and Liberal Arts core competency requirements. These range from Arts & Literature (e.g. Socially Engaged Art, Collage & Transformation, Literature of Protest, Crafting Short Fiction); to Media & Communications (Media for Social Change, Documentary Film, Surveillance); Global & Social Justice (Movements of the Marginalized, LGBTQIA Voices, Confronting Inequality); Leadership & Sustainable Business (Intersectional Coaching, Far-From-Equilibrium: Systems Perspectives on Change, Triple Bottom Line Accounting); Spiritual Studies (Buddhism’s Myths, Magic and Mystics, Wisdom of the Psyche: Depth Psychology Perspectives, Eco-Spirituality); Urban Ecology (Environmental Racism/Environmental Justice, Urban Agriculture, Sacred Botany); and interdisciplinary seminars (When a Community Weeps, Sexualities, Genders & Identities, Birds in the Human Imagination and in the Field).

Core Liberal Arts Curriculum

A core curriculum in liberal studies supports students to design and successfully complete their bachelor’s degree. Students begin with a liberal studies seminar in which they explore the liberal arts in relation to their own interests, goals and contemporary world needs. All degree students also take a seminar addressing issues of power, privilege and oppression, and a series of writing classes to deepen their ‘voice’ and writing fluency. Throughout their time at Antioch, students work collaboratively with other students, sharing the results of their own studies and expressing their creativity in peer group settings. All students engage learning in their communities during their time at Antioch, and finish with a capstone project that brings various elements of their learning together into a coherent synthesis.

Translating Prior Learning into College Credit

All Antioch Seattle Undergraduate programs honor the achievements and knowledge that adult learners have gained in the real world. Therefore, students have an option to earn academic credit for college-level knowledge and skills acquired outside the classroom prior to enrollment. For example, if you have worked in a substance abuse program, or taught yoga, or  Students can earn up to 45 credits for Prior Learning within the BA in Liberal Studies Program.

Optional Emphasis Areas (12 quarter credits minimum)

​Students may elect an ‘emphasis’ of pin-depth study within the HCP major. These emphasis areas provide students with a specialized area of knowledge and skills. Emphasis areas are framed by the student, approved by the academic advisor, and must comprise at least 12 quarter credits that cohere around a central topic.

MA/Graduate Pathway (12 overlapping credits)

The MA pathway provides an accelerated route for qualified students in the BA in Health Counseling & Psychology to transition into a graduate program at Antioch University while completing their undergraduate coursework. The Pathway requires acceptance into either the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) or MA in Couple and Family Therapy (CFT). Either of these clinical degrees can be combined with either Art Therapy or Drama Therapy.   Students apply to the MA Psychology program when they are within approximately 3-4 quarters of finishing their BA. If accepted into an MA program, the student launches into the first 12 credits of their graduate program while completing the BA in Liberal Studies degree.

Current Tuition and Fees

University Tuition and Fees