Soma College’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program offers a number of distinctive advantages over other clinical programs. The program can be taken in person in Tucson, AZ or online from anywhere. 

  1. Our holistic, integrative clinical curriculum combines current evidence-based practices in psychotherapy with exposure to many alternative perspectives such as psychedelic assisted therapies.
  2. We have a transformational and experiential teaching/learning philosophy, so you learn by being, doing and exploring your own truth.
  3. We offer a heavy emphasis on your personal transformation and development as a compassionate, mindful, reflective, and deeply self-aware psychotherapist. 
  4. We encourage our student therapists to cultivate a practice of focusing on client strengths, internal resources and capacity for healing and growth. 
    1. Licensed therapists from the community also attend these courses for continuing education credits, allowing you to begin networking with your professional community.
    2. Soma College works with Tucson Counseling Associates (link) for your training experiences if you are taking your program on the ground in Tucson. Using a true sliding scale for its clients, TCA offers you clinical experiences with a diverse population. Many other programs have students do practicum in the university setting, where ethnic and socioeconomic diversity is typically much more limited. If you are taking your program online you may do both your practicum and your internship in the state where you reside.

    Program Information

    Degree program prepares graduates for licensure in Arizona and many other states in the US.

    60 semester units – exceeds CACREP Standards

    Both practicum and internship (link to tca internship page) experiences provide supervised clinical training with diverse populations and presenting concerns.

    Full-time and part-time options also available

    Diverse faculty with small classroom settings offer personal attention and mentorship opportunities. Soma College is not attached to one particular clinical or theoretical orientation, so you will be exposed to numerous models and perspectives.

    Internships can be accomplished in or out of state in the last year of the program.

    All Master’s degree students are required to fulfill a personal therapy requirement of 40 face-to-face hours with a mental health professional licensed in the state where you reside. The experience of being a client teaches students about the nature of the therapeutic relationship, including an appreciation of the emotional life of the client. The experience also provides an opportunity for personal growth that strengthens emotional balance and therapeutic skills.

    Admissions Requirements 

    1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.

    Soma College recognizes the importance of life experience, letters of recommendation and personal motivation as indicators of academic readiness and success in the counseling field. These factors, along with a personal statement which describes professional and educational goals and intentions, enhance the likelihood of admission.

     

    1. A minimum of 9 semester credits (14 quarter units) of undergraduate psychology coursework including:
    • Abnormal Psychology
    • Developmental Psychology 
    • One psychology elective of the applicant’s choice

    Recommended psychology electives can be courses in personality theory, psychology of adjustment or social psychology, for example. A grade of “C” or better is required in each prerequisite course. Courses taken on a pass/fail basis are subject to approval for psychology credit. Psychology prerequisites must be completed before entry into the M.A. program. If you have community service experience, the psychology elective may be waived.