Building practical skills in psychology and ethics helps to establish a long-term career in mental healthcare or clinical research. Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota offers a comprehensive master’s program in clinical psychology that combines science with our Catholic Lasallian values, offering a fully integrated training and education. Here, we discuss how faith and science come together in our M.S. in Clinical Psychology program.
Key Takeaways
- Ethics, faith, and science form the foundation of clinical psychology training, guiding every decision and ensuring evidence-based practice.
- Evidence-based practice integrates the best available research, clinical expertise, and patient values, culture, and preferences. Students learn to view each patient as a unique individual with inherent dignity and worth, tailoring the treatment plan and goals to the patient’s specific faith beliefs, values, and background.
- Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota offers an online clinical psychology master’s program (with two brief in-person residencies) that combines rigorous academics, practicum experience, and student support services for students from diverse backgrounds.
- We prepare students for career roles in individual, group, family, and vocational counseling, supervision, interprofessional consultation, research, vocational assessment, psychological testing and assessment, and more.
Ethics and Science Are the Foundation of Our Clinical Psychology Master’s Program
The mission of the MS in Clinical Psychology program is to prepare students to adhere to the highest standards of personal and professional ethics. Thus, ethics are at the forefront of every class and decision. Students learn to apply American Psychological Association (APA) ethical principles and standards, including the practical skills needed to maintain confidentiality and to navigate informed consent in diverse contexts.
Understanding how to be a good consumer of research as a practitioner and receiving proper supervision are essential to knowing what the best available research is and developing clinical expertise with diverse patients. Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota emphasizes these principles by:
- Teaching students to evaluate research quality: Learn how to assess studies, prioritize systematic reviews, and apply findings to clinical practice.
- Applying interventions under supervision: Gain hands-on experience in supervised practicum settings while maintaining ethical standards and accountability with 720 hours of clinical training.
- Preparing students for licensure and job opportunities: We provide resources to guide students when obtaining licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Requirements vary by state and professional experience. We also have a partnership program that helps connect students with potential employers.
Where Does Faith Fit in Evidence-Based Clinical Psychology?
Faith is incorporated within each component of evidence-based practice. Students study over fifty years of empirical studies about the psychology of religion and spirituality, develop practical skills for clinical application, and learn to assess patient preferences. In our Clinical Psychology master’s program, students learn the beauty of integrating faith and science. Our faculty have the highest credentials in their profession and emphasize this integration through:
- Assessing patients from a comprehensive psycho-social-spiritual-bio framework: Students are trained to explore various domains with cultural humility, clinical precision, and adherence to ethical principles and standards.
- Merging meaning and values with treatment goals: Our curriculum teaches how to incorporate patients’ unique beliefs and values into clinical care to support individualized evidence-based treatment plans and measurable outcomes.
- Evidence-based practices: Our program emphasizes the importance of using the best available research, clinical expertise, judgment, and the evaluation of patient values, preferences, and circumstances.
How Blending Faith, Ethics, and Science Enhances Psychological Training
Psychology has a complicated history with religion and spirituality. It was Sigmund Freud who said religion is a disillusioned wish fulfillment. Psychology has evolved to better understand the unique and collective contributions of philosophy, theology, and psychology to viewing the human person.
In addition, there are over fifty years of empirical study of the psychology of religion and spirituality. The field has identified religious/spiritual correlations to psychological health outcomes. For example, our coursework emphasizes recognizing when spirituality is misused to avoid addressing psychological issues. This is called spiritual bypassing, meaning the use of spiritual explanations and practices to avoid facing unresolved emotional issues or psychological wounds. For example, someone might say “everything happens for a reason” to dismiss pain or avoid addressing the cause.
Rigorous manualized treatments have been developed through randomized controlled experiments such as Religiously Integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Empirical support is known for specific religious interventions such as centering prayer, religious service attendance, and Lectio Divina. There are empirically anchored competencies for integrating religion and spirituality into clinical practice. Faith and science are not viewed as opposing forces but complementary pieces to human flourishing.
Taken together, the blending of faith, ethics, and sciences enhances psychological training so our students can best serve their patients. Our training helps to correct a common experience of patients with faith beliefs being mistreated in clinical practice, contributing to premature drop-out and unethical harm done. Our students are trained to integrate faith values responsibly within individualized treatment plans that prioritize measurable outcomes.
Why Choose Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota for Your Clinical Psychology Master’s Program?
Selecting the right program is crucial for building a successful career in the mental health field. Our M.S. in Clinical Psychology program is a leading online clinical psychology master’s program in the U.S. that fully integrates Catholic faith, ethics, and evidence-based clinical training. The program prepares graduates for LPC/LPCC licensure, emergent psychological practitioner licensure, research occupations, and doctoral studies. The program combines rigorous academic training, practical experience, and comprehensive student support, emphasizing measurable competencies and supervised practicum experiences to ensure you are fully prepared for real-world practice.
Our curriculum teaches students to incorporate religion and spirituality into evidence-based practice by combining research, clinical expertise, and patient characteristics. This includes applying the Catholic Christian Meta-Model of the Person and integrating cultural humility and social justice principles. Students gain a firm grounding in social psychology, biopsychology, cognitive and affective processes, and human development, all framed within Catholic anthropology and the Lasallian Catholic Heritage.
Students have access to our student services, including academic advising, tutoring, the online library, and the writing center, ensuring you have the tools and guidance to succeed while balancing work and study. We also provide career services for graduates. We also provide financial aid to qualified students to help make your education more affordable. To learn more about our program, request more info or apply for admission today.
FAQ about the Clinical Psychology Master’s Program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
What are specific studies that support religious and spiritual integration in clinical practice?
Researchers have developed manualized religiously-integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, clinical trials on using the Examen for substance use disorders, and treating trauma with Lectio Divina. Studies have identified that praying the rosary, going to religious services, and centering prayer are associated with positive mental health outcomes, such as meaning in life, life satisfaction, and less stress, anxiety, and depression. Those studies have gone through the rigorous peer-review process and have been published in top professional journals in psychology.
How do practitioners ethically assess and document spiritual concerns?
Practitioners gain skill in comprehensive psycho-social-spiritual-bio assessment. Competence in that assessment approach includes the use of assessment tools with strong psychometric evidence, adherence to the professional code of ethics, and use of professional guidelines that support good clinical practice.
What is spiritual bypassing, and why does it matter in mental health treatment?
Spiritual bypassing occurs when spirituality is used to avoid addressing psychological issues such as trauma or grief. This can hinder progress and keep the patient in a state of compartmentalization instead of integration. Evidence-based interventions can be properly used to aid the patient in approaching psychological issues for resolution and flourishing.
