Southwestern College & New Earth Institute (Art Therapy, Consiousness MAs)

[sanantone]

I got some info back from Kairos, and the situation with the DPC is this:

1. You have to have a Master's in a mental health discipline.

2. You have to be licensed.

3. You have to be practicing.

My issue with it is that it's not really heavy on the counseling side like their Master's is and that's strange to me. Personally, I'd get the MA in Counseling, get licensed (or not) and go after a Doctorate in Psychology (preferably one eligible for licensing) elsewhere since it will be focused entirely on the science of Psychology.

So after speaking with another rep from the school, I understand the aim of their DPC better. Because you're required to already be licensed and practicing, the point of it is to focus on a specialization or research and/project work which makes up the majority of the credits. Still, I would say, if you didn't feel like you got enough out of your Master's program(s) in a Mental Health discipline, it just makes sense to seek out a Doctorate in Psychology (or Mental Health Counseling, though I don't think there are many of those in the United States). I also think the DPC will fly more in states where the LPC is a thing, but not as much in others.

ASU's DBH - Clinical is like this. I'm sure I've come across other programs that are like this. The goal is not really to increase your knowledge of psychology or counseling. The goal is to get the doctor title for marketing purposes and for potentially higher pay.