Southwestern College/New Earth Institute is a premier graduate school for master's degrees in Counseling and Art Therapy/Counseling. Located in the international art/travel Mecca of Santa Fe, New Mexico, we have been training consciousness-centered therapists and leaders in the mental health field since 1979.
Our holistic approach to personal and planetary wellness emphasizes developing our students' inner strengths as a necessary precursor to helping others. Aligned with their truth, our students can explore any material with their clients, maintaining a curiosity rather than fear or against-ness in the face of others' differences. If you have read about other programs, you can probably sense already that our approach includes a unique blend of compassion, collaboration, and exploration of strengths along with the clinical awareness necessary for proper healing work.
We are fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the American Art Therapy Association. According to our most recent alumni survey, ninety-two percent of our graduates found work in the mental health professions, and ninety-nine percent passed the licensing exam the first time. Our graduates are in therapist and leadership positions all over New Mexico and the United States (forty-seven states.) Our instructors are reflective practitioners representing many different schools of thought and sharing the consciousness-centered, experiential approach to transformational learning.
Located at the Sangre de Cristo Mountains foot, Santa Fe enjoys over 300 days of sunshine a year, gorgeous mountain vistas, sunrises, and sunsets like no place in the world, a diverse and colorful cultural mix of Native American, Hispanic, and European influences. It is considered by many to be a spiritual center of the United States, and artists from all over the world come here to work with the breathtaking landscapes in the new and magical light of the high desert.
The mission of Southwestern College is "Transforming Consciousness Through Education." As understood at Southwestern College, Consciousness is the capacity and willingness to live life with intentionality and the highest possible level of awareness regarding our personal, social, and spiritual purpose for being here. Higher Consciousness or awareness creates a capacity for enhanced decision-making and resourcing in our lives, which supports the over-arching aim of all helping profession activity—empowerment.
The primary vehicles for facilitating this awareness shift are our Master's Degrees in Counseling, Art Therapy/Counseling, and Art Therapy for Clinical Professionals, The New Earth Institute, and the Tierra Nueva Counseling Center. The College creates a professional environment within which advanced Counseling and Art Therapy skills are developed in the context of the student's evolving understanding of self, self-in-relation, and spiritual growth. The enhanced Consciousness of the students potentiates intensive clinical training, allowing them to assist clients in moving toward greater self-awareness, empowerment, and life satisfaction.
In this way, the mission ripples out in widening circles, impacting the world well beyond the more immediate learning environment we create at Southwestern College. The College is dedicated to creating a professional environment for teaching and learning clinical helping skills and the conscious and intentional exploration of the spiritual dimension of human learning and living. We strive to provide a multicultural learning environment that fosters ethical development as a foundation for professional growth and excellence in Counseling, Art Therapy/Counseling, and related helping activities.
Southwestern College offers a holistic perspective in all our degree programs, whether you seek a Master's degree in Counseling, Art Therapy/Counseling, or Art Therapy for Clinical Professionals. We are an especially good fit for an adult learner who wants to deepen and enhance your life relationship while enhancing your professional skills in psychology.
The tuition at Southwestern College for 2018-19 is a competitive $580 per quarter unit. As a private institution, there is no difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition.
Most Southwestern College students finance their graduate work using some combination of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Student Loans, scholarships, personal or family savings, working while in school, Federal Direct PLUS loans, or private lender loans.
The prospects for employment in the mental health field in today's world are quite bright. Our art therapy and counseling graduates are finding jobs before or soon after graduation. They are working in mental health clinics, hospitals, recovery centers, schools, nursing homes, and private practice. They are working with the elderly, children, infants, families, and couples. A number of our students are working with veterans and military families. Others are working with refugees, trauma victims from natural disasters, and people challenged by transition and loss. Employers have offered us feedback about the level of confidence, the competency, and the leadership abilities of our graduates.
The roots of Southwestern College can be traced back to 1945 when a group of forward-thinking individuals began collecting spiritual and metaphysical books to establish the Quimby Memorial Library. In 1963, the library was dedicated in Alamogordo, New Mexico. The collection included the works of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, the Father of New Thought, and a significant early influence on American healing and spiritual traditions.
Today, Southwestern College continues to teach in a holistic, transformational, and experiential way. Students are challenged to acquire knowledge and skills in the context of a rigorous applied curriculum. They learn to cultivate the qualities of transformational leadership to assist others in realizing their full potential. They graduate from the College with the skills necessary to foster transformation in themselves and others. Our graduates, faculty, and board members are some of the most prominent professionals in the world of mental health in New Mexico today.
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