Clinical Mental Health Counseling MA
Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling Concentration
Gain clinical counseling skills through the lens of world wisdom traditions at a Buddhist-inspired university with on-campus and low-residency options.
About this Concentration
The mindfulness-based transpersonal counseling concentration is designed for individuals who want an overall orientation to the field of Clinical Mental Health Counseling from a transpersonal and humanistic orientation.
The program emphasizes experiential learning with a strong focus on presence in the here and now. This focal point of study is grounded in the counseling relationship, meditation practice, and Gestalt principles. Theory is integrated in classes that emphasize direct learning through personal growth and the guided development of interpersonal skills. A nonviolent approach to communication is part of our fundamental approach.
Whether you choose the on-campus or low-residency program, you’ll experience firsthand the profound effects of interpersonal connection and mindfulness practice. Then, you’ll apply those transformative techniques during comprehensive clinical training.
Mindfulness Focus
This master’s degree program is an opportunity for deep personal reflection and intensive clinical experience. We support your dedication to mindfulness with on-campus meditation halls, group meditation retreats, body awareness work, and more.
Diverse & Intimate Learning Environment
A selective admissions process admits up to fifty students into the Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling concentration every year. Students share a core set of courses with Transpersonal Contemplative Art–Based Counseling and Nature-Based Transpersonal Counseling students. The mix provides contact with a diverse group of students and a healthy environment for developing friendship and collegiality. Each semester of study involves concentrated learning experiences with small groups of no more than ten to twelve students.
Elective Offerings & Specialized Studies
The program offers a range of electives that complement required studies and meet a variety of interests in counseling and transpersonal studies. Coursework is designed to enhance personal and professional awareness and knowledge. Electives include specialized transpersonal approaches, meditation, couples and family therapy, Jungian psychology, body awareness, and Gestalt therapy.
Quick Facts
- 700+ clinical internship hours
- Unique Mindfulness Focus
- 3-year Degree
- 66 Credit Hours
- Scholarship Opportunities
- Licensure Support
- Applications open for 2025
- Flexible Starting Dates
- Experiential Learning Retreats (Intensives)
- 700+ Clinical Internship Hours
- Unique Mindfulness Focus
- 3-year Degree
- 66 Credit Hours
- Licensure Support
- Applications open for January, May, August 2025
Program Format
We offer learning paths suited to your Personal Journey. The MTC Concentration is one program with two pathways toward degree completion:
- The MTC Residential Program is designed for students who thrive in a more traditional in-person learning environment and has a weekly meeting cadence. Classes are held on our Nalanda campus in Boulder, Colorado, with students taking a schedule that typically requires three or four days on campus each week.
- The MTC Low-Residency Program (previously called the Hybrid Program) is designed for students who desire a combination of online and in-person, synchronous and asynchronous learning. Our low-residency format is flexible and mostly online, making it the perfect fit for those with busy lives or who wish to keep working.
Twice per semester, students engage with their cohort members and faculty at Intensives—some conducted in person on campus in Boulder, others held at the Drala Mountain Center.
In addition, the low-residency program offers three different start dates: January, May, and August.
Read About the Low-Residency Program
Course Spotlight
The Mindful Counselor: Applying Mindfulness in the Therapeutic Context
Degree
Requirements
Naropa’s Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling Program is a 66-credit, three-year concentration. The program consists of regular academic coursework complemented by a counseling practicum during the second year and a 700-hour fieldwork placement during the third year at a partnering community agency with on-site consultation supervision.
Counseling Experiential Requirement:
Each student must participate in a counseling/therapy relationship with a qualified psychotherapist of their choice. A minimum of fifteen 50-minute face-to-face sessions (via telehealth or in person) within the first two years of the program is required. (The term “psychotherapist” is used to be inclusive of licensed providers from a variety of professional mental health backgrounds. The Student Guidebook outlines specific parameters of a qualified psychotherapist.)
On-campus Course Schedule
Semester 1, Fall Year 1 (11 credits)
- CMHC 600, Foundations and Orientation of Clinical Mental Health Counseling (3)
- CMHC 603, Counseling and Helping Relationships I (3)
- CNST Elective (3)
- CNST 622, Foundations of Mindfulness (2)
Semester 2, Spring Year 2 (11 credits)
- CMHC 604, Counseling and Helping Relationships II (3)
- CMHC 601, Social/Multicultural Foundations (3)
- CMHC 606, Legal and Ethical Aspects of Counseling (3)
- CNST 721, Cultivating Mindful Presence (2)
Summer Year 1 (Off, 0 credits)
Semester 3, Fall Year 2 (9 credits)
- CNST 671, Mindful Counselor (2)
- CMHC 605, Group Counseling (3)
- CMHC 602, Human Growth and Development (3)
- CNST 770, Compassion Training for Counselors (1)
Semester 4, Spring Year 2 (11 credits)
- CMHC 607, Diagnosis and Treatment Planning (3)
- CNSM 602, Gestalt I (2)
- CNST 670, Transpersonal Counseling (3)
- CMHC 620, Counseling Practicum (3)
Semester 5, Summer Year 2 (8 credits)
- CMHC 608, Assessment (3)
- CMHC 621, Initial Internship (2)
- CNSM 651, Gestalt II (3)
Semester 6, Fall Year 3(8 credits)
- CMHC 622, Internship I (3)
- CMHC 609, Research & Program Evaluation (3)
- CNST 810, Mindfulness-Based Counseling (2)
Winter Intercession (0 credits)
- CMHC 623, Winter Intercession Internship (0)
Semester 7, Spring Year 3 (8 credits)
- CMHC 624, Internship II (3)
- CMHC 617, Capstone I & II (2)
- CMHC 610, Career Development (3)
Low-residency Course Schedule
The Low-Residency MTC program provides a curriculum similar to the on-campus program but with courses disbursed to be more of a part-time program. It is a three-year program like the on-campus program but provides a unique delivery format that makes it a great fit for those with busy lives or who cannot relocate to Boulder.
- Three semesters per year rather than two
- The program can be completed from anywhere in the United States
- Five or six visits to Colorado
- Two intensives per semester
- Each semester begins with a 2 or 3-day-long online intensive
- A five-day intensive during the second half of each semester
For details on the delivery format, and to learn more about intensive dates, credit hours, and courses for the low-residency program, take a look at our comprehensive courses & requirements page.
Why Choose Naropa?
Flexible Delivery Options
Students interested in Mindfulness-based transpersonal counseling can choose between pursuing an on-campus degree or a hybrid, low-residency degree. Our low-residency program offers three starting dates (January, May, and August) to better accommodate student’s busy schedules.
Partner Agencies
Naropa has a broad network of community agencies where students can carry out their practicum and field placements with on-site supervision and according to their interests. Low-residency students have the option to complete their internship in agencies located in their state of residency.
Licensure Support
Graduates of Naropa’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling MA can obtain licensure in Colorado and throughout the United States. We offer Credentialing and Licensure support for our students, even post-graduation.
How this Program Prepares You
Clinical Experience
In the final year of your graduate degree program, you will serve as a supervised intern in a community agency, gaining crucial experience in a specialty area such as addiction counseling or crisis intervention. Throughout the internship, you’ll be supported by on-site supervision, faculty mentorship, and career development counseling.
Developing Personal & Professional Identity
Students are encouraged to develop a therapeutic approach that matches each individual’s interests, abilities, and talents. Learning to “know thyself” is a tenet of transpersonal psychology. Students are encouraged to listen within to discover the unique gift each has to offer others. Feedback from faculty and peers enhances growth and personal discovery.
Application of Contemplative Practice in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
A strong understanding of contemplative practice in clinical mental health counseling is explored through multiple lenses that include meditation, human development, family systems, body awareness, and the interactive field of healing relationships. Students learn to sit with whatever arises as they are exposed to a broad spectrum of problems, emotions, and situations that may be encountered in actual counseling settings.
Learning Outcomes
Students demonstrate mindfulness skills in the context of counseling including present moment awareness, non-judgment and compassionate interest in details of physical sensations, emotions and thoughts.
Students demonstrate familiarity with several models of Transpersonal Psychology and their applications to counseling, including multicultural considerations.
Students demonstrate increased knowledge, presence, warmth, and skill regarding their utilization of awareness, choice, contact, and authenticity in the Gestalt approach to mindfulness-based transpersonal counseling.
Career Opportunitites for Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counselors
Whether you aim to open your own private practice, become a mindfulness teacher, or gain the skills to become a clinical mental health counselor, Naropa can help you get there. Through deep introspection and interpersonal connection with faculty and fellow students, you’ll find your unique path within mindfulness counseling.
Career opportunities for mindfulness-based transpersonal counseling graduates include:
- Mental Health Counselor: offer therapy to improve well-being.
- Counselor Educator: teach counseling at the postsecondary level following advanced training.
- Compliance Managers: ensure organizations adhere to laws and regulations.
- Substance Abuse Counselor: aid recovery from substance abuse.
- Healthcare Professional Counselor: assist communities with medical support and resources.
Discover Career Pathways for Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counselors
Hear from a Graduate
Naropa has prepared me for the future as well as the present by teaching me to keep my seat in the eye of any storm. I am able to access an equanimity that was not available to me before I attended Naropa. I know when I am being my authentic self, I can make decisions based on my true values and I can access self-compassion and compassion for others. These invaluable lessons deepen and enhance all my relationships, professional and personal.
Audrey Godell
Discover Career Pathways for Low-Residency Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling Graduates
FAQS about
Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling
What is the transpersonal approach in Counseling?
What makes Naropa’s Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling unique?
As the country’s first Buddhist-inspired university, Naropa has a long tradition of teaching, researching, and experimenting with mindfulness practices. Our campus and resources support students pursuing a contemplative education. Our mindfulness-based transpersonal counseling program is informed by our deep and thorough knowledge of the field, both academic and experiential.
Learn more about mindfulness-based transpersonal counseling in our suggested reading list for this concentration.
What is the Intensive Component in the Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling Program?
What are the different types of transpersonal therapy?
What is the difference between transpersonal therapy and other forms of psychotherapy?
Learn More About the Program
Connect
with your counselor
Matt Powers
Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions
Ready to Apply?
Admission Requirements
Naropa University’s admission process follows our contemplative education principles. We value academic excellence as well as the commitment to introspective work.
Applicants participate in group interview sessions at either virtual or in-person Interview Days scheduled throughout the year, in addition to providing undergraduate transcripts, two letters of recommendations, an essay, and a copy of their resume.
Graduate Students
To apply to the Mindfulness-based Transpersonal Counseling program, students must submit the following documentation as part of their online application:
- Transcript of all post-secondary, undergraduate and graduate (if applicable) coursework
- Statement of Interest
- Resume/CV
- Two letters of Recommendation
The application concludes with individual and group interviews. Students also have the opportunity to apply for financial aid when submitting their initial application. Discover all admission requirements.
International Students
Students with undergraduate degrees from foreign universities are required to provide additional documentation as part of their application process. Discover admission requirements for international students.
Costs and Financial Aid
Naropa students may be eligible for several forms of federal or financial aid to help cover the costs of their education. Over 75% of graduate students are recipients of some form of financial aid.
You can learn about costs and financing options at our costs & aids page, which breaks down direct and indirect costs, such as tuition, housing, materials, transportation, and more. Use our cost calculator to estimate your total costs at Naropa.
Graduate Scholarship Opportunities
Scholarships are a great way to help with the costs of going to school. Naropa University offers an array of scholarship opportunities to graduate students. Students may be eligible to receive scholarships through their admissions application, by applying for scholarships, or by being nominated for a scholarship. For more detailed information about the different scholarships available and how to receive them, please review our graduate scholarship page.
