Degree Requirements: Bachelor's degree
Completion Time: 2-3 years
Earned Credits: 32-35*
The Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health Specialization takes a holistic approach to understanding individual, cultural, and transcultural perspectives to wellness. Curriculum focuses on the study of integrative approaches to healing and stress management that have not been regarded as standard within mainstream medical and psychological care, including:
- Conditioning of immune functioning (psychoneuroimmunology)
- Traditional Chinese medicine
- Shamanism
- Ayurvedic (East Indian) medicine
- Native American medicine
*Saybrook transcript must reflect a minimum of 32 completed post-baccalaureate credits of new learning for the M.A.
The Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health Specialization takes a holistic approach to understanding individual, cultural, and transcultural perspectives to wellness. Curriculum focuses on the study of integrative approaches to healing and stress management that have not been regarded as standard within mainstream medical and psychological care, including:
- Conditioning of immune functioning (psychoneuroimmunology)
- Traditional Chinese medicine
- Shamanism
- Ayurvedic (East Indian) medicine
- Native American medicine
The study of consciousness offers students a unique opportunity to explore various aspects of consciousness through methods ranging from psychophysiology, ethnography, and historiography to explorations of work and community life, interpersonal relationships, spiritual beliefs, and social action. Given the diverse array of course offerings, students are able to create a degree path that suits their particular interests and career goals.
The study of spirituality supports students who want to pursue work in areas such as pastoral care, spiritual guidance, and life coaching, or who want to integrate understanding of the spiritual dimension of human life into another profession. Faculty members work with students to focus their studies in ways that best meet their academic, professional, and personal goals.
Additional alternative health practices relevant to psychological and physical health that are studied include the ethical application of meditation, nutrition, energy medicine (e.g., therapeutic touch, healing touch, and energy channeling), hospice work and chaplaincy, and many others. Mind-body therapies like these are being integrated rapidly into health care settings, from imagery, hypnosis, biofeedback, meditation, mindfulness, and health coaching, to expressive therapies such as music, dance, art, and indigenous ceremonies. Students may also explore spirituality, including its role in physical and psychological health, personal relationships, organizational functioning, and communities.
Although not intended as preparation for licensure, this specialization can be applied to the work of psychologists and other licensed mental health professionals. Additional alternative health practices relevant to psychological and physical health that are studied include the ethical application of meditation, nutrition, energy medicine (e.g., therapeutic touch, healing touch, and energy channeling), hospice work and chaplaincy, and many others. Studies can also be applied to health care consulting, peace work, pastoral care, spiritual counseling, conflict resolution, education, consulting, and organizational work.
More program information can be found in our academic catalog.
Residential Orientation (RO)
All new students in the M.A. Psychology degree program begin their studies with our one-time, two-day Residential Orientation (RO). Residential Orientations are held two days ahead of the Residential Conference at the start of the fall and spring semesters in California. Attendance at the entire RO is an academic requirement.
At the RO, students become familiar with the Saybrook culture and academic and support services, including online resources, and the library research services and databases. The challenges of distance and peer learning are also discussed during this time. At the RO, students:
- Consult with the Psychology Department chair, specialization coordinators, and an academic adviser to organize their degree plan process.
- Develop a rationale for the scope and sequence of their proposed plan of study.
- Plan what consultation they will need from other faculty.
Residential Conference (RC)
All psychology students participate in two five-day-long required Saybrook Residential Conferences (RCs) per year (one at the beginning of the fall semester and one at the beginning of the spring semester). Although you may complete most of your courses through distance learning, all our psychology degree programs have residential requirements. Residential requirements are academic requirements, and their completion is important for your successful academic progress as well as allowing you to meet with faculty and co-learners in a stimulating face-to-face environment. Our RCs are an important part of your learning experience as they nurture intellectual creativity, enrich the educational environment, and foster faculty and peer interactions. Courses are launched, and independent learning activities, peer learning opportunities, and other hands-on experiences are intended to nurture professional development, skill building, and transformative change. All students must be on-site on the registration day and remain in residence until the last day of each conference. It is imperative that students plan accordingly. The department chair must approve any exceptions prior to the conference.
No academic credit is given for attendance at the RC. Students who attend a seminar at an RC and wish to study the topic further may, with the permission of the seminar instructor and department chair, register for an independent study course (ALL 8100) following the RC and receive 1 academic credit upon completion. Each course is individually designed and negotiated with the seminar instructor. Not all RC workshops, courses, and seminars are eligible for the follow-up independent study credit. Students will need to review their program plan to confirm the 1 credit Independent Study will satisfy degree requirements.
M.A. students are required to attend until formal enrollment in either master thesis or project. Doctoral students attend until they have advanced to doctoral candidacy (upon satisfaction of essay orals).
Seminar in Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health
This course provides an introduction to the primary themes in consciousness, spirituality, and integrative health. The course includes studies in transpersonal psychology as an important way to address these themes. Students will be introduced to foundational definitions, concepts, and theories. This course will also serve to orient students to the Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health Specialization, including curriculum paths, vocational possibilities, and relevant professional organizations and conferences. It is recommended that students in the Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health Specialization begin with this course. It provides foundational knowledge that will be built upon in future coursework. Additionally, this course introduces various career paths in order to help students identify, at the outset, the courses that will be most relevant to meeting their future vocational aspirations. Students will also become familiar with various resources that will be useful in their future coursework. 3 credits
Health Psychophysiology
This course introduces scientific and experiential approaches to understanding the interaction of mind and body in health. The course surveys scientific principles of psychophysiology, introduces students to basic principles of psychophysiological measurement, and highlights research information relevant to mind and body (psychophysiological) healing, education, and wellness. The student learns to monitor physiological processes via simple biofeedback instrumentation, for clinical practice and research. The course offers an opportunity to explore mind-body relationships through an overview of theory, review of empirical findings, and experiential learning. 3 credits
Spiritual Direction
This course provides a professional, academic, and personal introduction to spiritual direction (often called spiritual guidance) as a profession and as a support to other professions. The primary goal of this course is to explore the role of spiritual direction within and outside spiritual traditions. Students will be introduced to foundational definitions, concepts, dynamics, and processes in this developing field. 3 credits
“An essential uniqueness of our degree program is the opportunity for our students to engage in genuine interdisciplinary learning as they can take courses across the university while pursuing their clinical training. For example, they can gain skills and knowledge related to biofeedback, hypnosis, consciousness and spirituality, development and leadership, transformative social change, and others. The skills that our students can acquire positions them to be more competitive in the workforce.”
—Dr. Theopia Jackson, Chair, Clinical Psychology Degree Program