Southwestern College , located in Santa Fe , NM , is a Graduate School offering Masters degrees in Counseling, Counseling, and Art Therapy/Counseling. They also offer certificates in Transformational Ecopsychology, Psychodrama, and Integral Somatic Psychology.
Their approach is transformational, spiritually informed (engaging and honoring all traditions), evolutionary, and unlike any program you will find anywhere. They are fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (NCA) and the American Art Therapy Association.
Their roots are in the New Thought movement (the same lineage from which the Center for Spiritual Living and Unity evolved.) If you find yourself saying "I am spiritual, but not (necesarily) religious", then you would resonate with New Thought....for more information, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Thought
Dr. Jim Nolan began his presidency of Southwestern College in June, 2006. He earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from The Ohio State University. His true early teachers in Psychology and Consciousness were Shakespeare, James Joyce, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Hermann Hesse, Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre and the like during his undergraduate and graduate studies in Literature. Though their discoveries were not by today’s definition evidence based, they knew how to ask the real questions of the Spirit, and their expansive creative efforts offered limitless horizons for the soul and for the possibilities of Consciousness.
Dr. Nolan has been in leadership since the late 1980’s; in the academy, in practice and in university counseling centers. His experiences with more than a dozen traditional and distance/blended universities allows him to recognize the unique and vibrant vision and mission of Southwestern College . He is more than honored to now be a small part of its history and tradition.
Dr. Nolan has taught or supervised the clinical training of many hundreds of graduate students, directed health and counseling centers, served as the national Director of Training in Psychology for a distance university, and he has presented at many regional and national conferences.
His current passions are chronicling the history of Southwestern College , studying Consciousness within a framework of Positive Psychology (in all its mainstream and alternative manifestations), mentoring/coaching Southwestern students and finally, trying to understand the deep teachings of Barney, his wire haired fox terrier friend.
The mission of Southwestern College is to:
- promote lifelong learning through innovative educational programs that incorporate academic and experiential learning;
- provide graduate-level degree programs that prepare students to become helping professionals; and
- provide professional development and personal growth opportunities through non-degree programs and community services.
"Southwestern strongly promotes a holistic approach to counselor training and development. By guiding student through profound intentional, transformational experiences, we prepare them to be conscious, effective, professional agents of change. Our belief is that more global movement toward peace and understanding begins at these very personal levels and ripples outward through our therapeutic efforts."
History:
The roots of Southwestern College can be traced to 1945 when a group of forward-thinking individuals began a collection of religious and metaphysical books to establish the Quimby Memorial Library. In 1963, the library was dedicated in Alamogordo , New Mexico . The collection included copies of the manuscripts of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, an American Transcendentalist.
By 1976, Southwestern College , then called Quimby College , was ready for dedication. Dr. Neva Del Hunter and Dr. Robert Waterman, the College's founders, put forth its original mission. The education at the College was to be innovative and holistic. The charge was as follows: the College would teach that the power within a person is greater than in the world; that humankind has a sincerity to learn and a willingness to serve and that education must encompass the knowledge of the universe.They expressed high expectations for the students of the College. They firmly believed that education enabled individuals to manifest the destiny of their souls in the world.
Today, Southwestern College continues to teach in a holistic 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 so they can assist others to realize their full potential. They graduate from the College with the skills necessary to foster transformation in themselves and in others.
For more information, please visit
www.
swc.edu
Youtube Links:
"Recently at Southwestern College, we dedicated rooms to
Rudolf Steiner and Ralph Waldo Emerson. At that warm and meaningful dedication, I spoke about Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (our library is the Quimby Memorial Library), Katherine Ninos talked about Steiner and Robert Waterman spoke about Emerson....Here is my piece..." -
Dr. Nolan www.youtube.com/watch?v=trS3H7dtprg
Katherine Ninos talks about Southwestern College: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F7vmfSDHE0
