Christian Counseling vs. Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degrees

Search for "Christian counseling degree" and you will find two very different kinds of programs under similar names. Some are clinical mental health counseling master's degrees, often CACREP-accredited, that are taught at faith-based universities and built to meet state licensure requirements. Others are pastoral, biblical or human services degrees that their own universities describe as non-licensure. The faith content can look similar; the professional outcome does not. This guide explains the difference and how to check which one you are looking at.

Two kinds of degree, one word

The clearest way to see the split is inside a single university. Regent University offers both:

• an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, which it describes as CACREP-accredited, labels "Licensure-Eligible," and says combines counseling models and techniques with biblical principles;
• an M.A. in Pastoral Counseling, which it labels "Non-Licensure" and describes as equipping pastors, nonprofit leaders and others with biblically centered counseling tools, with concentrations framed as ministry preparation;
• an M.A. in Human Services, also described as a non-licensure degree, with concentrations including Christian counseling and biblical counseling.

George Fox University draws the same line in its catalog. Its M.A. in Social and Behavioral Studies is for students who, in the catalog's words, are not seeking a clinical degree and do not anticipate serving as licensed mental health professionals; graduates serve in human services roles in a non-clinical capacity. George Fox's clinical mental health counseling master's is a separate program.

So the question to ask about any faith-based program is not "Is it Christian?" but "Is it designed for licensure, and for which state?"

What makes a degree licensure-track

Counselor licenses (LPC, LMHC, LPCC, LCPC and other titles) are issued by state boards, and each board sets its own education, supervised experience and exam requirements. A program's faith identity has no bearing on that; its curriculum, fieldwork and accreditation do. See LPC vs. LMHC for how titles and requirements vary.

Signals that a program is built for licensure:

• The program says so, and names a state. Liberty University describes its residential CMHC master's as a 60-hour program designed to meet Virginia requirements for licensure as a Professional Counselor. Messiah University says its CMHC track is designed to academically prepare students to become Licensed Professional Counselors in Pennsylvania and many other states.
• A professional licensure disclosure. Regent's CMHC page includes a state-by-state table of licensing agencies and whether the program meets each state's educational requirements.
• Program-level accreditation. CACREP accreditation applies to a specific program, not to a whole university. The 2024 CACREP Standards require entry-level degrees of at least 60 semester credits, a practicum of at least 100 hours, and a 600-hour internship. Messiah states that all three of its counseling tracks are CACREP-accredited and have been since 2012.
• Supervised clinical fieldwork with actual clients, not only ministry practice.

Signals that a program is not built for licensure: the page labels it non-licensure, describes outcomes in ministry or lay settings, has no clinical practicum or internship, or lacks a licensure disclosure. A Christian or biblical counseling title does not, by itself, tell you either way.

How faith shows up in licensure-track programs

Faith-integrated clinical programs still follow the same professional framework as other counseling programs. Integration typically appears in how courses are framed and in optional or required coursework:

• Regent says its courses are taught from a Christian worldview.
• Messiah describes the program as integrating faith commitments with academic work and offers students the opportunity to train in Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy.
• George Fox's catalog lists a course, Spirituality and Clinical Praxis, that examines the Christian faith and its implications for clinical practice, with prerequisites set for its clinical mental health and couple and family counseling students.

At the same time, licensed counselors work under professional ethics. The ACA Code of Ethics (2014, which ACA says remains the current version while a revision is under way) states that counselors are aware of and avoid imposing their own values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors on clients. A faith-integrated program should be able to explain how it teaches spiritual integration within that standard, for example when clients welcome it and when they do not.

Who nonclinical pastoral degrees suit

Non-licensure pastoral and Christian counseling degrees are designed for a different purpose, and they can be a reasonable fit if your goal is:

• counseling and care within a church or ministry role;
• adding helping skills to work in a nonprofit, community or mission setting;
• biblical counseling in a church or biblical counseling center, which Regent names as settings for its human services concentration.

The risk is choosing one when you actually want to practice as a licensed professional counselor. Universities that label a degree "non-licensure" are telling you it is not designed for that path. If there is any chance you will want a license, start with a program designed for licensure in your state.

How our directory treats these programs

We list Christian, pastoral and biblical counseling degrees only when the institution is accredited and the program page states its purpose. Unless the page says the degree is designed to meet licensure requirements, we label it as nonclinical rather than as clinical counselor preparation (methodology). Faith-based programs that do state licensure preparation appear alongside other clinical programs, for example Regent's online CMHC master's and Messiah's online CMHC track. Browse all clinical mental health counseling programs or the CACREP-accredited online list.

Questions to ask a faith-based program

• Is this specific program and track CACREP-accredited, or is only another track accredited?
• Which states' licensure requirements does it state it meets, and where is the disclosure?
• How many practicum and internship hours are required, and can placements be in secular agencies?
• How is faith integrated into courses, and is that integration required or optional?
• Are there conduct or faith statements students must sign, and how do they affect fieldwork?
• If the degree is pastoral or human services, does the university describe it as non-licensure?