Counsel with RENEWED Confidence and Purpose.

Integrated Psychological Counseling, Pastoral Care, and Christian Faith.

50 lessonsAI-adaptiveCancel anytimeLearn anywhere

"Your clients deserve a practitioner who knows not just what to do, but who they are — and this academy is where that clarity is built."

— Michael David Clay, Founder

What you'll learn

What you'll be able to do

Apply foundational psychological frameworks — from psychodynamic and humanistic theory to modern clinical modalities — to real client presentations
Conduct structured, ethically grounded intake and case-conceptualization sessions across multiple counseling orientations
Integrate biblical principles and theological soul-care with sound psychological practice in a faith-based counseling context
Deliver evidence-based interventions using CBT, DBT, and related secular clinical modalities with fidelity and ethical competence
Navigate the distinct ethical codes governing both Christian/pastoral counseling and licensed secular clinical practice
Articulate a clear, coherent professional counseling identity aligned with their chosen track and client population

How it works

A school that adapts to you

This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.

We learn your level

A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.

Lessons adapt as you go

Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.

Your AI coach keeps you moving

Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.

The curriculum

What's inside your school

10 modules · 50 lessons

Track 1 — Foundations of Psychological Theory: The Psychodynamic & Humanistic Roots

Introduces the classical psychological schools — psychoanalytic, Adlerian, and humanistic — that underpin all modern counseling practice.

1.1Freud, the Unconscious, and Psychoanalytic FoundationsIncluded
1.2Adlerian Psychology and Individual StrivingIncluded
1.3Humanistic Psychology: Rogers, Maslow, and the Person-Centered CoreIncluded
1.4Existential Counseling and Meaning-MakingIncluded
1.5Gestalt Therapy and Present-Moment AwarenessIncluded

Track 1 — Foundations of Psychological Theory: Behavioral, Cognitive, and Systems Modalities

Build a professional-grade online counseling curriculum under the master academy name "Covenants". This track is specifically dedicated to the "Christian Integration of Psychology and Theology." The curriculum must structurally bridge clinical counseling techniques with a deep Biblical worldview.

Map out a multi-module learning journey targeting the following core areas:

Theological Foundations of Soul-Care: Cover the concept of Imago Dei, the reality of brokenness/sin, and the redemptive framework of healing. Introduce the concept of therapeutic "Lament" as a functional spiritual and emotional mechanism.
Models of Integration: Explicitly teach and critique the four major approaches: Biblical Counseling (scripture-focused), Christian Psychology (an emic, indigenous multicultural approach), Transformational Psychology (focusing on the spiritual formation of the counselor), and the Integration View (using God's Word as a guide to evaluate secular psychology).
Ethical Brackets & Spiritual Boundaries: Include modules on professional counselor identity, ensuring students understand ethical bracketing (how to respect client spiritual values without imposing personal dogmas), and informed consent protocols regarding faith integration.
Dynamic AI Tutor Persona: Set the 24/7 student AI tutor to speak in an empathetic, instructionally rigorous, and spiritually grounded tone. The AI must anchor its explanations in orthodox theological truths and Christian counseling models whenever students ask clarifying questions.

2.1Behavioral Foundations: Classical and Operant Conditioning in Clinical WorkIncluded
2.2Cognitive Theory and the Beck ModelIncluded
2.3Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and the ABC ModelIncluded
2.4Family Systems Theory: Bowen, Minuchin, and BeyondIncluded
2.5Solution-Focused and Narrative ApproachesIncluded

Track 1 — Foundations of Psychological Theory: Intake, Assessment, and Ethical Identity

Develops the practical clinical skills — intake, case conceptualization, and professional ethics — needed to apply theory responsibly.

3.1Conducting a Clinical Intake: Structure, Rapport, and Information GatheringIncluded
3.2Case Conceptualization Across OrientationsIncluded
3.3Developmental Lifespan Theory and Its Counseling ApplicationsIncluded
3.4Professional Ethics in Foundational Counseling PracticeIncluded
3.5Building a Clear Counseling Identity and Theoretical OrientationIncluded

Track 2 — Christian Integration: Biblical Foundations and the Theology of Soul-Care

Grounds the Christian counseling framework in Scripture, historic theology, and the church's historic tradition of soul-care.

4.1What Is Biblical Counseling? History, Movements, and Core CommitmentsIncluded
4.2A Theology of the Human Person: Image, Fall, and RedemptionIncluded
4.3Scripture as a Counseling Resource: Hermeneutics for PractitionersIncluded
4.4Soul-Care in Church History: From the Desert Fathers to the PuritansIncluded
4.5Prayer, Lament, and Spiritual Disciplines as Therapeutic PracticesIncluded

Track 2 — Christian Integration: Integrating Faith with Psychological Theory and Practice

Equips students to critically and creatively integrate sound psychological science with a robust Christian worldview.

5.1Models of Integration: From Parallelism to Transformational PsychologyIncluded
5.2Applying Attachment Theory Through a Biblical LensIncluded
5.3Grief, Suffering, and Theodicy in the Counseling RoomIncluded
5.4Identity, Shame, and the Gospel in Clinical PracticeIncluded
5.5Intercultural Christian Counseling: Race, Culture, and the Body of ChristIncluded

Track 2 — Christian Integration: Pastoral Ethics, Scope of Practice, and Professional Identity

Establishes the ethical and professional boundaries that define responsible, distinctly Christian counseling ministry.

6.1Ethics in Christian and Pastoral Counseling: AACC Code and Church AccountabilityIncluded
6.2Scope of Practice: When to Refer and How to Collaborate with Clinical ProfessionalsIncluded
6.3Pastoral Counseling vs. Licensed Therapy: Legal and Ministerial DistinctionsIncluded
6.4Spiritual Formation as Ongoing Counselor DevelopmentIncluded
6.5Articulating a Christian Counseling Identity: Calling, Competence, and CommunityIncluded

Track 3 — Secular Counseling-Psychology: Clinical Foundations and the Scientist-Practitioner Model

Establishes the evidence-based, empirically grounded philosophy and assessment skills that define secular clinical psychology.

7.1The Scientist-Practitioner Model: Research, Evidence, and Clinical Decision-MakingIncluded
7.2Psychopathology and the DSM-5-TR: Diagnosis, Classification, and LimitationsIncluded
7.3Clinical Interviewing and Mental Status ExaminationIncluded
7.4Psychological Assessment: Tests, Measures, and Ethical UseIncluded
7.5Multicultural Counseling Competency in Secular Clinical PracticeIncluded

Track 3 — Secular Counseling-Psychology: Evidence-Based Interventions — CBT, DBT, and ACT

Delivers hands-on training in the most empirically supported cognitive-behavioral therapies used in clinical settings today.

8.1Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Protocol, Structure, and Core TechniquesIncluded
8.2CBT for Anxiety Disorders: Exposure Hierarchies and Response PreventionIncluded
8.3Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Biosocial Theory and the Four Skill ModulesIncluded
8.4DBT in Practice: Individual Therapy, Skills Groups, and Phone CoachingIncluded
8.5Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Psychological Flexibility and Values-Based ActionIncluded

Track 3 — Secular Counseling-Psychology: Specialized Clinical Modalities

Extends clinical competence into trauma, mood, substance use, and relationship presentations requiring specialized evidence-based approaches.

9.1Trauma-Informed Care and EMDR: Foundations and Clinical ApplicationIncluded
9.2Motivational Interviewing (MI) for Behavioral ChangeIncluded
9.3Clinical Work with Depression and Mood DisordersIncluded
9.4Couples and Relationship Counseling: Gottman Method and EFT EssentialsIncluded
9.5Group Therapy: Theory, Stages, and Facilitation SkillsIncluded

Track 3 — Secular Counseling-Psychology: Ethics, Law, and Professional Clinical Identity

Prepares students for the full ethical, legal, and professional responsibilities of licensed secular clinical practice.

10.1The APA and ACA Ethical Codes: Core Principles and Decision-Making ModelsIncluded
10.2Confidentiality, HIPAA, and Mandatory Reporting in Clinical SettingsIncluded
10.3Supervision, Self-Care, and Preventing Clinician BurnoutIncluded
10.4Licensure Pathways in the US: LPC, LMFT, LCSW, and Psychologist RoutesIncluded
10.5Articulating a Secular Clinical Identity: Theoretical Orientation and Professional VisionIncluded

Who it's for

Is this you?

Psychology graduates

They have the degree but want the clinical depth, theoretical grounding, and professional identity their program only partially delivered.

Ministry & pastoral leaders

They are already sitting with people in crisis and need theologically serious, ethically grounded training to do that soul-care well.

Practicing counselors cross-training

They are licensed or experienced but want rigorous exposure to a new track — faith integration, secular clinical modalities, or foundational theory — to expand their competence.

Christian counseling students

They want a track that takes both Scripture and psychological science seriously, without collapsing one into the other.

Mental health advocates

They are working in community or nonprofit settings and need structured, graduate-level training to move from advocacy into effective direct practice.

Career-changers entering counseling

They are making a deliberate transition into the helping professions and want a rigorous, organized curriculum to build a legitimate clinical foundation.

Questions

Frequently asked

Your teacher

A note from your teacher

Michael David Clay, Founder

If you have found your way to Covenants Master Academy, I suspect you already carry a serious sense of purpose about this work. You may be a ministry leader who has been sitting with people in their hardest moments and knows you need more than good intentions to serve them well. You may be a psychology graduate who wants the clinical depth your program only gestured toward. You may be a practicing counselor who has always worked at the intersection of faith and clinical practice and never found a training that honored both without flattening either. Wherever you are standing, I want you to know: this academy was built for you.

What I have seen, again and again, is that the most significant gap in counselor development is not knowledge of a technique — it is the absence of a coherent professional identity. Practitioners who cannot clearly articulate their theoretical orientation, who have never seriously engaged the ethical codes governing their context, or who were never taught to conduct a structured intake and case conceptualization with genuine rigor — those are the practitioners who struggle, and whose clients quietly pay the price. Covenants Master Academy exists to close that gap.

Each of our three tracks is constructed with that conviction in mind. Track 1 takes you through the foundational architecture of the discipline — from the psychodynamic and humanistic roots through behavioral, cognitive, and systems frameworks — and then grounds that theory in the applied skills of clinical intake, case conceptualization, and identity formation. Track 2 approaches Christian integration not as sentiment but as scholarship: theological anthropology, hermeneutics for counseling practitioners, the history of soul-care, and the ethics of pastoral practice. Track 3 operates fully inside the secular clinical tradition, covering the DSM-5-TR, structured evidence-based protocols for CBT, DBT, and ACT, trauma-informed care, and the legal and professional landscape of US licensure.

I want to be honest with you about one thing: this training will ask something of you. The curriculum is written at a graduate level because the work you are preparing for demands it. Your clients will bring you complexity — grief laced with theology, trauma threaded through family systems, shame that does not yield to a single framework. You deserve preparation that matches that complexity. We will not simplify the hard questions or pretend that any one track holds every answer. What we will do is give you the conceptual tools, the ethical grounding, and the professional clarity to meet those questions with confidence and care.

If that is what you are looking for, I invite you to begin. The work of becoming a counselor — truly becoming one — starts here.