Former Bethany Program Continues to Operate Through Different University

After being open for 92 years, Bethany University in Scotts Valley in August.

Yet, that did not stop the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology program from continuing to operate, thanks to a partnership it formed with Simpson University, a private Christian University in Redding.

The counseling psychology program was picked up during the summer by Simpson, which has been making a push to expand its curriculum offerings. Now it’s housed in an airy, freshly remodeled satellite campus at 6001 Butler Lane, just off Highway 17.

The program maintains the same three full-time staff members, as well as a handful of adjunct professors, said director Addie Jackson.

“The students were in the middle of a very intensive process, and we wanted to keep them together in the community,” said Jackson.

The two-year program has 30 full-time students. It lost some students during the transition, said Jackson, but also accepted new students for the fall.

The program is set apart from other clinical psychology programs, mostly because of its focus, said Jackson.

For the first year, the students take classes with a “Christian world view,” she said, even though they do not have to be Christian to study in the program. For the second year, they gain practical experience by working in a training site, such as the Santa Cruz County Jail and at local mental health agencies.

The new students will complete the program in 2013, and Simpson is evaluating whether there is enough interest to continue the program, said Jackson. Recruiters from the school will attend career fairs at UC Santa Cruz and San Jose State University in the coming months to better assess interest, she said.

The program’s former director, Julie Carboni, said in a press release that the satellite program maintains the spirit of Bethany University.

“Our counseling program is the only part of the original Bethany University to survive intact,” she said. “We have a strong commitment to training future therapists that are knowledgeable, skilled, ethical and compassionate, and who appreciate the diverse population of our community.”