Program Overview
For nearly 50 years, CIIS’ Integral Counseling Psychology program has trained students in a vision of psychotherapy that combines major spiritual traditions of the East and West and contemporary psychoanalytic, humanistic, systemic, multicultural, and transpersonal psychologies.
As part of CIIS’ Counseling Psychology department, the Integral Counseling Psychology program adheres to the guidelines of the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, while also emphasizing the integral philosophy of the late Haridas Chaudhuri. We define integral as “essential to wholeness” and incorporate this view into therapeutic practice that recognizes all aspects of a person’s being.
Our graduates are trained to become licensed therapists who go on to work in private practice, schools, and non-profit organizations. Our faculty have a variety of research interests, among them ecopsychology, trauma theory, dreams and imagination, mystical practices, work with incarcerated people, LGBTQIA+ and activist communities, psychedelic assisted therapy, and Transpersonal, Jungian, and Gestalt psychologies.
Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Integral Counseling Psychology
Our Approach
The holistic orientation of the Integral Counseling program invites students to articulate their personal vision of psychology within modern theoretical approaches. Students benefit from a spiritually-oriented, multicultural, libratory framework for therapy with individuals, groups, couples, and families.

Career Paths
CIIS’ Integral Counseling Psychology students are trained to become Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCCs) who understand family and community systems, attachment theory, contemporary trauma theory, cultural/racial dynamics, and transpersonal concepts as a means of treating families, couples, and individuals from varying populations and demographics.
The Integral Counseling Psychology program graduates practice in:
- Private practice
- Schools and other education oriented settings
- Community non-profits
- Hospitals, clinics, and other in and outpatient settings
- Government agencies
This program meets the educational requirements for California's Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) license and California's Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) license.
CIIS is one of the largest educators of MFTs, and is also the leader in pass rates among larger schools in California.
How to Apply
Application opening dates
Apply for Spring 2023 starting September 15, 2022. (See list of programs admitting for spring.)
Apply for Fall 2023 starting November 15, 2022. (All programs accept fall applications.)
Application Link
Questions? Contact us.
We are here to help! If you have any questions about applying to a program or registering for an Info Session, please contact the Admissions Office at 415-575-6154 or admissions@ciis.edu.