Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, and the Franciscan University of Steubenville were recently recognized for their affordable and accredited graduate counseling programs.

The Counseling and Human Development program at Walsh and the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Franciscan were both listed among the “Top 25 Most Affordable, Accredited, Graduate Degree Programs in Counseling and Psychology in the Mid-West for 2014.” The list was released on the Best Counseling Degrees website.

“We are proud to offer a high-quality academic program that is also affordable,” said Dr. Linda Barclay, Program Director and Professor of Counseling and Human Development, in a Walsh news release. “I am proud of our hard-working faculty members and dedicated students who flourish under the individualized attention they receive through specialized classroom instruction, our on-campus full service Father Matthew Herttna Counseling Center, a strong peer mentoring program, and experiential global learning opportunities.”

The Cardinal Newman Society also recently reported on the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Franciscan University. The program “combines therapeutic counseling skills with a Christian understanding of the human person” and “prepares graduates for counseling jobs in a wide range of settings, helping individuals cope with anxiety, addictions, marriage and family issues, grief, depression, and other issues.”

“It’s first and foremost about respecting the dignity of the person in front of you,” which entails meeting the person with compassion and appreciating his or her freedom, said Dr. Christin Jungers, department chair and associate professor in the program, in an interview with The Cardinal Newman Society.

Best Counseling Degrees is an online resource that strives “to share expert information about the top counseling degrees to help you achieve your professional goals in helping people overcome a wide range of problems,” stated the resource description.

The 25 listed programs were selected from more than 100 programs spanning North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, according to the website.

Franciscan University of Steubenville and Walsh University are recommended in The Newman Guide for their strong Catholic identities. The Cardinal Newman Society recently released the 2015 edition of the Guide along with an innovative new “Recruit Me” program that lets students sign up so the recommended colleges can compete for them. 

Catholic Education Daily is an online publication of The Cardinal Newman Society. Click here for email updates and free online membership with The Cardinal Newman Society.