What's Happening in Stockton, CA…

The University of the Pacific (UOP) in Stockton will be offering a new master’s program focusing on family and marriage counseling.

Benerd College at UOP will be offering a Master of Arts in counseling psychology, starting with between 15 and 20 students. Associate professor and head of the program, Justin Low, expects the degree to be popular. He said that there is a lack of mental health practitioners, particularly in the areas of family and marriage counseling, which is a problem even more apparent in San Joaquin County.

The program will require 60 credit hours and 280 hours of experiential work with patients. Low said these are rigorous requirements but are aligned with other programs related to psychology. In addition, the program has been aligned with agencies, licensing requirements, and adjunct professors, who will be able to work best with the students.

Such programs often find brochure printing to be helpful in providing more details about their benefits.

Low said that starting salaries for graduates of the program can be as much as $90,000 a year. An adjunct faculty member at UOP who has provided counseling and marriage services for 22 years in Stockton, Andra Zastrow, commented that this program is a positive step forward in a field that is extremely rewarding.

This new program will be starting in the fall semester.