The Counseling Program at Calvin Theological Seminary

  1. Counseling Service at Calvin Theological Seminary

    Education at Calvin Theological Seminary is more than the acquiring of information and knowledge. It is also the formation of each student as a person of God equipped to serve Him in the ministry of His church. Therefore, we are concerned that each student grow as a person and grow in her or his ability to work productively with others and to exercise leadership. This part of education is necessarily somewhat individualized in one-to-one counseling or small groups. The counseling services at Calvin Theological Seminary aim to provide one means for a student to get to know himself or herself, to understand how others react to him or her, and to develop abilities to minister more effectively to others. The personal qualities which the church expects in her ministers are delineated in another section of the Student Handbook (cf. Addendum).

    In addition to all the informal and unstructured conversations that take place between two students, between a faculty or staff member and a student, and between members of the church and the student on the field, we have more formal counseling and pastoral support through the FFM program, the services of the Dean of Students, the Director of Ministry Formation, and the two Vice Presidents in their respective roles.

  2. Outside Professional Counseling Services

    Although the primary counseling services are provided by the faculty, staff, and fellow students of the seminary, additional counseling services of professionally-trained counselors have been provided by the seminary for many years, even prior to the decision of the board of trustees in February, 1965, to provide a regular program of such professional services.

    Participation in this counseling may be at the initiative of either the student or the faculty. When the faculty initiates consideration of such counseling, in almost all cases it does so as a recommendation to a student who is already aware of significant, unresolved personal problems. The decision as to whether the student will participate is his/hers. If he/she finds another avenue to resolve the problem, the student may choose not to engage in professional psychological counseling. In some instances when the faculty judges the problem to be serious and other forms of counseling have been exhausted, the faculty does require such professional counseling.

    Such professional counseling may be either individual counseling or group counseling with a clinical psychologist. The confidentiality of such counseling is guarded by engaging the services of some person outside the seminary and the only reports to the faculty are in general terms regarding the progress the student has made in resolving the problem. Qualified individuals volunteer their services or are retained by the seminary to counsel Calvin Seminary students. Calvin Seminary students and their spouses can receive professional counseling from such individuals at a nominal cost per session - payable at the time of the appointment. Arrangements can be made through the Dean of Student's office. Referrals to other counselors are available in the Dean of Student's office, but the payment for such counseling is the student's responsibility. The seminary subsidizes the cost of counseling in growth groups by paying one-half the cost of the group counseling up to a total seminary contribution of $150 per person per academic year. All bills for counseling within an academic year must be received by the end of that year (June 30) to qualify for this subsidy. Arrangements for either group or individual counseling should be made through the dean of students/international student advisor. In case of emergency counseling needs, please call Rev. Richard Sytsma (957-6016), Dr. Ron Nydam (957-6025), or Ina De Moor (957-6041).

  3. Financial Counseling

    The director of Admissions and financial aid is available for counsel regarding financial difficulties. However, all requests for financial aid should be made through the financial aid office.