Luther Rice Practicum
Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling Program
What is the Practicum?
Grace Ministries International is honored to offer students of Luther Rice College & Seminary an approved practicum for the Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling. This comprehensive ONLINE program equips aspiring discipleship counselors with the knowledge, skills, and spiritual grounding necessary to excel in this specialized field of Exchanged Life counseling. The Luther Rice Practicum is an adaptation of Grace Ministries International’s course Equipping The Discipleship Counselor, or EDC. Each element of the Exchanged Life counseling model is explored and expanded as it is practiced in a counseling environment. Through a blend of experienced-based sessions and supervised counseling, the program prepares students to effectively address the unique needs of clients seeking grace-based Christian counseling. In addition to one-on-one counseling, practicum students are trained and mentored as they lead a small group through our grace-based study.
What do I need to know?
Time Commitment
The Luther Rice Practicum runs for 15 weeks and meets entirely online. In preparation for each counseling topic, students will watch custom training videos which correlate with the GMI Counseling Notebook. Students will also meet online weekly with a practicum partner and GMI supervisor for 2 hours to practice their counseling skills. Practicum participants must weekly allocate an additional 2 hours to give their partner the opportunity to practice counseling them. Thus, every student experiences being the counselor and then the counselee. All sessions are supervised. On average, students should set aside about 5.5 hours per week for the practicum and an additional 2 hours for receiving counseling. During the small group study, students will need to allot about 2 hours per week for co-leading the group and debrief.
Due to the staff-intensive investment into each of our practicum students, GMI must limit availability to the top 4 applicants each term. A minimum of 2 students is necessary for the Practicum to be offered.
Practice counseling is collaborative with other students and every effort is made to match partners’ availability.
Network 220
GMI is a member of Network 220 (named after Galatians 2:20 and formerly, The Association of Exchanged Life Ministries) which is an international network of more than 110 churches, counseling ministries, and training ministries. Network 220 establishes the framework for their certification, and individual training organizations develop their own unique curriculum aligned with the certification requirements. Completion of the Luther Rice Practicum through GMI fulfills half of the requirements for the Network 220 Discipleship Counseling certification. The remaining requirement for Network 220 certification is The Encounter. LR Practicum graduates will be offered a discount if enrolled in the Encounter within 2 years of completing the practicum.
Program Overview
View GMI conference: By Divine Design
View Weekly Instruction Videos for each counseling topic
Practice counseling skills weekly with a student partner and supervising counselor
Receive counseling weekly from a student counselor and their supervisor
Co-lead a 4-week small group study
$1,200 Practicum Tuition Fee paid to Grace Ministries International
How do I get started?
Step 1: Complete any prerequisites outlined by Luther Rice for the Practicum
Step 2: Submit Practicum application
Step 3: Interview with Practicum Instructor
Step 4: You are ready to go!
Next class kicks off January 2025!
