Academics in

Develop the understanding, social justice perspective, and clinical expertise needed to become a creative and effective mental health counselor. Gain eligibility for your counseling license by completing 700-1,300 hours of field experience.

Promote healing through drawing, painting, sculpting, and other media. Learn theoretical and practical approaches to help people gain self-awareness and understanding. Become engaged with individuals, families, and communities to foster well-being.

Learn to use dance and movement to enhance communication and relationships and foster mental and physical wellness in clients. As a dance/movement therapist and mental health counselor, explore how dance can yield fresh insights and facilitate the healing process.

Facilitate change through improvisation and performance. As a licensed mental health counselor, use experiential techniques to help others become spontaneous and flexible in their relationships. Practice in schools, clinics, and community centers.

Learn from pioneers in the field as you train to become a licensed mental health counselor, whose practice integrates multiple areas of expression, including art, dance/movement, drama, and music. Choose from our on-campus or low-residency options.

Starting from the basis of the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—learn a multidimensional approach to counseling that addresses people’s mental, physical, and emotional needs. Complete 1,300 field-training hours, qualifying you for licensure.

Engage others in music making as a means to wellness. Use musical performance to instill confidence and collaboration. Prepare for careers in diverse settings, including at-risk youth, underserved communities, and clinical and educational centers.

Guide those in pain toward health and healing. With 1,300 hours of specialized field training, you’ll develop the mental health counseling expertise needed to address traumatic experiences, especially in the case of young and vulnerable populations.

Deepen your practice of mindfulness and bring its benefits into your professional and personal life. Gain an understanding of the mind-body connection, and discover the science behind contemplative practices. Prepare to help others live more fully.

Our MFA in Creative Writing nurtures and challenges your creative potential in one of six genres: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Graphic Novels and Comics, Writing for Stage and Screen, or Writing for Young People.

Pursue an MFA that’s rigorous yet individually tailored for the 21st century artist. The interdisciplinary focus of the program allows you to craft a course of study that integrates creative work into your daily life.

Lesley’s Master of Social Work (MSW) is a distinctive program with a mission of emphasizing social justice, promoting client well-being, and serving and supporting a diverse range of vulnerable individuals, families, and communities.

Blending online study with weekend on-campus classes, our PhD program for mental health professionals and school counselors prepares you to bring transformative leadership and applied research to mental health programs, schools, and higher education.

Become a leader who can develop forward-thinking approaches for the improvement of K-12 student learning. Designed for working professionals, this PhD program is for both traditional school leaders and other educators who want to facilitate change.

Transform individuals and communities through creativity, scholarship, and collaboration. Enhance your practice and become a leader in expressive therapies through this low residency doctoral program, which interweaves artistic expression and inquiry with a focus on research

Design a doctoral program tailored to your professional goals. You’ll have a great deal of flexibility as you structure interdisciplinary study that fits your career objectives and allows you to contribute significantly to your field of interest.

Through our certificate program, discover how to integrate the healing power of creative expression into the care of patients in hospitals, health centers, nursing homes, and other settings. You’ll develop a range of skills that open new possibilities in healthcare, education, human services, social work, counseling, and more.

Explore the principles and practices of art, dance/movement, drama, music therapy, and more. Discover how these disciplines, known as expressive therapies, can be integrated into clinical work and build on your current professional practice.

Join a community of students and faculty who will support and guide you toward integrating mindfulness principles into your profession. Our program is especially useful for health and wellness professionals, social workers, counselors, educators, and those who wish to develop a practice of mindfulness and to share these practices with students, clients, and colleagues.

Expand your counseling psychology expertise. Start by creating a personalized 12-credit program of study with Lesley’s expert faculty advisors.

Build your expertise in psychosocial trauma work and bring new knowledge to your current practice. This 12-credit graduate certificate program provides an overview of trauma theory and practice in relation to specific client populations and topics.

If you have an advanced degree in expressive arts therapy or a related field, and wish to gain in-depth training in the principles and practices of different modalities (art, dance, music, and psychodrama), this certificate program is for you.

Grow your literacy skills and qualify for a reading specialist license. Designed for PreK–12 educators with a master’s degree and teaching license, this program prepares you for higher-level positions in curriculum, staff training, or supervision.