What this program actually is
OrientationDepth/Jungian and archetypal, with psychoanalytic and imaginal emphases
Pacifica is the only California MFT program built entirely around depth psychology, and it is not a garnish — it is the spine. The curriculum contains a six-course required sequence, Depth Psychology Theory and Practice I through VI, running from Analytical Psychology (Jung: ego, persona, shadow, anima/animus, complexes, individuation, dreams and active imagination) through Imaginal and Archetypal Psychology (Hillman, soul-making, 'seeing through the literal'), Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Attachment and Trauma, Environmental Psychology and Somatic Psychotherapy. Nowhere else in California is Hillman a required course rather than an elective footnote.
The depth frame also colonizes courses that at other schools are pure compliance. The required 4.5-unit Psychopathology course studies the DSM 'In the spirit of Freud's drives and conflicts, and Jung's "the gods are in the diseases"'. Psychological Assessment, the standardized-testing requirement, ends with 'Qualitative analysis and mythic inquiry are explored within a depth psychological perspective.' Career Development asks students to evaluate assessment tools for 'psychological types, and archetypal categories' and to study 'the organizational psyche and individual calling, destiny, and self-understanding'. Whether that reads as intellectually serious or as a stretch is the single biggest question a prospective student should answer for themselves before enrolling.
Structurally it is a low-residency program on a Carpinteria/Santa Barbara campus: three-day sessions roughly monthly in fall, winter and spring, plus a seven-day summer session in each of the first two years, across four cohort tracks (three weekend, one weekday). Class days are long — 9am to 9pm on the first two days of each session. It is also long and expensive by California standards: 93 quarter units over 30 months, a required original master's thesis published to ProQuest, oral and written comprehensive exams, 50 hours of personal psychotherapy, and total published charges of $90,026 for 2024 on-time completers, with average federal loan debt of $95,249. The regulator-filed on-time completion rate was 66% in 2024.
See it and hear it
The courses that define it
Every California program teaches law and ethics, assessment and a survey of theories. These are the courses that are not on every list — the ones that tell you what this particular faculty believes therapy is. The quoted text is the catalog’s own; the note underneath each one is mine.
Depth Psychology Theory and Practice II: Imaginal, and Archetypal Psychology
"James Hillman's legacy of a polytheistic imagination and emphasis on soul-making is explored. Consideration is given to the development of a poetic basis of mind, a metaphorical sensibility in confronting the complexity of psychological life and 'seeing through the literal'."catalog ↗
Why it is worth noticingA required course on Hillman and archetypal psychology in a licensure-track MFT program is, as far as this research found, unique in California. If you want archetypal psychology in your clinical training rather than as a reading group, this is the course that delivers it.
Depth Psychology Theory and Practice I: Analytical Psychology
"Introduces the foundational concepts and theories of analytical psychology including the ego, persona, shadow, anima and animus, typology complexes, transference, and countertransference. The personal and archetypal dimensions of the unconscious, the individuation process... and the role of dreams and active imagination are explored."catalog ↗
Why it is worth noticingThis is where Pacifica's dreamwork lives — inside required Jungian theory in the winter of year one, not as a standalone dream course. It is taken in the same quarter as the second Counseling Skills course, so students are learning active imagination and clinical listening at the same time.
Psychopathology
Covers DSM history and varieties of psychopathology, co-occurring disorders, systemic dysfunction in families, and suicidality risk and assessment. Then: "In the spirit of Freud's drives and conflicts, and Jung's 'the gods are in the diseases,' suffering and the soul are explored in the tradition of depth and developmental psychology."catalog ↗
Why it is worth noticingThe clearest single sentence in the catalog about what Pacifica is. Every California program teaches DSM diagnosis; this is the only one that frames the DSM through Jung's line about the gods being in the diseases. It tells you the depth frame is not confined to elective territory.
Psychological Assessment I, II
Standardised and non-standardised testing, statistical concepts, test theory and construction, neuropsychological, intelligence and personality tests, and psychological reports — closing with: "Qualitative analysis and mythic inquiry are explored within a depth psychological perspective."catalog ↗
Why it is worth noticingIncluded precisely because psychological testing is the least depth-friendly BBS content area. Pacifica still runs mythic inquiry through it. Prospective students who want a conventional psychometrics grounding should read this sentence carefully and decide how they feel about it.
Depth Psychology Theory and Practice V: Environmental Psychology
"Explore the nature and nuances of interrelationships between people and their living environments... with the goal of exploring the individual's relationship to place and space. Through review of related literature, experiential activities and writings, and a willingness to listen to and through place."catalog ↗
Why it is worth noticingA required ecopsychology-adjacent course in year three. Elsewhere in California this is an elective if it exists at all. 'A willingness to listen to and through place' is the kind of phrasing that will tell you immediately whether this school is your temperament.
Seminar in Directed Research I.A–I.C and II.A–II.C
A seven-course research sequence culminating in an original master's thesis supervised by a Portfolio Thesis Advisor and published on ProQuest. Content includes "the transferential aspects of depth psychological research" and research as "a container for soul work." catalog ↗
Why it is worth noticingMost California MFT master's programs have no thesis. Pacifica requires one, spread across six graded seminars and two years, on top of an oral comprehensive exam in year two and a written clinical-vignette exam in year three. This is the largest single workload difference between Pacifica and a CSU program.
The whole degree, term by term
What you would actually take, in the order you would take it. Sequences change; check the current catalog before you count on any single term.
Strict lockstep cohort over 30 months on the quarter system: fall, winter, spring and summer in years one and two, then fall and winter in year three. Students stay with the same cohort throughout. Classes meet in three-day sessions roughly monthly during fall/winter/spring plus a seven-day summer session in years one and two. Four tracks: C, D and V meet Friday–Sunday; W meets Monday–Wednesday. Fall entry only. course sequence ↗
93 quarter unitsunits in total
- CP 501 Counseling and Psychotherapeutic Theories and Techniques (2.5)
- CP 534 Introduction to the Theories of the Depth Tradition (2)
- CP 515 Counseling Skills: Process of Psychotherapy I (3)
- CP 565 Professional Skills Development I.A. (0.25)
- CP 520 Human Growth and Development (2)
- CP 526 Geropsychology and Long Term Care (1)
- CP 525 Ethics and the Law: Child Abuse Assessment and Treatment (1)
- CP 541 Depth Psychology Theory and Practice I: Analytical Psychology (2)
- CP 516 Counseling Skills: Process of Psychotherapy II (3)
- CP 566 Professional Skills Development I.B (0.25)
- CP 502 Psychopathology (4.5)
- CP 605 Family Systems and Domestic Violence (1.5)
- CP 542R Depth Psychology Theory and Practice II: Imaginal/Archetypal Psychology (1.5)
- CP 517 Counseling Skills: Process of Psychotherapy III (3)
- CP 567 Professional Skills Development I.C (0.25)
- CP 530 Multicultural Counseling Theories and Techniques (2.5)
- CP 523 Professional Orientation: Ethics and the Law (3.5)
- CP 620 Research in Psychology (0.75)
- CP 527 Group Counseling Theories and Techniques I (1.5)
- CP 568 Professional Skills Development I.D. (0.25)
- CP 610 Clinical Practice I (3)
- CP 532 Child Psychotherapy (1.5)
- CP 660A Counseling in Substance Use Disorders, Co-occurring Disorders and Behavioral Addictions I (3)
- CP 607A Community Mental Health Counseling I (3)
- CP 650A Seminar in Directed Research I.A. (0.3)
- CP 665 Professional Skills Development II.A. (0.2)
- CP 611 Clinical Practice II (3)
- CP 601 Marriage, Family, and Relationship Counseling I (3)
- CP 543R Depth Psychology Theory and Practice III: Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (1)
- CP 630A Psychological Assessment I (2.5)
- CP 650B Seminar in Directed Research I.B. (0.45)
- CP 666 Professional Skills Development II.B. (0.25)
- CP 612 Clinical Practice III (3)
- CP 660B Counseling in Substance Use Disorders, Co-occurring Disorders and Behavioral Addictions II (1.5)
- CP 602 Marriage, Family, and Relationship Counseling II (3)
- CP 607B Community Mental Health Counseling II (1.5)
- CP 650C Seminar in Directed Research I.C. (0.3)
- CP 667 Professional Skills Development II.C. (0.25)
- CP 651A Seminar in Directed Research II.A. (0.75)
- CP 522 Advanced Theories and Techniques: Human Sexuality (1)
- CP 630B Psychological Assessment II (2)
- CP 544R Depth Psychology Theory and Practice IV: Attachment and Trauma (1)
- CP 528 Group Counseling Theories and Techniques II (2)
- CP 613 Clinical Practice IV (1)
- CP 668 Professional Skills Development II.D. (0.25)
- CP 511 Cultural Psychology (2)
- CP 608A Career Development I (0.75)
- CP 670A Psychopharmacology I (2)
- CP 651B Seminar in Directed Research II.B. (1)
- CP 545R Depth Psychology Theory and Practice V: Environmental Psychology (1)
- CP 614 Clinical Practice V (1)
- CP 670B Psychopharmacology II (2.5)
- CP 608B Career Development II (3.75)
- CP 546 Depth Psychology Theory and Practice VI: Somatic Psychotherapy (1)
- CP 651C Seminar in Directed Research II.C. (1)
- CP 529 Group Counseling Theories and Techniques III (1)
- CP 615 Clinical Practice VI (1)
How practicum actually works
Californian clinical training runs in two legally distinct stages, and the difference decides what a program can and cannot do for you.
A trainee is a student. You see clients while still enrolled, at a site your program approves, supervised by someone the site provides. This is practicum, and it is the stage a program controls. An associate — registered with the Board after you graduate — is no longer a student, is usually paid, and is working toward the 3,000 hours the license requires. The Board renamed this stage from “intern” to “associate” in 2018, so any page still saying “MFT intern” is quoting something out of date.
Hours you bank as a trainee count toward the 3,000, up to a limit, which is why the size and quality of a program’s placement matters long after graduation: a student who leaves with 1,000 hours starts the associate years a third of the way through them, and one who leaves with the 225-hour minimum starts at the beginning.
Practicum is also where a degree most often stops being on schedule. Coursework runs on a calendar the school controls; placement does not. The questions that matter are therefore all about who owns the problem of finding you a site — and the answer differs enormously between programs on this list.
What happens after the degree →
You find your own site
Securing a placement is your responsibility. A student who cannot find a site cannot graduate, and that risk is highest if you are rural, studying online, or need Spanish-language or specialty hours.
How do I find a practicum site? It is the student's responsibility to research and explore opportunities in your community. In the event that you are having a hard time obtaining a site please contact your Practicum Associate for more support. the school’s own page →
Pacifica has no in-house training clinic. Students find their own site — a community counseling center, social service agency, hospital or other approved facility — in their home area, with the Clinical Practicum Department providing guidelines and consultations rather than placements. Culturally diverse sites are encouraged. Because the program is low-residency and draws students from outside Santa Barbara County, this means your practicum quality depends heavily on what exists where you live. Entry is gated: in the spring of year one, faculty formally assess each student's process skills and readiness for clinical practicum, and the outcome can be endorsement, endorsement with reservation, or a recommendation to discontinue the program. The classroom side runs as Clinical Practice I–VI (CP 610–615) across years two and three. source ↗
Will this degree travel
Not COAMFTE accredited
That is not a defect — 66 of the 78 institutions on the Board’s list are in the same position, including most of the Cal States, and their graduates license in California every year.
It becomes a problem if you leave. Several states will not accept a non-COAMFTE degree without remedial coursework, and a few will not accept it at all. If there is any chance you move, check the destination board’s rules before you enroll, not after.
What the Board requires of any qualifying degree →
What it is, on paper
Depth psychology orientation — interdisciplinary courses in literature, mythology, religion and culture alongside clinical training. The strongest depth/archetypal option in the state.
What it costs
Pacifica publishes a cost of attendance per year rather than per program. Tuition is $7,467 a quarter for Fall, Winter and Spring and $5,599 for Summer — $28,000 a year. The program runs 2.5 years, so the tuition for the whole degree is $70,000. That multiplication is mine; both numbers in it are Pacifica’s.
On top of tuition there is a compulsory session fee, because this is a low-residency program and the retreats are not optional: $9,016 a year residential (room and meals on campus) or $5,032 a year non-residential. It is listed separately here rather than added in, because it buys accommodation — rolling it into a tuition comparison would price Pacifica against schools whose students pay a landlord instead.
$70,000 total 2025-26 — source
What a month costs to live on while you study →
Getting in
No. The GRE/GMAT or other tests are not an admissions requirement. source →
How its graduates did on the Board’s exam
Counting every attempt rather than only first attempts, the figure is 78% across 445 sittings here, against 66% statewide. First attempts are the fairer comparison — counting resits measures how many tries people needed rather than how many passed, and it penalises a school whose graduates keep going.
On the separate California Law and Ethics exam, 89% of this school’s 373 first-time candidates passed, against 80% statewide.
Recorded by the Board as Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpenteria. Its list is kept by institution and its names lag: a school that has since renamed appears under the name it had when the candidates sat.
What this number is, and what it is not
It describes candidates, not teaching. In 2022 the Council on Social Work Education removed licensing-exam pass rates from its accreditation standards, saying the data “may not be an equitable measure of program outcomes” — after the social-work exam board’s own analysis found first-time pass rates of 84% for white candidates and 45% for Black candidates. A program that enrolls more career-changers and more students of color will post a lower rate while teaching at least as well. The accrediting body with the most reason to want this metric examined it and stopped using it.
The denominator is not this year’s students. These are people who sat the exam during the window, often several years after graduating and sometimes after the program changed shape or owner.
It is published here because it is a real, official figure that is otherwise almost impossible to find — and it is published on this page only. There is no pass-rate column in the directory, nothing is sorted by it, and no school on this site is ranked against another.
July 2018 - December 2024, pooled (13 semiannual BBS reports) · the Board’s published exam results by school →
What people say about it
Quoted where the wording carries the meaning, linked in every case, opening in a new window. The tags are my reading of each source, not a measurement, and the unflattering ones are here too.
What to ask before you apply
None of these are answered on a program page, and all five change what the degree is actually worth to you.
The single question that separates programs. Ask for a list of current sites, and ask plainly whether the program places you or expects you to find your own. A rural or online student unable to find a site cannot graduate.
The Board publishes this by school, so the program cannot be the only source. Ask anyway, and see whether the answer matches.
Per-unit rates move. Multiply by the actual unit count and add campus fees before comparing anything.
The 500 couples-and-families hours are carved out of the 1,750 clinical ones, and they are the category associates most often finish short on. A program placing students in adult individual settings will not generate them.
Sometimes yes, sometimes with extra units, sometimes only in one delivery format. Get it in writing rather than from a brochure.
What I could not establish
Everything above is sourced. These are the things I looked for and could not establish - take them to admissions, and note how quickly and precisely they answer.
- No freely-licensed photograph exists. All six images in Wikimedia Commons' Category:Pacifica Graduate Institute (Pacifica Entrance, LambertCampus, LaderaCampus, CampbellLibrary, LambertOrganicGarden, WoodmanPublicProgram) are GFDL-self with migration=not-eligible — GFDL only, no Creative Commons dual license — so none qualifies under the CC-BY / CC-BY-SA / CC0 / public-domain rule. photo is therefore null rather than a copyright risk.
- There is no standalone mythology course in the M.A. Counseling Psychology curriculum. Mythology enters obliquely: 'the multidisciplinary role of myth and metaphor' in CP 534, 'mythic inquiry' in CP 630A/B, and 'archetypal categories' in CP 608. Pacifica does run a separate M.A./Ph.D. in Mythology and Religious Studies, but it is a different degree and not part of the MFT track.
- There is likewise no standalone dream course in this program. Dreams and active imagination are taught inside CP 541. Pacifica's Dream Tending work sits in Pacifica Extension, outside the degree.
- The URL supplied in the assignment, https://www.pacifica.edu/degree-program/counseling-psychology-masters-program/, returns 404. The live page is https://www.pacifica.edu/degree-program/masters-counseling-psychology/.
- The BPPE-reported 11% job-placement rate should be read with care: the same filing reports zero LMFT exam data because 'Licensure examination passage data is not available from the state agency' and the school was 'unable to collect data from 153 graduates'. The low placement figure reflects graduates the school could not follow up with as much as it reflects outcomes — but it is what the regulator filing says.
- Reddit was unreachable from this environment (HTTP 403 across reddit.com, old.reddit.com, JSON endpoints, pullpush.io and mirrors), so no Reddit comment text could be quoted — only thread titles. Niche also blocked access (HTTP 403).
- No cohort-level data on how many students are in each of the four tracks (C, D, V, W) is published.
Sources for this page (5)
- Masters in Counseling Psychology — program page, curriculum overview, graduation requirements and practicum
- Course Descriptions: Masters in Counseling Psychology (full catalog, all CP course codes)
- Pacifica admission requirements
- BPPE School Performance Fact Sheet, M.A. Counseling Psychology, calendar years 2023/2024
- Pacifica School Performance Fact Sheets index