Details of the Certificate

While CCEF is not an accredited institution, we do offer a robust certificate program. Certificates represent that a student has completed courses in our program. The School of Biblical Counseling awards three different certificates: Foundations of Biblical Counseling, Topics in Biblical Counseling, and Counseling Skills and Practice.

Students who are working toward a certificate represent diverse backgrounds and ministry goals–they are pastors, youth ministers, counselors, small group leaders, laypeople, missionaries, business men and women, retirees, and more.

Please note that CCEF is not a certifying agency. CCEF does not “certify” or “endorse” counselors who have completed one of our certificate programs. A significant part of any professional certification process is supervised counseling to observe if a student is appropriately applying what has been learned, along with periodic recertification requirements. At this time, CCEF only awards a certificate of completion from our organization, representing that students have completed coursework within that certificate.

If you wish to refer to yourself as a “certified counselor” or “certified biblical counselor,” you should pursue certification through an organization that provides this type of certification. Some organizations will accept CCEF courses as part of their training requirement. Licensure as a professional counselor is offered through state agencies and typically requires a graduate degree from an accredited institution. Some of our students do go on to be licensed.