History of The Seattle School

Formation

The dream of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology began around a kitchen table, where a gathering of a few like-minded, equally passionate dreamers dared to imagine a new kind of psychological and theological training. The Seattle School was initially established under the auspices of Western Seminary in 1997. After a three year incubation period, the school launched out as an independent institution named Mars Hill Graduate School, located in an office park in the Seattle suburb of Bothell. Those early years were met with formative turmoil as the school struggled to find stability and reliability.

Move to Belltown

The Seattle School's values of being locally rooted and invested in the city of Seattle drove the school in 2006 to move into the heart of the city where it now occupies a renovated luggage factory. The old exposed brick, combined with the century-old wooden floors and beams inspire students and faculty to continue the pursuit of the original dream: to take the concepts of text, soul, and culture to their zenith – an engagement of the kingdom of God in the faces of real people.

In the spring of 2009, Founding President Dr. Dan Allender handed over leadership to Dr. Keith Anderson, launching the school out of childhood into the throes of adolescence. Over the next years, The Seattle School would move into maturity as our faculty grew, our degree programs strengthened, and our alumni lived out the mission of the school out in the world.

Name Change and Beyond

After deliberate discourse, the Board of Trustees voted in 2010 to change the name of Mars Hill Graduate School to The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. This name change was both a move to help differentiate The Seattle School as well as help ground the school in its city and in the intersection of theological and psychological thought. In August of 2011, The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology became the official name of the school.

At the same time as our school was going through its renaming, The Seattle School launched new offerings for people looking for education outside of graduate degrees. 2010 saw the launch of The Allender Center at The Seattle School – an institution for Dan Allender Conferences as well as professional development for therapists and lay leaders. The Allender Center initiated The Seattle School's first certificate in Advanced Counseling Training.

As The Seattle School looks ahead, we are still driven by our original mission of training students in text, soul, and culture in order to serve God and neighbor through transforming relationships.