Forming provocateurs of change
at the intersection of
text, soul, and culture.
Who We Are
The Seattle School is a progressive graduate school and seminary offering immersive, holistic graduate degree programs in counseling psychology, divinity, theology, and culture. Discover your calling, and hone your craft with us.
We began as a gathering of a few passionate dreamers who imagined a new kind of theological and psychological training—embracing the human story, in its beauty and complexity.
More Facts
By the Numbers
1160
Alumni leading in the field as pastors, counselors, artists, and leaders.
Our Alumni1997
The year our school began and matriculated our first cohort.
Our Story“The prophet is not an outsider throwing rocks, nor a comfortable insider who defends the status quo; but one who lives precariously with two perspectives held tightly together in a loving and creative tension: the faithful insider and the critical outsider. ”
Richard Rohr Explore our Programs
Upcoming Events
Learning Takes Your Whole Body
We live in a complex world. Engaging the beauty, complexity, and brokenness in ourselves and in the people around us requires a new kind of education—one that is robustly Christian, deeply questioning, and profoundly human. If you are seeking to deepen your capacity to work as a therapist, pastor, artist, leader, or healer, we invite you to join us at the intersection of text, soul, and culture.
Dr. Chelle Stearns on Theology & Culture
"We are at a critical time in American culture because we are so convinced that we know. There is something in this moment where we are riled up enough to take to the streets but we don't understand enough to have good dialogue. People in the MA in Theology & Culture program are invited to think well about what culture actually is and how to understand and engage theologically."
Dr. Roy Barsness on Facilitating Change
"Research demonstrates that the single most factor for change in psychotherapy is the relationship between the patient and the therapist. Given that, our program places a high emphasis on the development and formation of the self of the therapist. Working with our patients requires us to be deeply attuned to ourselves and willing to take risks with them in order for change to occur."
Dr. Angela Parker on Developing a Prophetic Voice
"A prophet will raise up a voice that speaks a truth to power in order to bring about change. The Seattle School is committed to forming pastors, chaplains, and leaders to be prophets for the revolution."
Featured Content
The Liminal Place
We shake with joy, we shake with grief. What a time they have, these two housed as they are in the same body. — Mary Oliver Being human is complex, especially being human in a body. There are moments in life when the tensions we hold are simply overwhelming, disorienting, and beyond language, like losing […]
Gallery: Inauguration of Dr. Craig Detweiler
Delegates, colleagues, friends, neighbors, and The Seattle School’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni all gathered on March 9, 2018 to witness and participate in the inauguration ceremony as Dr. Craig Detweiler was formally installed as the third President of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. Photo credit: Sparkfly Photography
Transformative Education
Our sacred mission is one of building capacity to think, empathize, and mindfully engage amid pain, trauma, and injustice. Our immersive, interdisciplinary education model develops adaptive, embodied practitioners.
“My professors at The Seattle School are not only invested in my classroom learning, but in my becoming more fully who I am, and doing that with grace and patience. I feel called to work with people in such a way that it leads unto joy — and not cheap joy. My primary excitement is being alongside people during the impossible work of lament. ”
Carrie Cates, MDiv '17
All Courses
Featured Courses
Love in Public: Using the Bible in Social Injustice & Transformation
Explore the use of the Bible in relation to contemporary social issues, and learn about its use in protest to and defense of slavery, apartheid, anti-Semitism, industrialism, colonialism, and other related topics.
Post-colonial Theory & Biblical Hermeneutics
Study key concepts and major theoretical works in postcolonial discourses, examine the complex interplay of colonial and resisting voices in both Hebrew and the New Testament, and interrogate colonizing practices.
Fairy Tales, Disney, and Feminist Theory
Strengthen critical awareness and response to cultural narratives as we apply feminist methodologies to two potent and related cultural influencers–fairy tales and Walt Disney (the person and the corporation).
C.S. Lewis: Theological Perspectives for Spiritual Formation
Examine the literary legacy of one the 20th century’s foremost Christian authors and how his theological perspectives might inform, nourish, challenge, and support our own relationships with God and God’s work in the world.