Southwestern College is a graduate institution in Santa Fe, New Mexico specializing in Counseling and Art Therapy/Counseling. It is currently the only school in the state of New Mexico to offer a Master's Degree in Art Therapy. Dr. Michael Johll serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Initially formed in Alamogordo in 1945 as a collection of religious and metaphysical books, the Quimby Metaphysical Library including the manuscripts of American Transcendentalist and Father of the New Thought movement, Phineas Parkhurst Quimby are available in the College library. The library was eventually known as the Quimby Memorial Library. Early influences on the philosophy of the school include Rudolf Steiner, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alice Bailey, perennial wisdom traditions, and Hindu scripture.
Dedicated as a college in 1976, Southwestern College's mission was created by Dr. Neva Dell Hunter (whose doctorate was honorary), the mission of the college at that time was: "The College will teach that the power within a person is greater than in the world, that humankind has a sincerity to learn and a willingness to serve and that education must encompass the knowledge of the universe." Dr. Robert Waterman, interpreted Dr. Hunter's ideas and created Quimby College, later Southwestern College, with the intention to train Counselors who were well-versed and practiced in areas of Spirituality and Consciousness. Ellavivian Power, Ron Hulnick, Mary Hulnick, Katherine Ninos, and Marya Foley are other early influences on the development of the College.
The school's faculty come from a wide range of backgrounds and specialize in such areas as Art Therapy, Expressive Therapy, Hospice Counseling, Psychodrama, Eco-Psychology, Somatic Psychology, Positive Psychology, Transpersonal Psychology, Shamanism, Archetypal Psychology and Energy Psychology.
The school's current faculty include President James Michael Nolan, Vice President Katherine Ninos, Academic Dean Dr. Webb Garrison, Counseling Chair and Director of EcoPsychology Carol Parker, Art Therapy/Counseling Chair Deborah Schroder, Janet Schreiber, and Robert Waterman (the college's first president.) Its current vision statement is "Transforming Consciousness through Education." The College had a site visit from the Higher Learning Commission in November, 2010, and their recommendation is to extend the College's accreditation for ten years. The final report is available from President Nolan at docwahoo@yahoo.com and the College's Self Study in preparation for the accreditation visit can be found on the College web site, at: http://swc.edu/default.aspx?p=79&title=Accreditation
The school offers Master's Degrees in Counseling and Art Therapy/Counseling. It was fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (NCA) in 1996 http://www.ncahlc.org/component/option,com_directory/Action,ShowBasic/Itemid,184/instid,1790/lang,en/.
Southwestern College's Art Therapy program is approved by the American Art Therapy Association. Southwestern College has an active presence on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ernest-Hemingway/109397672419606#!/Southwestern.College.Santa.Fe
It is also found on Twitter: @southwesternsf For thirty consecutive years, Southwestern College has offered the "Transformation & Healing Conference" on its campus in Santa Fe. http://swc.edu/default.aspx?p=30&title=Transformation%20%26%20Healing%20Conference