Clinical experience, academic rigor and deep self-reflection are hallmarks of the Low-Residency Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling program at Naropa University.
Now more than ever, the world needs mental health professionals who treat the whole person — body, mind and spirit. In Naropa’s transpersonal degree program in clinical mental health counseling, you’ll engage in personal healing work, practicing mindfulness and self-compassion. As a result, you’ll be well-equipped to help others improve their emotional, mental and community well-being.
This low-residency transpersonal counseling program meets you where you are, educating you with online coursework from your own home, as well as in-person intensives and hands-on practicums. Study part-time from home, anywhere in the United States, and earn your degree in three years. At Naropa, transpersonal counseling isn’t just a career path, it’s a journey toward personal healing and meaningful service. And like all true change, it starts right where you are — at home.
Quick Facts
900
Hours of Clinical Experience
6
Intensives Each Year (4 Online, 2 In-Person)
Apply to Naropa
Program Highlights
Dedicated Program Faculty
Work with accomplished faculty who embody mindfulness in practice and are committed to helping you grow into an effective mindfulness-based transpersonal counselor.
Clarissa Cigrand, PhD, LPC, is an Assistant Professor and Director in the Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling program. She is an educator, researcher, mental health counselor and clinical supervisor with a doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision. She is passionate about the fields of transpersonal counseling, social justice and liberation, and deeply enjoys the honor of supporting burgeoning counselors in their development.
Dale Asrael, MA, professor in Naropa’s Graduate School of Counseling & Psychology, is the principal instructor for the Naropa University Mindfulness Instructor Training program and has been a practitioner and teacher of Buddhadharma and meditation for more than 45 years in the lineage of Naropa’s founder, Trungpa Rinpoche.
Intensives in the Rocky Mountains
Though the majority of your coursework and clinical experience will take place in your own zip code, you will complete a total of six in-person intensives as part of your transpersonal counseling degree.
Held in the beautiful Rocky Mountains in and around Naropa’s hometown of Boulder, Colo., the in-person intensives are opportunities for deepening your learning, practicing mindfulness and connecting with your Naropa community.
Courses You Could Take
in Naropa’s Low-Residency Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling Degree
The classes you’ll take in this 60-credit-hour program offer theoretical grounding in transpersonal psychology and counseling, in addition to extensive clinical experience and mindfulness training. Coursework outside of the intensives is asynchronous and completed on your own time; Zoom meetings with your professors and cohort will extend and seal in the knowledge you gain in class.
The Naropa Difference
Students at Naropa University are accustomed to practicing mindfulness and engaging in self-transformation. As a result, our graduates go on to become powerful changemakers. A commitment to service is central to our mission, and those who are called to Naropa are also called to serve others with compassion.
You and your future clients will benefit from Naropa’s culture of radical acceptance and authenticity. Grounded in rigorous academics, experiential learning and a commitment to spiritual growth, you’ll graduate with more than just a transpersonal counseling degree. You’ll leave here with a more fully realized version of yourself and a deepened capacity for service.

Mindfulness in Practice
Mindfulness is at the center of every course, intensive and clinical experience offered at Naropa. The Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling degree program emphasizes this focus on the here and now, transforming the role of the counselor to compassionate listener and guide. Naropa teaches that healing — for you and your future clients — takes place on mental, emotional and spiritual levels.

Compassionate Listening
At Naropa, instructors listen at least as much as they speak. This ability to listen with compassion and nonjudgement is at the core of Naropa’s philosophy; it is also an essential quality of skillful counselors. Your transpersonal counseling skills will be honed by the very culture of our university.

Experiential Learning
Naropa students gain expertise and embody their studies through hands-on, real-world experiences. The Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling degree program offers both a practicum and an internship, each an opportunity for clinical practice, self-examination and practicing mindfulness.