Adler Graduate School — Local services in Minnetonka

As others have said this school seems to be more focused on managing its image than on making sure its students graduate and join the workforce.

There was a serious lack of proper supervision at the internship sites when I attended. I put in hundreds of hours at an unpaid internship where I was expected to help clients with very advanced conditions, but before I had even completed the academic portion of the degree. As a result I ended up way over my head and started feeling overwhelmed. I tried asking for more supervision multiple times, but it simply never happened. No one at my site could find even a spare half hour to help me talk through my cases. As a result, after a few months I had the first panic attack of my life at my internship site.

I asked the AGS staff for support, but rather than stepping in to negotiate with the internship site or help me find some counseling of my own they simply told me to drop out from the licensure portion of the program. Meaning, I completed the academic masters degree but couldn't get licensed as an LPCC. I now have an expensive degree that I can't use to actually practice mental health care, all because the school didn't want to do any actual work to ensure that its students progress through the program properly. It seems to be a dice roll whether you get an internship site that gradually ramps up the challenge level, or if you just get thrown off the dock.

I went to counseling for the panic attacks I started experiencing and I no longer have them now. Turns out when people receive support, they get better. But I had to do it on my own - AGS was not interested in helping me out. Once I dropped the licensure track, the problem was "solved" on their end. Schools like this only seem to give lip service to proper supervision and self care, and it's worsening the already severe drain on available mental health practitioners in Minnesota.

Alfred Adler's theories have a lot of value, but looking back on my time at AGS I don't feel a sense of "community feeling," I feel regret. There were a few professors here that I felt really cared, but it looks like most of them have moved on to other organizations now.

If you're considering a career in mental health, there are lots of great reasons to get involved - but I would recommend choosing a different school, and I would advise you to seriously advocate for yourself at all stages of...

I was referred to AGS by 2 alumni and I have since helped others make the decision to attend AGS. I attended AGS through the transition from Richfield to Minnetonka. I walked into the school excited, intimidated and scared. I encountered an amazing first class experience in which I instantly gained a strong sense of belonging and discovered the courage to be imperfect. AGS works hard to remain relevant and maintain strong instructors. Truthfully, my experience included a couple of 'dud' instructors, but AGS took student reviews seriously and upgraded staff to meet the needs of the students. In fact, during my time at AGS, the school upgraded their building, their staff, their class structure, their graduation requirements and more all to remain relevant to the profession, the education system, and the students. Throughout those transitions, AGS also worked to maintain foundations of Alfred Adler and the importance of multicultural awareness--in my opinion, 2 of the strongest selling points of...

As an Adler graduate I can attest that the faculty and staff live what they teach. They are not only inclusive, authentic, and responsive in their approaches to all students, both online as well as face-to-face, but the quality of the educators and curriculum are outstanding. The school's CACREP accreditation is well-deserved. Adlerian philosophy also permeates through the student body, through which students will make lifelong friends and trusted colleagues. Meanwhile, students will learn all aspects of evidence-based therapeutic interventions, therapies and their histories, through the application of counseling practices in the clinic, transforming into a professional therapist and a better human person. I can not say enough great things things about my experience at Adler Graduate School. To anyone contemplating entering this academic facility, I say "do not hesitate!" You will be blessed by the journey you...