Master’s (M.A.) in Couple and Family Therapy

This course explores essential concepts of systems theory including context, causality, communication, change, structure, and development to the comprehensive analysis of individual and family systems. These concepts will be applied to a range of presenting problems as well as healthy family functioning, including the impact of larger systems.

This course introduces students to the modern models of couple and family therapy. The course will review the evolution of the classic systems theories as well as the historical development of the field of family therapy. Several approaches will be studied including strategic, structural, Bowenian, contextual, experiential, and cognitive behavioral theories.

This is an introductory course in the postmodern theory models of couple and family therapy. Several models will be covered, including solution-focused, collaborative family language systems, narrative, and feminist approaches to therapy. Discussion of each model will include history of the approach, fundamental concepts, and typical techniques of assessment and intervention.

Through this course, students will gain foundational assessment and intervention skills with couples, families, and individuals. The course addresses intake interviewing, introduction of the mental status exam, risk assessment, and overview of the DSM-5 approach to diagnosis.

This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of working with children and adolescents in the context of the family and must be taken concurrently with practicum. The course will explore concepts in child development and draw from the spectrum of family therapy models and play therapy models that aim to strengthen parent and family functioning.

This is an intermediate course focusing on therapy with mate relationships and must be taken concurrently with practicum. Systemic processes pertaining to intimate relationship distress will be explored through different theoretical approaches in couple therapy, such as emotionally focused therapy, narrative therapy, and contextual therapy.

This course is designed to expose students to different dimensions of culture and its interface with the practice and profession of marriage and family therapy. The course will explore race, ethnicity, socioeconomics, gender, sexual orientation, geographical variables, migration, and spirituality.

This course integrates the students’ academic program of study and clinical interests with an introduction to various approaches to research design, methodology (quantitative and qualitative), and statistics. Students learn to conduct an extensive review of couple and family therapy literature and to use research findings in therapy with couples, families, and individuals.

This course provides students with a solid foundation for the ethical practice of therapy with couples, families, and individuals in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). In addition to the issues common to all therapists, the course will address the unique ethical/legal issues related to systemic therapy, such as working with multiple family members and secrets.

This professional development seminar provides MCFT students an introduction to the program and department as well as orients students to the field of couple and family therapy. This seminar is also an opportunity for students to explore group dynamics and to build cohort connection through self of the therapist exploration.

This seminar is taken during the summer before practicum and focuses on the development of a professional identity as a Couple and Family Therapist specifically upon the start of practicum. This focus includes an understanding of the unique qualities and clinical skills of the CFT and the scope of practice as defined by AAMFT and state licensing laws.

This seminar is taken in the last summer semester of the program. The focus is to continue to facilitate the development of a professional identity as a Couple and Family Therapist, specifically focusing on degree completion and either clinical practice toward licensure, or beginning in a doctoral program.

The individual life span is examined from a biopsychosocial perspective with a focus on normal family processes, life transitions, and their influence on individual, couple, and family issues. Multicultural issues will be addressed as they impact the transitions through different family life cycles and individual developmental markers.

This class is an overview of the major DSM-5 disorders, specifically depression, anxiety, mood, psychotic, and personality disorders. The course focuses on the range of mental illnesses-from adjustment reactions to serious pathology-from a systems perspective.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to alcoholism, substance abuse, and other addictive disorders and an understanding of the impact of addiction on couples and families.

This course will explore the basic theories and methods of sex-related psychotherapy and sex therapy assessment, including how to identify psychosexual disorders as it relates to the current edition of the DSM V. Students can anticipate learning clinical interventions to utilize in psychotherapy addressing presentations of psychosexual disorders as well as sex and intimacy concerns.

The Social Justice Practicum (SJP) is a first-year, nonclinical and non-discipline-specific experiential practicum that begins in the fall term. Students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to utilize collective power and social justice strategies to build a more equitable society. The SJP is designed to help students learn how to work alongside different communities as agents of social change and serves as the catalyst for students to realize and understand their own strengths and responsibility to contribute to social equity.

The Social Justice Practicum (SJP) is a first-year, nonclinical and non-discipline-specific experiential practicum that continues through the spring term. Students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to utilize collective power and social justice strategies to build a more equitable society. The SJP is designed to help students learn how to work alongside different communities as agents of social change and serves as the catalyst for students to realize and understand their own strengths and responsibility to contribute to social equity.

This course provides the couple and family therapy student with an overview of the core concepts of Adler’s Individual Psychology as complementing systemic work with couples, families, and individuals. Building on this foundation, the course provides an opportunity to develop child family guidance and parenting skills education skills based on Adlerian principles and traditions.

This one-credit elective course with focus on a special topic in the field of Couple and Family Therapy providing knowledge and skills for developing CFTs. The Special Topics elective courses are designed to examine special interests, including current and emerging issues for couples and families, areas of social justice, and professional matters for CFTs.

This two-credit elective course with focus on a special topic in the field of Couple and Family Therapy providing knowledge and skills for developing CFTs. The Special Topics elective courses are designed to examine special interests, including current and emerging issues for couples and families, areas of social justice, and professional matters for CFTs.

This three-credit elective course with focus on a special topic in the field of Couple and Family Therapy providing knowledge and skills for developing CFTs. The Special Topics elective courses are designed to examine special interests, including current and emerging issues for couples and families, areas of social justice, and professional matters for CFTs.

This course is about understanding conflict, resolution, and divorce mediation from a relational lens and through a systemic perspective. The framework will be expanded to include the global context of conflict resolution, conceptualizing and applying a social justice orientation.

The goal of this course is for students to feel more confident working with sexual and gender minority populations in the therapy room. This goal will be achieved by utilizing a systemic lens while learning about these clients and creating interventions to exercise in your clinical practice. Though sexual and gender minority populations are commonly known under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, this course will provide a respectful prominence and balance that 1) the experiences of gender minorities and sexual minorities are very different experiences and 2) represent the umbrella in the significant and powerful way.

This course will address biopsychosocial and spiritual aspects of illness and disability and their impact on the couple and family systems. Self-of-the-therapist work and the impact of dimensions of culture, power, and privilege will be emphasized throughout the course. Also, issues of collaboration between marriage and family therapists and other healthcare professionals will be discussed.

This course examines the impact of aging on family dynamics and relationships including the processes of development in later life, intergenerational issues, and the crises or transitions experienced throughout the family life cycle. The effect of a population that is living significantly longer on these family issues is explored. The course also addresses communication, mediation, and caregiving with aging family members.

This one-credit doctoral special course covers techniques such as the kinetic family drawing, self-as-animal, the family floor plan, sand tray, build-a-house, video play therapy, family puppet interview, family school, and music therapy. This is a hands-on experiential class.

This course is designed to explore the scholarly works of Bell hooks and Ken Hardy. Multiple writings of Bell hooks and Ken Hardy provide frameworks to increase critical thinking in examining complex layers of cultural forces that impact lived experience and propose paradigms for impacting systemic change.

This course will provide students with an overview of conceptual and empirical issues in adult attachment theory and its theoretical application in working with couples. Through the use of vignettes, role-plays, and educational videos, students will be helped to conceptualize dyadic stress with an attachment focus to work with couples to recreate healthier bonds.

The purpose of this seminar is to examine specific issues for families who are experiencing divorce. Topics include the culture of divorce, the impact of divorce, the aftermath of divorce for men, women, and children, and remarriage and blended families.

Infidelity is a common presenting problem in couple, family, and individual therapy with presentation ranging from the aftermath for couples and families to individuals deciding between their partner and their affair. This seminar will define infidelity understanding the critical issues and look at the treatment of infidelity in couples, families, and individuals as well as reflect on the impact of treating infidelity on clinicians.

Popular culture is often absorbed without thinking critically about its content or consequences. This is remarkable given the enormous impact it has on our lives, our identities and our consciousness. We often do not stop to think or question the underlying assumptions of popular culture, nor do we think about for what or whom such assumptions or content may support.

The Consensus Rorschach (CR) is a projective technique for the assessment of couples that has been used to elicit and analyze communication styles, power and control dynamics, emotional processes, and interpersonal stress dynamics. This seminar will provide the history of the technique, training in the administration and interpretation of the protocol, and cutting edge research on the use of the Consensus Rorschach with couples.

This one-credit course introduces students to the insides of life in private practice. Whether it be a group practice, co-op practice, or solo business, working in private practice offers unique opportunities and challenges. Students will learn the four areas of being successful in private practice as well as the logistical, administrative, ethical and business aspects that go into starting a private practice.

Psychoeducation is an evidence-based practice (EBP) that can give information and support to families with a member with a diagnosis of mental and/or physical illness, and they also provide opportunities to build your clinical practice and reach clients who may be reluctant to attend therapy. This seminar will walk you through the steps of developing a psychoeducational program on the topic of your choice – developing the content, choosing the delivery mode, and integrating methods for evaluation.

This seminar will focus on meeting the needs and working with families with a child with special needs. Learning objectives include a focus on the impact of a child with special needs on the family including parenting issues, the couple relationship, and on siblings.

One important aspect of a career in the field of mental health is writing and publishing. Whether it be a research paper, essay, book, or blog, putting our insights into written word can be a crucial component of being a clinician.

This course will explore Kink and BDSM practices in sexuality within a systemic framework. Students will be expected to engage in intrapersonal work exploring their own attitudes and biases about Kink and BDSM practices and analyze how countertransference may impact their clinical work.

Perinatal mood disorders and the special issues that present during the perinatal period are prevalent. This course will examine the unique challenges and special considerations when working with couples and families during this period in the family life cycle.

This course will explore various forms of consensual nonmonogamy within a systemic framework. Through didactic learning, the student is expected to gain knowledge regarding the various relational configurations of consensual nonmonogamy and an understanding of the specific vocabulary utilized by those within the community.

While there is a shared need to connect to self and others, the differences between men and women and how they connect are distinct in some ways. Clinical understanding related to the needs of each gender should not be based solely on assumptions and personal experiences but should also include an integration of human development knowledge and empirical research.

This course is designed to help students critically examine and explore stereotypes specific to women of color. This course will focus on the intersectionality of race, gender, class, and geographical variables that create racialized gender stereotypes for women of color.

This course will cover the basics of mediation and how to apply these skills to your therapy practice to help couples and families resolve disputes more effectively and communicate in healthy and helpful ways. Course topics will include: types of mediation, aspects of positive communication, how to have difficult conversations, family and divorce mediation, parenting coordination, and how to build mediation into your therapy practice.

This seminar will focus on suicide as an issue of clinical risk management in therapeutic work with families. A self-of-the-therapist lens will be used to help develop the student’s ability to respond to clients in crisis specifically focusing on interpersonal behaviors, reactions, risk factors and intervention strategies. Suicidal ideation as well as working with families after loss to suicide will be reviewed.

This course will provide master’s and doctoral students with a cultural-immersion experience outside of the United States. Students will be engaged in a nonclinical service-learning program for a limited period of time.

This one credit elective course offers insight into working with couples and families in unique crisis situations and special populations. Topics include: working with victims of intimate partner violence and when children are witnesses; persons who use violence against their partners; children with trauma reactions related to having witnessed violence; childhood sexual abuse and incest survivors; undocumented immigrants; survivors of natural disasters; first responders; and foster families.

This course will explore developmental sexuality across the lifespan including sexual and reproductive anatomy and physiology, human sexual response cycles, and the normative developmental tasks and challenges related to sex and sexuality from a biopsychosocial perspective. Competency understanding, assessing, and conceptualizing sexuality in a sex-positive way at various life stages including clinical interventions and improved communication skills addressing common challenges will be introduced.

This course is an intensive in-person and experiential workshop designed to allow participants to examine and process their sexual attitudes, values, and beliefs through exposure to various sexual themes. Highly experiential in nature, the SAR involves exposure to films, documentaries, lectures, guest speakers and workshop activities with a focus on processing in both large and small groups.

This course will examine the socio-cultural, medical, technological and ethical factors impacting the current landscape of sex and sexuality. Students will explore the impact of race, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender and ability on sexual values, attitudes and behaviors, including an understanding of the impact of a range of pervasive social justice issues on sexual functioning and satisfaction.

This course will cover the practice of sex therapy through the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of psychosexual disorders in the DSM-V including sexual issues arising from trauma, medical or mental health factors, relational factors, or environmental factors. Students can expect to learn several models and theories from both an individual and relational perspective to effectively diagnose and treat sexual functioning issues, as well as out-of-control sexual behaviors and paraphilic disorders.

Students are required to actively provide therapy to couples, families, and individuals under the supervision of an on-site supervisor and their seminar instructor. Concurrent with practicum field experiences, the practicum seminar is led by an AAMFT-approved Supervisor or Supervisor Candidate and enhances the integration of theoretical and academic perspectives with clinical practice.

Students are required to actively provide therapy to couples, families, and individuals under the supervision of an on-site supervisor and their seminar instructor. Concurrent with practicum field experiences, the practicum seminar is led by an AAMFT-approved Supervisor or Supervisor Candidate and enhances the integration of theoretical and academic perspectives with clinical practice.

Students are required to actively provide therapy to couples, families, and individuals under the supervision of an on-site supervisor and their seminar instructor. Concurrent with practicum field experiences, the practicum seminar is led by an AAMFT-approved Supervisor or Supervisor Candidate and enhances the integration of theoretical and academic perspectives with clinical practice.