Pre-admission Course Review
Doctoral Studies in Marital and Family Therapy
The purpose of the pre-admission course review is to determine which, if any, of a student’s previous course work may be applied to meet the standard curriculum requirements in marital and family therapy that are a prerequisite to doctoral study in the field. These prerequisite requirements are established by COAMFTE, the national accreditation body for marital and family therapy education.
In addition to submitting official transcripts of your previous study, please also submit copies of the published course descriptions for each course. You may also be asked to provide course syllabi and/or other information from the instructor of the course.
Indicate which courses address the following criteria:
Area I: Theoretical Knowledge (8 quarter units required)
Course(s) in this area must:
□ address the historical and contemporary conceptual directions of the field of marriage and family therapy
□ enable students to conceptualize and distinguish the critical epistemological issues in the profession of marriage and family therapy
□ provide a comprehensive survey and substantive understanding of the major models of marriage, couple, and family therapy
Area II: Clinical Knowledge in MFT (16 quarter units required)
Courses in this area must address clinical issues from a relational/systemic perspective. The following should be included:
□ psychopharmacology, physical health and illness, traditional psychodiagnostic categories, and the assessment and treatment of major mental health issues
□ couple and family therapy practice
□ contemporary issues, which include but are not limited to gender, violence, addictions, and abuse
□ issues of gender and sexual functioning, sexual orientation, and sex therapy as they relate to couple, marriage and family therapy theory and practice
□ diversity and discrimination as it relates to couple and family therapy theory and practice
Area III: Individual Development and Family Relations (8 quarter units required)
Courses in this area will address:
□ individual development across the lifespan
□ family development across the lifespan
Area IV: Professional Identity and Ethics (4 quarter units required)
Courses in this area must address the following from the perspective of marital and family therapy (a generic course in ethics does not meet this requirement):
□ professional identity, including professional socialization, scope of practice, professional organizations and licensure in the field of marital and family therapy
□ the AAMFT Code of Ethics, confidentiality issues, the legal responsibilities and liabilities of clinical practice and research, family law, record keeping, reimbursement, and the business aspects of practice
□ the interface between therapist responsibility and the professional, social, and political context of treatment
Courses in this area include material regarding
□ research in couple and family therapy
□ research methodology, data analysis, and the evaluation of research
□ quantitative and qualitative research
Additional study (minimum 8 quarter units)
□ at least four of the units must be in areas I-III above.