Marital and Family Therapy Canadian Campus

• About us
• Accreditation
• Career possibilities
• Educational objectives
• Admission
• Degree requirements
• Part-time studies
• Clinical training
• Final oral exam
• Financial information
• Faculty & staff

• Email: llumft@cauc.ca

Loma Linda University Mission

Loma Linda University, a Seventh-day Adventist Christian health sciences institution, seeks to further the healing and teaching ministry of Jesus Christ "to make man whole" by:

• EDUCATING - ethical and proficient Christian health professionals and scholars through instruction, example, and the pursuit of truth;
• EXPANDING - knowledge through research in the biological, physical, and environ- mental sciences and applying this knowledge to health and disease.
• PROVIDING - comprehensive, competent, and compassionate health care for the whole person through faculty, students, and alumni.

In harmony with our heritage and global mission:

• We encourage personal and professional growth through integrated development of the intellectual, physical, social, and spiritual dimensions of each member of the university community and those we serve.
• We promote an environment that reflects and builds respect for the diversity of humanity as ordained by God.

• We seek to serve the worldwide community by promoting healthful living, caring for the sick, and sharing the good news of a loving God.

About us

Loma Linda University is a private, church affiliated health sciences educational institution located in Southern California. It is part of the Seventh-day Adventist world-wide system of higher education, which includes the school of Allied Health Professionals, Dentistry, Public Health, Medicine, and Nursing. Beginning in the fall of 1989 with 14 students, Loma Linda University initiated its unique Canadian campus program by combining the intimacy of a small school academic setting with the excellence of a world class reputation in health care. Located in central Alberta, on the campus of Canadian University College, the program is an innovative venture that combines the teaching expertise of the Loma Linda University, California parent campus faculty, the Canadian campus faculty, and adjunct instructors and guest lecturers from the local professional community. Today, approximately 50-55 students are enrolled in the program. Psychology majors as well as college graduates from other disciplines are eligible for this rewarding career. Students come from diverse backgrounds, including education, nursing, social work, law, business, and counseling.

Our accreditation

The LLU Marital and Family Therapy Program is one of the best in North America. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges of the United States (WASC) the highest accrediting body, accredits LLU for Universities and Colleges in the Western U.S. In Alberta, the program is recognized and authorized by Alberta Advanced Education as a graduate degree granting academic program. The Canadian off-campus program meets the course requirements for membership in the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapy (AAMFT), which has a collegial body in Canada and specifically Alberta. The College of Alberta Psychologists recognizes this Master's degree as graduate education towards Registration as a Psychologist in Alberta. Individuals without sufficient undergraduate or graduate level psychology courses may take courses in this program to prepare for the Registration process as a Psychologist in Alberta.

Your career possibilities

This is an academic program with a strong concurrent clinical training component. Graduates of this program are trained specifically in "systems" approaches and go on to be therapists for individuals, couples and families. Graduates specialize their clinical training in various areas such as addiction, family violence, child and adolescent therapy, or sexual abuse recovery. Other students work in more "generalist" settings where they offer therapy to individuals and families from various backgrounds. Graduates have gone on to teach, pursue doctoral studies, work in family agencies or private practices. Twenty-five percent of students get hired as therapists prior to graduating; seventy-five percent get hired within one month of graduating. In the last four years of the program, 97% of Alberta residents went on to be Registered as Psychologists in Alberta. Because of our graduates' extensive clinical training (2 years minimum) and practice in oral presentations and group facilitation they typically gravitate to leadership and supervisory positions within a short time period after employment.

About the program

Educational objectives

• To develop competent and reflective professionals in Marital and Family Therapy.
• To facilitate an understanding of the systemic perspective including its cybernetic and communications theory roots, as well as its current reflection in various models of therapy such as Bowenian, Structural, Cognitive-Behavioral and Experiential. In addition, to include the post-modern critique of such theories and the reflection of that critique in Solution-Focused, Narrative and Collaborative Language Systems models.
• To provide supervised clinical training, focused towards an integration of the person of the therapist with a theoretical model of Marital and Family Therapy. This clinical training shall also provide the student with work and learning experience in contact with diverse clients, and in varied practice settings.
• To direct the development of clinical competence in assessing, collaborating and revisioning client needs, wants, and goals as they are presented in couple and family contexts. Also, to make aware to students the experiences of abuse and oppression as they affect the context in which families and couples attempt to generate meaning and personal growth .
• To inform the students of the many dimensions of influence, such as: gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, class culture and religion.

• To encourage students in revisioning their own personal perspective and role as individuals and as collaborators with their clients.

Innovative program design

The innovative curriculum pairs academic learning with clinical training at established practicum sites throughout the province. Students learn essentials of clinical assessment, interviewing and practice, and crisis intervention prior to entry into a clinical site. Academic courses are sequenced to augment clinical training experience. Essential theory courses are augmented with small-group supervision seminars. Students are typically on campus for a full day of classes one day per week, and three to four consecutive days per month.

A commuter cohort
Students commute to the LLU central Alberta location in Lacombe from all over the province. Its central location makes it possible for students from diverse cities in the province to learn together and form a collegial bond. Students are encouraged to select a practicum site in their local community. The Clinical Training component of the program requires the student to spend 2-3 days per week at their practicum site participating in all the professional activities and on-site training seminars provided.

Location

The Canadian campus program is located on the campus of Canadian University College, a small Seventh-day Adventist college situated three kilometres north of the Town of Lacombe, at College Heights, Alberta. The region is a major agricultural and petrochemical center, serviced by the Town of Lacombe (Population: 10,500) and the City of Red Deer (Population: 75,923). Most major services, including hospital, dental, school, accommodation, and shopping, are available. College Heights is almost equidistant between Edmonton and Calgary.

Loma Linda University
Marital and Family Therapy Program
5415 College Avenue
Lacombe, AB T4L 2E5

Phone: (403) 782-3381, extension 4095
Fax: (403) 782-7642
Email: llumft@cauc.ca