Master's programs in marital and family therapy

Admission

Applicants to both the Loma Linda University and the Canadian University College programs must meet the admission requirements outlined in the University Catalog and give evidence of academic ability, emotional stability, and maturity.

Requirements

Entrance quarters: Students will be admitted in autumn and winter quarters. With special permission, a student may be permitted to enter spring or summer quarter.

Prerequisites: Students are required to take theories of personality or theories of counseling, abnormal psychology, and statistics. Students can request to challenge any prerequisite or request a prerequisite to be waived upon approval of the admissions committee. Students wishing to apply master's degree level coursework completed at a regionally accredited school prior to application must provide applicable transcripts and/or syllabi. In addition to completing the required application forms, students should provide character and academic references and take the Critical Essay Examination.

General admission information

Grade point average: Applicants must have a bachelor's degree from a regionally-accredited institution in any field. Candidates must have a minimum of 3.00 GPA on the last 45 quarter credits (30 semester units) of coursework completed before applying for admission, or in all undergraduate work whichever is higher.

Letters of recommendation: Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation: (a) at least two from persons professionally qualified to recommend for a field of this nature and (b) at least one from a person qualified to evaluate according to ability. Letters from friends or relatives will not be accepted.

Interview: Students will be invited for a group or individual interview. Under special circumstances a phone interview will suffice.

Personal statement: Applicants will submit a typed personal statement. The personal statement should address: (a) career objectives, (b) personal interest in marriage and family therapy, (c) rationale for choosing to attend LLU, (d) how life experiences have influenced applicant's choice of career, and (e) any additional thoughts the applicant deems important to add.

Admission procedures

All students are admitted on a provisional status until completion of 18-quarter units. Upon completion of 18-quarter units, all teaching faculty responsible for determining readiness for the clinical phase of the program will evaluate each student. The clinical phase requires a student be admitted to a six-quarter practicum sequence while being supervised as a trainee in a clinical site.

Purpose

The marital and family therapy program leads to the master of science degree and is designed to give students a broad academic background as well as professional practice for working with individuals, couples, and families in a variety of settings. These include, but not exclusively, medical, legal, educational, mental health, managed care/HMO, private practice, and church settings. The program offers various certificates of study in addition to the main MS curriculum. The certificates have been designed to enhance the student's scope of practice. A certificate can add units and clinical hours to the existing 78-unit MS degree. These certificates include, but are not limited to:

• School counseling
• Drug and alcohol counseling
• Family life education
• Clinical mediation
• Medical family therapy
• Child life specialist

Why select this program?

• We are located in a Christian University that includes medical, dental, allied health, public health, nursing, and other mental health programs. This provides a rich educational setting that welcomes all persons regardless of faith, sex, ethnicity, age, and educational background.
• The program is one of few in the State of California nationally accredited by the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy.
• We provide a learning environment where students and teachers work together collaboratively.
• Education is individualized--a student can design a program that fits his/her needs.
• The program encourages creativity and the development of the self of the therapist/person.
• Our goal is to bring national and international experts to interact with our students and thus take part in their educational and personal growth.
• Our focus is on wholeness; we assist the student to work from a positive multi-systemic framework, which encourages mental, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual growth for youth, individuals, couples, family, and community.
• We have a diverse faculty and student population who work with multiethnic, economic and age diverse populations in a variety of settings (legal, schools, hospital, mental health facilities, church, and community agencies).
• We have a clinic that exposes students to cutting edge training such as the use of reflective team supervision and treatment. Students work with diverse populations, age, and risk factors.
• Our graduates have obtained excellent jobs (see professional opportunities).

Professional opportunities

An individual with the MS and track emphases can work as an administrator, educator (at a community or four-year college), psychotherapist, consultant, medical family therapist, and alcohol and drug specialist. They can also work in case management, family court, group homes, private practice, and professional organizations.

Marriage and family therapy license

Marriage and family therapy is established in California by law as a profession requiring state licensure. Persons who desire to enter the professional must have the proper academic and clinical preparation and must pass the written and oral licensing examinations. There are 43 states that provide a licensure or certificate for marriage and family therapists. Requirements for each state can vary, but California standards have been considered among the most rigorous. Please refer to each state's licensing board for the variation in requirements. In some states a marriage and family therapist qualifies for a psychology or counselor license. The master's degree program at Loma Linda University provides the academic requirements to meet the California licensing standards according to Business and Professions Code 4980.38.

Accreditation

The Western Association regionally accredits the program for Schools and Colleges (WASC), and the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education nationally accredits the program. The Commission on Accreditation is the standard-setting organization for family therapy designated by the department of education.

Full-time and part-time sequences

The program offers options for full-time (2 years) and part-time (3 years) sequences, but in exceptional circumstances students have up to five years to complete the degree. Courses are held during afternoon or evening hours. Typically first-year courses are held on Tuesday and Thursday, and second-year courses on Monday and Wednesday.

Degree completion

Requirements for the master of science degree for both the Loma Linda University and Canadian Union College campuses include the following:

• Residence of at least two academic years.
• A minimum of 78 quarter units of graduate work, which includes credit received for core courses, electives, and a 3-unit religion course.
• Practicum in marriage and family therapy. A minimum of 500 direct client-contact hours and 100 direct supervision hours are required. Of the direct client-contact hours, at least 250 hours must be with couples and families. Of the direct-supervision hours, at least 50 hours must be with raw data (video, audio, and live supervision). For every week in which clients are seen, the student must have at least one hour of individual supervision. The ratio of supervision hours to treatment hours must not be less than one hour of supervision to five hours of clinical contact. Clinical training, as defined by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy, includes a minimum of twelve continuous months in a clinical traineeship.
• Student must be in one clinical placement for a minimum of 12 months. The student gets to select the placement site upon the approval of the director of clinical training.
• Successful completion of a written comprehensive examination (taken before advancement to candidacy) and an oral examination (taken at the end of the program).

Clinical services

The program operates a community marriage and family therapy clinic to provide counseling services to individuals, couples, and families and to provide the opportunity for clinical practice for MFAM student trainees and interns. The student's field experience and traineeship may be taken at other clinics in the Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange County areas. Paid traineeships are available.

Curriculum course requirements

The following are the major areas of study and required and elective courses for each, totaling 78-quarter units. For a detailed description of each course, please refer to the University Catalog.

Theoretical Foundations of Marital and Family Therapy (12)
MFAM 551 Family Therapy I: Theory and Practice (3)
MFAM 552 Marital Therapy: Theory and Practice (3)
MFAM 553 Family Systems Theory (3)
MFAM 564 Family Therapy II: Theory and Practice (3)

Assessment and Treatment in Marital and Family Therapy (21)
MFAM 515 Crisis Intervention Counseling (3)
MFAM 524 Psychopharmacology and Medical Issues (3)
MFAM 556 Psychopathology and Diagnostic Procedures (3)
MFAM 568 Group Process Theory and Procedures: Theories in MFAM Therapy (3)
MFAM 624 Individual and Systems Assessment (3)
MFAM 638 Family Therapy and Chemical Abuse (3)
MFAM 644 Child Abuse and Family Violence (3)

Human Development and Family Studies (13)
FMST 514 Cross-cultural Counseling and Family Values (2)
MFAM 545 Gender Perspectives (2)
MFAM 547 Social Ecology of Individual and Family Development (3)
MFAM 584 Treatment of Child and Adolescent Problems (2-3)
MFAM 674 Human Sexual Behavior (3)

Ethics and Professional Studies (7)
MFAM 535 Case Presentation and Professional Studies (4)
MFAM 614 Law and Ethics (3)

Research (6)
MFAM 501 Research Tools and Methodology (3)
MFAM 502 Research Tools and Methodology II (3)

Supervised Clinical Practice (10)
MFAM 536,537 Case Presentation Seminar (2,2)
MFAM 635, 636,637 Case Presentation Seminar (2,2,2)
MFAM 634 Professional Clinical Training (1.5 - 3) (12 total)

Religion (3)
RELR 564 Religion, Marriage, and the Family (3)

Electives (6) (One theory course is required.)
FMST 524 Family Resource Management (2)
FMST 528 Parenting (2)
FMST 529 Family Life Education (2)
MFAM 516 Play Therapy (2)
MFAM 517 Field Practice in School Counseling (600 clock hours) (4)
MFAM 518 Assessment in Counseling (3)
MFAM 519 Exceptional Learners (3)
MFAM 522 College and Career Counseling (3)
MFAM 525 Therapeutic Group (3)
MFAM 526 Theory and Practice in Group Counseling (3)
MFAM 527 Training/Supervision Workshop in Group Counseling (3)
MFAM 528 School Counseling Seminar (3)
MFAM 538 Theory and Practice of Conflict Resolution (3)
MFAM 539 Solution-Focused Family Therapy (2)
MFAM 544 Family and Divorce Mediation (4)
MFAM 548 Men & Families (2)
MFAM 549 Christian Counseling & Family Therapy (2)
MFAM 555 Narrative Family Therapy (2)
MFAM 557 Object-Relations Family Therapy (2)
MFAM 559 Cognitive Behavioral Couples Therapy (2)
MFAM 565 Advanced Bowen Theory and Practice (2)
MFAM 566 Psychopathology and Diagnostic Procedure II (2)
MFAM 567 Families & School (2)
MFAM 569 Advanced Group Therapy (2)
MFAM 585 Internship in Family Mediation (4)
MFAM 605 Gestalt Family Therapy (2)
MFAM 615 Reflective Practice (2)
MFAM 659 Current Trends in the Field of Family Therapy (2)
MFAM 664 Experiential Family Therapy (2)
MFAM 665 Structural Family Therapy (2)
MFAM 670 Seminar in Sex Therapy (2)
MFAM 675 Clinical Problems in Marriage and Family Therapy (1-2)
MFAM 694 Directed Study: Marriage and Family (1-4)
MFAM 695 Research Problems: Marriage and Family (1-4)

Post-master's
MFAM 651 AAMFT-Approved Supervisor Training (3)
MFAM 704 MFAM State Board Written Examination Review (2)
MFAM 705 MFAM State Board Oral Examination Review (2)
MFAM 744 Clinical Internship (1)

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