Master's Program in Marriage & Family Counseling/Therapy

Mission Statement

The MFC/T Program’s mission is to provide students with the academic preparation and clinical training necessary to become marriage and family professionals.  The training of marriage and family therapists is based on a relational view of life in which an understanding and respect for diversity and non-discrimination are fundamentally addressed, practiced, and valued. The MFC/T Program views marriage and family therapy as a professional orientation toward life and as applicable to a wide variety of circumstances, including individual, couple, family, group, and community problems. (COAMFTE Standards Version 11).

Goals and Objectives

A fundamental goal of the MFC/T Program is to provide the education and training that prepares graduates for licensure as MFTs.  Graduates are expected to use their knowledge and clinical skills as a path to careers in social, governmental, business, and industrial organizations, including schools, medical settings, universities, public agencies, and the private sector.  While no program can guarantee that graduates will function as intended, it is the intent of our program to attest to a concerted core of knowledge and practice as a means of developing the identity of “marriage and family counselor/therapist”.  Of importance to, and embedded in, the curriculum is the expectation that when students complete their studies the command of the common core elements, as well as specialized curricular experiences, will allow each graduate to apply their knowledge within their setting of choice. For this purpose, the MFC/T Program aligns its course of study with the OCSWMFT Board, Ohio Administrative Code, Chapter 4757; the accreditation standards of COAMFTE Standards Version 11; and CACREP.

Accreditation

The MFC/T Master’s Program is dually accredited by COAMFTE and CACREP.  Only a select few universities in the nation offer this type of accreditation.  Dual accreditation means that upon graduation students have met the current standards in the field of marriage and family therapy and counseling.  This type of accreditation insures marketability in a much broader ranges of employment opportunities.  Upon graduation, students can elect to take the licensure exam in the state of Ohio for the Marriage & Family Therapy (MFT) and/or Professional Counselor (PC) licenses.

Addressing the Needs of the State and the Region

Student enrollment has remained relatively steady over the past few years reflecting the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, report projecting faster than average growth in counseling positions at both the master's and doctoral levels through 2012 (Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2004-05 Edition). Growth in Ohio is expected to parallel the national picture as reflected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

The master's program in Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy addresses this need by offering a high quality nationally accredited program for training marriage and family therapists to work in Ohio and across the nation.  The MFC/T Master’s Program is the only COAMFTE accredited program in Ohio.