Overview of the Program

The mission statement of the Doctoral Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy (MFCT) Track in Counselor Education and Supervision is to train students to become advanced practitioners, teachers, supervisors, and/or researchers in the field of marriage and family therapy. Training is based on a systemic/relational view of life in which an understanding and respect for diversity and non-discrimination are fundamentally addressed, practiced, and valued. Our students will value the importance of providing service to the community within the context of interprofessional collaboration and recognize the need to advocate for the field.  

Program Highlights

Accreditation

The Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy (MFC/T) Doctoral track is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) and the curriculum and training experience is aligned with the current standards of our accrediting body. More information about Student Achievement Criteria can be found here.

Core Faculty have diverse Areas of Focus, including:

• Medical Family Therapy Internships and Coursework
• Trauma
• Substance Abuse
• Parenting
• Partner Violence/Domestic Abuse

Clinical Requirements

The supervised advanced practicum and MFCT internship (clinical experiences) includes training in individual, couple, and family therapy, as well as coursework in systemic supervision. Clinical supervision is based on live observation, videotape, or audiotape.  Doctoral students must accumulate 1000 client contact hours and a minimum of 200 hours of supervision by the end of their program in order to fulfill graduation requirements. Students are expected to maintain clinical activity throughout their program. Students who have not graduated from a COAMFTE Program can petition to bring in appropriately supervised relational hours from another master’s degree or work experience.

Supervision Training

All MFC/T Doctoral students participate in supervision training.  This year-long experience provides didactic knowledge about marriage and family supervision, as well as providing supervision of supervision experiences with master’s level MFC/T trainees.

Coursework

The MFC/T doctoral curriculum is closely aligned with the master’s curriculum and is a continuation of study in advanced knowledge in MFC/T theoretical foundations, clinical knowledge, research, and supervision. If a student lacks foundational knowledge in a specific area from their master’s degree, they will be required to complete those master’s level MFT courses before beginning their doctoral coursework.

The MFC/T doctoral program consists of 120 semester credit hours (includes transferring appropriate master’s level coursework). This program requires the successful completion of all required coursework, clinical hours, successful completion of the doctoral comprehensive exam (supervision paper, clinical comps and dissertation proposal), a 9-month internship experience, and the successful defense of a dissertation.

Goals and Objectives

Upon completion of the program, students are expected to meet the following program goals:

Goal # 1. Advanced Clinical Practice 

Graduates will engage in effective advanced clinical practice from a systemic/relational view of life

Goal 2: Teaching

Graduates will develop a foundational understanding of teaching from a systemic/relational view of life

Goal 3: Supervision

Graduates will become competent supervisor-candidates practicing from a systemic/relational view of life

Goal # 4: Research

Graduates will engage in research focused on a systemic/relational view of life

Goal # 5: Diversity

Graduates will incorporate a diversity lens into their clinical practice and scholarship

Goal # 6: Service to the Community and Interprofessional Collaboration

Graduates will recognize the importance of providing a systemic/relational service to the community within the context of interprofessional collaboration.

Market Demand of Program Graduates

Recent program graduates have gained employment as adjunct faculty in academic institutions, administrators and advanced clinicians at mental health service agencies and medical hospitals, and in private practice.

The field of Marriage and family Therapy is a rapidly growing field, with a bright outlook (O*Net OnLine). MFTs have a 25% projected employment growth in the state of Ohio by 2022 (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services) and a 20% projected employment growth by 2020 across the nation, which is much faster than the average for all occupations (Bureau of Labor Statistics). MFTs have been recognized as one of the top five mental health professions by The National Alliance on Mental Illness and were ranked by the US News and World Report, in 2017, as #2 in Best Social Service Jobs and #51 among The 100 Best Jobs.

Click for CE MFC.T Doctoral Program Student, Core Faculty, & Supervisor Diversity Information