Program Description
The Psy.D. in Marital and Family Therapy program is an accelerated degree that may be completed in three years. This post-master's program has been recognized for its excellent training in culturally competent service provision and offers students a remarkably wide variety of opportunities to gain experience. The Chicago School's MFT Department faculty members are actively engaged in practice and scholarship, and incorporate a wide variety of clinical examples into classroom activities.
A diverse and intensive curriculum ensures that graduates are equipped with expert knowledge in theory, research, and practice in marital and family therapy, and prepared to serve as leaders and/or senior administrators in both educational and clinical settings, or to teach in regionally accredited institutions of higher education.
Department
Marital and Family Therapy
Concentrations
Licensure
Total Credits
60 (effective Fall 2011)
Fieldwork Requirements
Sample Courses
Advanced Family Systems Theories
Provides an advanced study of system theory. Advances ability to think systemically across a wide range of presenting issues such as gender, culture, domestic abuse, substance abuse, physical and mental illness, etc. Students learn to conceptualize interventions from multiple systemic orientations (i.e., strategic, intergenerational, solution-focused, and behavioral family therapy).
Community Clinical and Agency Management
Covers a general overview of the community mental health system and clinical management associated with this area. Interagency agreements, memorandums of understanding and other collaborative experiences are discussed. Additional operational areas of agency management are addressed including general standards associated with record keeping, billing, fee scales, and reaching out to diverse and underserved populations.
Clinical Psychopharmacology
Marriage and Family Therapists are increasingly members of interdisciplinary teams, and need to understand psychopharmacology information in order to communicate with other disciplines and in the case of private practitioners, to understand the medications that their clients may be utilizing. Acquaints the student with the history and use of psychotropic drugs. Emphasizes the understanding of the uses of these drugs and the common side effects of the major categories of psychiatric medications. Relationships between major DSM-IV classifications and appropriate medications are presented.
View full course catalog »