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The Marriage and Family Therapy program is a graduate program leading to the MA in Social Sciences. 45 semester hours are required in the program. For further information, see the Graduate Studies section of this catalog.
The Marriage and Family Therapy program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).
Faculty: Storm, Chair; York Clinic Director; and practica supervisors: Callison, Fitzpatrick, Lewis, Tschimperle, Vincent.
500 Human Development
Individual personality development, normal and abnormal manifestations, over the life span. (4)
503 Systems Approach to Marriage and Family Therapy
An introduction to the systems paradigm and post-modern ideas for treatment strategy and intervention. (4)
504 Family Development
Exploration of how family life cycle stages are affected by divorce,
remarriage, ethnicity, feminist issues, and other unplanned events. (4)
505 Research Methods in Marriage and Family Therapy
Basic research concepts including formulating research questions,
research design, analysis of data, and theory construction. Emphasis on
understanding and evaluating rather than conducting research. (4)
507 Comparative Marriage and Family Therapy
Intensive comparative study of the theoretical rationale of the
prominent schools of thought within the field of marriage and family
therapy. Prerequisite: 503. (4)
510 Human Sexuality and Sex Therapy
An overview of the nature of sexual health and the treatment of common
sexual dysfunctions. Prerequisite or co-requisite: 503. (2)
511 Psychosocial Pathology: Relationship to Marriage and the Family
Exploration of the treatment techniques and assumptions of leading
family therapists regarding such psychosocial dysfunctions as divorce,
family violence, delinquency, psychosomatic symptoms, drug addiction,
and disturbed adolescents. Prerequisite: 503. (4)
512 Professional Studies in Marriage and Family Therapy
Study of professional ethics and Washington State laws which affect
clinical practice, including family law, legal responsibilities, and
interprofessional cooperation. (3)
519 Practicum I (2)
Prerequisite: 507 and 512; may be taken concurrently when schedule allows.
521 Practicum II (2)
523 Practicum III (2)
525 Practicum IV (2)
The four semesters of practica are part of a continuous process toward
developing specific therapeutic competencies in work with individuals,
couples, and families. The practica present a competency-based program
in which each student is evaluated regarding: 1) case management
skills; 2) relationship skills; 3) perceptual skills; 4) conceptual
skills; 5) structuring skills; and 6) professional development skills.
Practica requirements include 100 hours of supervision of 500 client
contact hours. Faculty are AAMFT-Approved supervisors and use live
supervision and video tapes of student sessions as the primary methods
of clinical supervision.
527 Extended Practicum V
For students who wish to complete their required practica in five
rather than four semesters. This course is an extension of the
previously described practica courses. (2)
520 Theory I (2)
522 Theory II (2)
524 Theory III (2)
The three semesters of theory taken in conjunction with 519, 521, and
523 constitute an in-depth study of one approach toward marriage and
family therapy with an emphasis on applying theory in practice.
526 Development of a Personal Integrated Theory
The fourth semester of theory taken in conjunction with 525 is an
in-depth study of the student's preferred ideas, style, methods, and
values. Students develop an integrated personal approach to marriage
and family therapy that synthesizes their learning in the program. (2)
590 Graduate Seminar
Selected topics as announced. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (1–4)
591 Directed Studies (1–4)
595 Graduate Readings
Independent study card required. (1–4)
598 Research Project (4)
599 Thesis (4)