ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ

SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY
MARSTON/WATSON HALL
206-281-2987
GRADADMISSIONS@SPU.EDU

Faculty, students, and staff in the School of Psychology, Family, and Community strive to become a community of learners:

• Guided by faith. Exploring the implications of vital expressions of Christian faith for the human condition, as well as for emotional and relational healing and health.
• Rooted in academic discipline. Fostering rigorous and creative learning environments, as well as contributing primary scholarship to the scientific study of psychological and social processes.
• Committed to service. Grounding our learning community in the theory, research, and application of our disciplines in order to produce skilled graduates who can serve with character and competence in a broken world; nurturing creative partnerships with our local community and beyond in order to serve in and learn from socially and culturally diverse settings.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Marriage and Family Therapy (M.F.T.) program at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ is to provide the highest quality education and training in marriage and family therapy in a distinctly Christian context.

The program focuses on the development of the self of the therapist through the integration of theory, research, and practice — all within a social-ecology perspective and guided by foundational Christian principles. People are viewed holistically, and training is guided by the values of openness, respect, curiosity, and accountability.

Also see the MFT Certificate program overview below.

PROGRAM DISTINCTIVES

Our training is offered through academic coursework and supervised clinical practice, leading to a Master of Science Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. The program provides a seven-quarter practicum sequence that delivers fundamental and comprehensive clinical training.

You are equipped to provide professional services as a marriage and family therapist and be an effective participant in the ever-changing health care environment.

You can complete this degree in either a two-year (full-time) or three-year (part-time) sequence. In exceptional circumstances you may also have up to four years to complete degree requirements.

To maintain active status in the program, you are expected to complete 24 credit hours per year. Exceptions are to be approved by the chair of the Marriage and Family Therapy program. Courses are generally held during mid-afternoon and evening hours, Monday through Thursday, for 10 weeks. A typical full-time schedule is as follows:

• First year: Monday and Wednesday, 1:30–8:30 p.m.
• Second year: Tuesday and Thursday, 1:30–8:30 p.m.

Full-time employment is discouraged if you intend to pursue the two-year program. Full-time employment may be possible if you pursue the three-year program, however, part-time employment is preferable.

Program Curriculum
The M.F.T. degree prepares individuals for supervised service in clinical and agency mental health organizations, educational settings, and private psychotherapy. Other professional opportunities include educator, consultant, mediator, administrator, and medical family therapist.

Marriage and Family Therapy program graduates work with individuals, couples, families, and groups. You will become skilled in providing professional therapeutic techniques in the treatment of family and individual issues based on a systems/relational understanding of people's lives.

The program provides a seven-quarter practicum sequence that focuses on the development of the therapist and provides fundamental and comprehensive clinical training. This includes the following:

• Supervised internship at an approved site (500 hours of face-to-face client contact, of which at least 250 hours must be couples or family therapy).
• On-campus small-group supervision and individual/ group supervision at an internship placement site. One hundred (100) total hours of supervision is required, which will include at least 50 hours of live, video, or audio supervision.
• A clinical portfolio, presented in the seventh quarter. This is an in-depth application of a theory to clinical practice and the integration of the therapist with clinical work. Supervisors and clinical practicum supervision group members attend the final presentation. ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ also offers a Certificate in Medical Family Therapy that can be incorporated into the standard M.F.T. curriculum. Post-master's students may also obtain a Certificate in Medical Family Therapy.

Accreditation

In addition to regional accreditation by the , the M.F.T. program at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ holds national accreditation through the , the accrediting agency for the American Association for Marriage and Family Training programs. AAMFT is the national professional organization dedicated to the practice of marriage and family therapy.

As a graduate with post-master's degree experience, you are eligible to apply for licensure through Washington state's Department of Health. Five hundred (500) hours of clinical practice and 100 hours of supervision may be applied toward Washington state M.F.T. licensure if you graduate from the SPU M.F.T. program. Licensure in more states follow COAMFTE curriculum and supervision requirements.

GENERAL ADMISSIONS INFORMATION

The program begins in Autumn Quarter and admits students once a year. The application deadline is January 22.

Listed below is a brief outline of University and program requirements for admission to M.F.T. students. Apply online, and for more detailed information on admission, visit or email gradadmissions@spu.edu, or call 206-281-2091 or 800-601-0603.

1. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution in any field. Candidates will have a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 in the last 45 quarter credits (30 semester credits) of coursework completed before applying for admission, or in all undergraduate work, whichever is higher.
   
2. A minimum of 18 semester credits or 24 quarter credits in the social and behavioral sciences, including a course in applied statistics and a course in individual life-span development, must be completed (at a regionally accredited institution) prior to full admission to the program. If you have not already taken sufficient courses in this area, you are encouraged to take courses from the following areas: theories of personality, theories of counseling, abnormal psychology, and developmental psychology or family studies. You may elect to take the . Those who earn a score of 500 or higher may waive any unfinished prerequisite coursework, with the exception of the statistics and individual life-span development courses.
   
3. A minimum score of 950 (only verbal and quantitative) for the or 430 scaled score (35 raw score) for the is required. The test must have been administered within five years of the deadline date for application to the program. Further information on these tests can be obtained by calling the numbers listed below:
   
   Graduate Record Exam
   800-GRE-CALL or 800-473-2255
   
   
   Miller Analogies Test
   800-622-3231
   UW Testing Center (for local applicants)
   206-543-1170
   
   If you have earned a master's degree from a regionally accredited institution, you can submit an official transcript, which includes the master's degree, and the GRE/MAT will be waived. Note: Candidates with significant qualifications and exceptional recommendations who fail to meet the GPA or GRE/MAT minimum scores may still be considered for admission to the M.F.T. program, because the program admits all students on a probationary status (see "Admission Procedures").
   
4. You must submit three letters of recommendation, including (1) at least one from a person professionally qualified to recommend for a field of this nature (e.g., mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, pastoral counselor, psychologist); and (2) at least one from a person qualified to evaluate academic ability (e.g., educator); and (3) a third personal recommendation that may include a reference from an employer and/or supervisor from a volunteer experience. Recommendation forms are included in the onlie application. Recommendations must be submitted on the forms provided. Forms should be sent to the applicant in sealed and signed envelopes to be included with the application package.
   
5. You will submit a typed personal statement. Please present a succinct statement that provides an accurate indication of writing and grammatical skills. Generally, statements should be three to four pages in length. The personal statement should address (1) your career objectives; (2) rationale for seeking the degree and choosing to attend ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ; (3) your personal interest in marriage and family therapy; (d) professional and personal strengths as they apply to the mental health profession; (4) your related volunteer or work experiences; (5) the way in which your personal and professional life experiences have converged to motivate application to the M.F.T. program; and (6) other insights as deemed appropriate by you.
   
6. If English is not your first language, you must take the , and present a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based test or 213 on the computer-based test.
   
7. If you are not a U.S. citizens or permanent resident, you must provide an official confidential statement of financial support covering each year of intended enrollment.
   
8. If you are interested in the Medical Family Therapy Certificate, you need to request application materials for this program also.

Admissions Procedures
The Marriage and Family Therapy Graduate Admissions Committee will complete an initial applicant screening process based upon the materials only. Finalists are invited to meet with members of the committee for an all-day group-interview process in March. It is highly recommended that applicants participate in the group-interview process. Telephone interviews are also permissible, but in only exceptional circumstances.

Admission to the graduate program depends upon recommendation by the M.F.T. faculty and approval from the chair of the Marriage and Family Therapy program. The entire process is usually completed within 10 weeks after the final deadline date for applications.

All students are admitted on a probational status in order to allow faculty to be certain they are fully prepared for placement in an internship site. Full admission is required for placement in an internship site to occur.

To be considered for full admission, you must complete a minimum of 11 units in the M.F.T. program, with average GPA of 3.0 or better in all courses, and must be recommended for continuance by M.F.T. faculty.

Transfer of Credit
If you wish to apply master’s degree level coursework completed at a regionally accredited institution prior to application, you must provide applicable transcripts and/or syllabi. Each course must be at least 3 graduate quarter credits and be equivalent to courses taught in the M.F.T. program at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ. A minimum grade of B will be needed for transferred work, and a maximum of 9 quarter credits may be transferred.

MEDICAL FAMILY THERAPY CERTIFICATE

The medical field is developing integrated health care teams in medical settings to address the physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational needs of patients. Due to rapid changes in the health care delivery system, which is struggling to provide a model to meet the needs of the consumer, payor and insurer, there is a growing need for sound training in integrative and collaborative health care.

Since 1995, the Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the New England Journal of Medicine have published studies showing that an integrated treatment protocol resulted in prolonged survival rates, significant cost savings, and an increased quality of life for cancer and heart disease patients.

ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ has seen an increase in alumni obtaining jobs in different medical centers working with infertility, cancer, and diabetes. Master's level students with advanced training in medical family therapy can become a vital part of the collaborative health care team. This is an ideal time to join the movement toward integrated health care that focuses upon the needs of the whole person and family system.

Program Overview

SPU's Medical Family Therapy Certificate program is the only training program on the West Coast geared to training biomedical, psychosocial, and spiritual providers to work in medical settings as a part of an integrated health care team.

With its commitment to excellence, service and Christian faith, SPU's School of Psychology, Family, and Community stands ready to offer a bio-psychosocial model of specialized training in collaborative medicine. In addition, this training will the role of spirituality and faith practices in healing and health.

SPU's certificate in Medical Family Therapy will prepare you, a health and mental health provider, to be a leader in the development of this field. With the training and research emphasis on the role of spirituality in health and healing, you will be equipped to introduce and implement a bio-psychosocial-spiritual model of care into a health care system struggling to be both cost-effective and healing.

Coursework

You have two options in obtaining the Medical Family Therapy Certificate:

• If you are a graduate student already enrolled in the Marriage and Family Therapy program at SPU, you may add 14 additional credits focused on medical family therapy to receive the certificate.

The Certificate in Medical Family Therapy, can be earned during or after completion of the MFT program.

• If you are a professional who has a degree in marital and family therapy, you will needto complete only the core courses (12-16 units) to receive the certificate. Classes may be taken individually, also.

If you have received graduate training in social work, behavioral science, theology, nursing, or medicine, review your prior classes. Depending upon past coursework, additional credits may be needed. For most students, the certificate can be completed over a two-year period.

Internship

In the late summer or early fall after all coursework is complete, you will be placed in a yearlong internship 10 hours a week in an outpatient medical clinic. You will have a chance to discuss internship placement possibilities prior to placement.

Clinics range from family medicine, oncology, rheumatology, women's health, and other specialty medicine sites. You will work alongside physicians, nurses, and staff providing on-site psychosocial care. You will be actively involved in charting, consulting with medical team, program development, and clinical treatment.

Clinic schedule will be determined in consideration of clinic need, space restrictions and your availability. During the internship year you will also be enrolled in the practicum supervision course.

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