Mission of the CFT Program
The mission of the CFT Master's program is to prepare competent, effective therapists for clinical practice and advancement of the marriage and family therapy discipline. The program seeks to train professionals who demonstrate superior therapeutic skills, ethical integrity, intellectual curiosity, knowledge of the MFT profession, and a sincere commitment to working with individuals, couples, and families from diverse populations.
Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes
The following are the Program Goals and associated Student Learning Outcomes for the CFT Program. These Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes are based on professional marriage and family therapy principles, COAMFTE Core Competencies, the AAMFT code of ethics, the domains included in the AMFTRB National Exam, and state licensure regulations. Each Student Learning Outcome is linked to one of the Program Goals.
- Program Goal 1: To educate and train culturally informed and culturally competent couple and family therapists.
- SLO 1A – Students will have a strong knowledge of the impact of social location (e.g., race, culture, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, religion, social class, ability, etc.) on individual and family functioning.
- SLO 1B – Students will apply knowledge of social location to conduct culturally competent assessment and treatment.
- SLO 1C – Students will understand how the therapist’s social location will impact the course of therapy.
- Program Goal 2: To educate and train ethical couple and family therapists.
- SLO 2A – Students will be knowledgeable of professional codes of ethics, state laws, and models of ethical decision-making, regarding the practice of couple and family therapy.
- SLO 2B – Students will demonstrate ethical decision-making and case management in clinical practice.
- SLO 2C – Students will demonstrate knowledge of ethical principles governing human subjects research.
- Program Goal 3: To educate and train couple and family therapists who utilize a systemic/relational approach in the process of therapy.
- SLO 3A – Students will have a solid knowledge of systemic based models and techniques of family therapy.
- SLO 3B – Students will apply knowledge of systemic models and techniques of family therapy to assessment, treatment, and clinical decision-making regarding therapy process and termination.
- SLO 3C – Students will be able to utilize knowledge about normative and non- normative child, adolescent, adult, and family functioning to assess and treat presenting problems.
- SLO 3D - Students will utilize standardized tests and structured clinical interviews to apply formal diagnostic criteria (e.g., DSM-5-TR in assessing and treating problems in individual family members’ functioning.
- Program Goal 4: To train and educate couple and family therapists who understand and utilize public health and social science research findings regarding physical health, mental health, and family functioning in clinical practice.
- SLO 4A – Students will demonstrate an understanding of basic and applied research 14 methods.
- SLO 4B – Students will demonstrate the application of current empirical findings to couple and family therapy cases.
- Program Goal 5: To train and educate couple and family therapists who are knowledgeable of the CFT profession.
- SLO 5A – Students will be knowledgeable of the various professional roles, organizations, and regulatory frameworks associated with the practice of CFT.
- SLO 5B – Students will be knowledgeable of the areas in need of attention for the advancement of the CFT profession.