• MS Degree Requirements
• Curriculum

The Master of Science in Marital and Family Therapy is designed to produce clinical professionals who can assess and treat individuals, couples, and families for a wide array of problems and who can also provide leadership to the mental health community. The program is completed in 2 years of full-time study, including the summer following the first year. Students complete 22 units of coursework and an intensive clinical internship, which includes at least 500 hours of face-to-face contact with clients and more than 250 hours of group and individual supervision.

The MSMFT Program is designed to fully prepare students for rewarding careers in marital and family therapy, a growing and respected profession in the mental health field that focuses on the treatment of families, couples, individuals and groups from a relational and contextual perspective. MSMFT students are taught a systemic, integrative and problem-centered approach, pioneered at The Family Institute, to address clients' emotional, behavioral and interpersonal problems. In this approach, the influences of family and other relationships, along with biology, psychodynamics, gender, socioeconomic status, culture and life cycle, are employed to help clients understand and address their problems.

Students gain critical hands-on clinical experience by seeing clients at Family Institute clinic and community sites under the close supervision of highly experienced marriage and family therapists. These clinic and community sites offer students the opportunity to work with a variety of client populations throughout metropolitan Chicago.

Graduates of the MFT program have a strong background in individual and family development, individual and family dysfunction, and systemic, integrative couple and family therapy. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 112 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3061, 703-838-9808. For more information about the MFT profession see Web site www.aamft.org. The program is also evaluated and approved by the state of Illinois Division of Professional Regulation, Marriage and Family Therapy Licensing and Disciplinary Board. For more information about licensing see Web site: www.idfpr.com/dpr/WHO/marfm.asp

Applicants should contact the program or see Web site www.family-institute.org/education/masters.htm to learn about program-specific requirements for admission.

Faculty

The primary appointment for those faculty with joint or affiliate status in another program is noted in parentheses.