The Master of Arts in Marital and Family Therapy (MFT) program is offered in Irvine, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego and provides training for a career as a professional marriage and family therapist. Students are trained to treat relational mental health issues with individuals, couples, and families from a systemic perspective. Skills are developed in the mental health assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals and relationship systems. The program provides an integrative approach to the major systemic theories and interventions. It fulfills all academic requirements for application to the State of California’s examination for a marriage and family therapist license (Section 4980.40 and 4980.41 of Business and Professions Code). Licensed marriage and family therapists work in a variety of settings including hospitals, clinics, social service agencies, churches, educational institutions, and private practice. The MFT master’s program offers concentrations in chemical dependency, gerontology, and Latin American family therapy. Each of these concentrations requires additional coursework.
All requirements for the master’s in MFT at Alliant are also a part of the PsyD in MFT program. Students who complete the master’s in MFT, apply in a timely manner, and are accepted into the doctoral program may apply all MFT master’s requirements toward the completion of the MFT doctoral program.
The Marital and Family Therapy master’s program at Alliant International University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) (112 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; Phone: 703-838-9808; Email: coamfte@aamft.org).
Student Learning Outcomes
A graduate of the Masters of Arts program in Marital and Family Therapy is able to:
1) Comprehend and apply knowledge of individual personality development and pathology to persons from multiple cultures and countries.
2) Comprehend and apply family life cycle development to families from multiple cultures and countries.
3) Comprehend, integrate, and apply various systemic theories of marriage and family therapy to individuals, couples, and families from multiple cultures and countries.
4) Develop and sustain a working therapeutic relationship with individuals, couples, and families from multiple cultures and countries.
5) Demonstrate competent skills in interviewing techniques and techniques of marriage and family therapy.
6) Assess individual and family symptoms in a multicultural context and develop treatment procedures based on such assessments.
7) Comprehend and apply knowledge of chemical dependency to therapeutic work with families from multiple cultures and countries.
8) Demonstrate knowledge of research designs and procedures and their application to marriage and family therapy in a multicultural, international context.
9) Demonstrate through supervised practice competency in assessment and treatment of persons and families seeking therapy.
10) Comprehend and apply a working knowledge of professional ethics and legal requirements in the practice of marriage and family therapy.
11) Demonstrate a sufficient level of self awareness to protect individual and families from one’s own personal issues and problems.
General Requirements
The MFT practicum program includes 500 hours of direct client contact, 250 with couples or families; students receive at least 100 hours of individual and group supervision, at least 50 hours of which are based on direct observation or videotape. During the program, the student must supplement his or her academic and clinical work with 50 hours of professional development activities. These include approved workshops, colloquia, and seminars. Twenty-five of these hours may involve personal counseling or psychotherapy with a licensed person who is not full-time faculty at Alliant. The program requires completion of a minimum of 50 units. Students starting the MFT master’s program in fall 2008 or later will be required to pass a comprehensive examination prior to completing their degree program.
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