Master of Arts in Marriage + Family Therapy Requirements

MAMFT 3/5/18
For students matriculating Fall 2018 and thereafter

Requirements: The Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy requires 69 semester hours of required and elective courses, with a cumulative grade point average of 2.7. Students must complete 500 hours of marriage and family therapy with clients, of which at least 250 must have more than one other person in the room. All students are expected to receive psychotherapy during their program.
Indiana licensure laws for Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and/or Licensed Mental Health Counselor require a two-year supervised clinical experience following graduation. A candidate for licensure cannot qualify to sit for the license exam without this experience.
The MAMFT is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy.

A. Studies in Theology

I. Theological Background (9 hours)
☐ Gateway to Theological Education and Formation (3 SH)
☐ Gateway to Theological Reflection (3 SH)
☐ Any Gateway course, C (culture and ethics) course, Yoga & Spirituality or other theological studies course approved by Program Director (3 SH)

II. Theology and Counseling (6 hours)
☐ COUN P-617 Integration of Self, Systems, and Spirit (3 SH)
And ONE of the following
☐ COUN P-634: Theological Perspectives on Pastoral & Spiritual Care (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-638: Religion, Medicine and Pastoral Care (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-641: Spirituality and God-Images in Clinical and Cultural Context (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-651: Theodicy, Trauma and Grace (3 SH)
☐ AMERC-X730: Mountain Stories: Re-storying Spiritual Narratives (3 SH)
☐ Yoga & Spirituality Class (3 SH)
☐ * COUN P-800, 801: Clinical Pastoral Education (6 SH) (COUN P-800 will count as one of these courses; COUN P-801 as elective or Practicum hours credit)

* Students taking the CPE option must take COUN P-800, COUN P-801, COUN P-520, COUN P-531 & COUN P-637 before enrolling in COUN P-820 Practicum.
** Students selecting this option must take COUN P-510 before enrolling in COUN P-823 the start of Practicum II.

B. Studies in Marriage and Family Therapy (54 hours)

Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are prerequisites for practicum.
I. Theoretical Foundations of Marital and Family Therapy (6 hours)
☐ * COUN P-520 Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy Theory (includes 25 hours of alternative clinical hours) (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-621 Integration of Marriage and Family Therapy Theory (concurrent with a semester of Practicum) (3 SH)

II. Assessment and Treatment in Martial and Family Therapy (15 hours)
☐ * COUN P-522 Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy Practice (includes 25 hours of alternative clinical hours) (3 SH)
☐ * COUN P-637 Psychopathology and Assessment (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-623 Couples Systems Theory (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-745 Narrative and Collaborative Approaches to Therapy (3 SH)
And ONE of the following
☐ COUN P-650 Treating Addictive Behavior (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-711 Children and Adolescents in Families (3 SH) (prerequisite P-520)
☐ COUN P-712 Neuroscience Research in Human Development and Evidence Based Practice (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-774 Psychodynamic Family Therapy (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-775 Short Term Family Therapy (3 SH)

III. Human Development and Family Studies (9 hours)

☐ * COUN P-531 Personality, Human Development and Faith (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-619 Sexuality, Gender and Culture (3 SH))
And ONE of the following
☐ COUN P-525 Aging and the Family (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-626 Trauma and Loss (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-646 Families and Larger Systems (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-711 Children and Adolescents in Families (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-712 Neuroscience Research in Human Development and Evidence Based Practice (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-755 Affect in Human Transformation (3 SH)

IV. Ethical and Professional Studies (3 hours)
☐ COUN P-635 Ethical and Professional Issues in Clinical Practice (3 SH)

V. Research (3 hours)
☐ COUN P-770 Basic Research Methodology (3 SH)

VI. Supervised Clinical Practice (15 hours)
Required: 500 client-contact hours, of which 250 hours must be marriage and family hours, plus 100 hours of individual and group supervision in practicum and at least 50 hours of that supervision will be based on direct observation, video tape or audio tape. 100 hours will be completed as alternative hours prior to practicum as part of P-820 and P-822.
☐ COUN P-820 Counseling Practicum I (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-821 Counseling Practicum I (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-822 Counseling Practicum I (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-823 Counseling Practicum II (Students not electing A.II. must take P-510 before enrolling in P-823) (3 SH)
☐ COUN P-824 Counseling Practicum II (3 SH)

VII. Electives (3 hours)
☐ One course from any field (3 SH)
General Electives Emphasis – Students may select courses of their preference when options exist.
Social Justice Electives Emphasis – Students select the following courses: C course of their choice, COUN P-646 Families and Larger Systems and COUN P-711 Children and Adolescents in Families. In the second year of practicum, students will be placed in a community setting working with people marginalized by socioeconomic and cultural discourses.)

 VIII. Integrative and Competency Assessment
☐ X-999A Self, Systems and Spirit (0 hours)
☐ Portfolio of papers from P-520, P-621 and P623 or P-745 (0 hours

IX. Professional Formation and Mentoring 
Students will be assigned a faculty mentor who will mentor the student in niches of Family Therapy and professional development. In addition, all students will be assigned to an MFT student who will serve as a peer mentor. At the beginning of Practicum, MFT students will be assigned an MFT buddy who may or may not be the same person as the peer mentor.

The Counseling Center

Christian Theological Seminary’s Counseling Center provides quality care for clients, students, faculty and staff in a state-of-the-art facility located on the seminary campus.  The facility includes:

Twenty private counseling rooms
Child and Play Therapy area
Personal meditation area
Viewing rooms for supervision
Space for professional and academic conferences
Full ADA compliance

Personal Counseling 
All students are expected to receive psychotherapy during their program. Weekly personal therapy is a prerequisite for practicum admission.. Personal therapy with a gifted clinician assists student therapists in working through problem areas in their own lives that may adversely affect clients and their own participation in an emotionally challenging training program; it provides a unique training experience that helps students understand the process of exploring the depth and interrelationship of systemic and intrapsychic features of human life.

Postgraduate Residency in Supervised Counseling
Indiana licensure laws for Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and/or Licensed Mental Health Counselor require a two-year supervised clinical experience following graduation. A candidate for licensure cannot qualify to sit for the license exam without this experience. CTS offers a postgraduate residency aimed at meeting the state licensure requirements and helping the graduate establish a viable clinical practice. Applicants are accepted from CTS masters programs and from academic programs at other approved universities and graduate schools.