Professional Diploma in Marriage and Family Therapy

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

OVERVIEW

The Marriage and Family Therapy Program is a 66 credit professional training program which is structured to satisfy the educational requirements for licensure as a marriage and family therapist in New Jersey. The program includes a two term 450 hour internship that generally follows the marriage and family course work, but is largely free of other educational and professional demands.

Students may enter the program with either a Bachelor's degree or Master's degree. All students who enter without an appropriate Master's degree will earn the MA in Behavioral Sciences, Psychological Services Specialization after successful completion of the first 33 credit hours of the program (which includes a research thesis and a Master's level comprehensive examination). Students will advance to the professional sequence of the Marriage and Family Therapy Professional Diploma Program only after the successful completion of a progress review.

Students entering with a Master's degree in counseling, psychology, social work or an allied field must complete a minimum of 33 credits at Kean University. If applicants lack any of the foundation courses they may be required to complete additional courses beyond the minimum.

The New Jersey licensure law requires specific competency areas. The curriculum, designed within the practitioner-scholar model, is devised to enable successful graduates to function as marriage and family therapists in a variety of settings. Through required course work, practicums and internship experiences, students are provided an opportunity to develop skills in assessment, interviewing and counseling with individuals, couples and families. The program stresses the need for marriage and family therapists to understand the varied religious, ethnic, cultural and national characteristics of their clientele.