Marriage, Couple and Family Therapy Program

This program is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), and is designed to meet the standards of the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE).

Coordinator: Dr. Teresa McDowell
teresamc@lclark.edu

The Master of Arts MCFT program at Lewis & Clark College is designed to prepare graduates for eventual employment as marriage, couple and family therapists in settings that focus on family/relational based interventions. Therefore, in addition to the common core curricular experiences in counseling, all students are required to demonstrate knowledge and skill in areas specific to marriage, couple and family therapy, which are acquired through didactic courses and supervised clinical experience. The curriculum for the MCFT program helps students build the knowledge base and skills necessary to provide high-quality, effective therapy. It prepares students to use an active, positive approach to therapy that will help individuals, couples, and families build on their strengths, improve their relationships, and generate solutions to relational problems.

MCFT is a distinct profession with its own history, theories, models, professional organizations and journals. Students are introduced to and invited to join the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and the International Family Therapy Association (IFTA). They are also expected to be familiar with the body of family therapy literature, including the field’s leading journals, i.e., Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Family Process, Journal of Systemic Therapies, Contemporary Family Therapy, Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, and American Journal of Family Therapy.

The program is generally designed to take full-time students three years and part-time students four years to complete.