The MAMFT program is a 48-hour program designed to meet the academic requirements for the LMFT license in Oklahoma. The curriculum is divided into fourteen modules containing theoretical and applied psychotherapy courses, and 300 hours of internship. Courses are completed over four, nontraditional, accelerated semesters. The courses (modules) are taken sequentially, to allow focused study on one subject area at a time. Class meetings occur one night per week for a four-hour session or on intensive weekend courses that meet Friday and Saturday for eight hours each day. Extensive directed study occurs outside the classroom, in preparation for participative learning experiences during class time.
In addition to the courses, the MAMFT student will complete a 300-hour Internship. Specific guidelines for the internship are provided in a supplemental publication (Internship Handbook). Work on all components of the program (modules and internship) occurs simultaneously.
A scientist practitioner model of professional training assumes that in order to become professional qualified; you must seek to understand the research underpinnings of the discipline while simultaneously developing counseling knowledge and skills. The Research Methods course is the primary tool for helping the student to develop competency in research.
Another vital component of counselor preparation is supervised experience in counseling situations. This process is initiated briefly in the first module, but is developed more fully during the internship placement. Internships begin in the second semester and are completed by the fourth semester. The internship occurs in approved clinical settings. Throughout the program, the student is encouraged to apply the training from the psychotherapy lab courses. The clinical capstone of the program occurs in the Multicultural Treatment Planning course. The student integrates the assessment, diagnostic and treatment process into a clinical demonstration of his/her ability to conceptualize the dynamics of the client and to articulate a comprehensive treatment plan.
All masters’ degree programs at SNU require an exit evaluation. In the MAMFT program, the exit evaluation takes the form of a Clinical Portfolio. The Clinical Portfolio is a way of demonstrating clinical competency of the student and synthesizing the various clinical components of the program. Specific guidelines for completing the Clinical Portfolio are available in the Graduate Programs in Counseling office. The Clinical Portfolio is intended to evaluate the student’s competence in assessing, diagnosing, and treating clients. In addition, students will be evaluated on their understanding of professional and ethical issues related to practicing as an LPC or an LMFT.
Requirements to complete the Master of Arts in Marital and Family Therapy
PSY 5333 Introduction to Counseling Techniques
PSY 5313 Lifespan Development
PSY 6133 Research Methods
PSY 5263 Psychopathology
PSY 6333 Theories of Counseling
PSY 5143 Family and Psychological Assessment
PSY 5283 Professional Orientation
PSY 6263 Family Crisis Intervention
PSY 6293 Philosophy of Interpersonal Relationships
PSY 6303 Counseling Children and Adolescents
PSY 6243 Marriage and Family Therapy
PSY 6353 Counseling the Elderly
PSY 6393 Multicultural Treatment Planning
PSY 6343 Marital and Family Systems
PSY 6196 Internship
Course Offerings
PSY 5143 Family and Psychological Assessment (3 hours)
Testing theory and statistical considerations in the construction of psychological measurements. Coverage is given to administration and interpretation of various assessment tools. The course also includes diagnostic interviewing techniques, report writing, direct observation techniques, and self report scaling.
PSY 5263 Psychopathology (3 hours)
Examination of techniques used in defining and classifying deviant behavior syndromes, according to DSM-IV classification. Theoretical and empirical literature dealing with etiology and treatment of various disorders is examined. Areas of coverage are situation reactions, anxiety disorder, personality disorders, psychoses, organic disorders, and child adolescent onset disorders.
PSY 5283 Professional Orientation (3 hours)
This course is designed to provide a survey of ethical, legal and professional issues facing counselors and others in human services. Emphasis is given to raising awareness of the complexities of ethical issues in professional practice.
PSY 5313 Lifespan Development (3 hours)
Theoretical and research approaches to the study of development of human abilities and behavior throughout the lifespan. The course will focus on such theorists as Piaget, Freud, Erikson, Kohlberg, Peck, Vaillant, Schaie, and Sternberg. Topics include developmental research methodology, variables influencing development, and basic developmental processes in physical, motor, perceptual, cognitive, linguistic, emotional, social, and personality development. Applications of developmental theory to counseling are emphasized.
PSY Introduction to Counseling Techniques (3 hours)
An introduction to the basic helping skills and the role of professional counselors. Students are introduced to specific and nonspecific variables in the counselor, the client and the counseling environment that produce change in clients. An overview of the historical development of the counseling profession is explored as well as future directions for the profession of counseling. Foundations are explored for developing a worldview of counseling, inclusive of a Christian view of persons. Students will practice basic helping skills and learn to conduct initial interviews. Students will initiate use of library research to develop hypotheses for empirical research.
PSY 6133 Research Methods I (3 hours)
An overview of the various research methodologies used to study behavior. The focus is on application, especially to counseling research. This course is closely tied to development of the thesis. The prospectus is begun during this module.
PSY 6143 Research Methods II (3 hours)
Research Methods II provides tools to analyze research data and draw appropriate conclusions from that data. This module is a study of computer-based techniques for the more common statistical procedures used in psychological research. It gives you experience in using Systat to describe and draw inferences about research data, as well as assisting you in completing the research for your thesis.
PSY 6196 Internship (6 hours)
Supervised clinical experience and practice in fieldwork, as approved by the program. The internship occurs concurrently with course work and follows guidelines set forth in licensure preparation. Internships will total a minimum of 300 hours of service.
PSY 6233 Brief Psychotherapy (3 hours)
Explores the growth and implementation of short-term treatment strategies with particular attention to cognitive behavioral intervention strategies. Cognitive behavioral therapy seeks to understand the foundation of behavior through cognitive schemas. Outcome studies indicating the efficacy of these models will be discussed.
PSY 6243 Marriage and Family Therapy (3 hours)
This course addresses the practice of marital and family therapy. It is designed to teach theory application, technique formation, technique delivery, and follow through in marital and family therapy. Techniques in marital and family therapy such as joining, relabeling, reframing, structure change, pattern enhancement, first and second order change, power word unpackaging, and faith language framing will be taught. Instruction in the assessment and utilization of the family’s language, rules and structure will be provided.
PSY 6263 Family Crisis Intervention (3 hours)
An applied psychotherapy lab course that engages the student in both the theoretical foundations for crisis intervention and in the actual and practical experience of implementing crisis intervention techniques. Students will be instructed in the stages of emergency and crisis situations and the theoretical frameworks for describing crisis events.
PSY 6293 Philosophy of Interpersonal Relationships (3 hours)
Considers worldviews with regard to situations that are an inherent part of the human condition, such as suffering, change, trauma, and so forth. Focus is on an understanding of such conditions and the garnering of resources for coping with these situations. Special emphasis will be given to the ways in which the various philosophical positions give rise to ethical considerations.
PSY 6303 Counseling Children and Adolescents (3 hours)
An advanced counseling course focused on specific techniques used in diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents. Normative and nonnormative aspects of development are examined to assist in understanding appropriate interventions. DSM IV diagnoses found in children and adolescents are evaluated. Legal and ethical issues related to intervention with minors are also explored.
PSY 6333 Theories of Counseling (3 hours)
This course provides an overview of the major viewpoints underlying various approaches to counseling. It shows how these viewpoints developed as well as the ways of influence outlook and technique in counseling. You will have opportunity to see the various viewpoints in action as used by others, and to apply them in role-played counseling sessions. Critique of the theories will include emphasis on Christian perspectives.
PSY 6343 Marital and Family Systems (3 hours)
This course is the foundational material for discovering how Marital and Family Therapy approaches human relationship problems. Marital and Family Therapy utilize systemic theory as problems and problem resolution in a different way. This “different way” brings focus on the processes or context that is giving meaning to events instead of the individuals or the events themselves. Examination of marriage and family in the context of a system will be the theme of this course.
PSY 6353 Counseling the Elderly (3 hours)
A major emphasis for this course will be the multitude of changes that elderly adults experience and how these changes can result in issues that are addressed in a counseling setting. Normal and non-normal physiological changes and memory changes will be identified and discussed. Depression, substance abuse, and the high incident of elderly suicide will be highlighted.
PSY 6393 Multicultural Treatment Planning (3 hours)
This course is a synthesis of the student’s clinical training. The student is taught how to coordinate diagnostic interviewing, psychological assessment techniques and diagnosis to assist in developing appropriate treatment plans for clients. Students will demonstrate appropriate use of DSM-IV diagnostic skills and illustrate an awareness of the growing body of literature on empirically based treatment planning. Multicultural aspects of counseling and treatment planning are investigated.
Contact Diane Cassody (918) 664-1949 x 231 in Tulsa for further information on this program.