Course Requirements—Students Are Required to Take the Following

• MF6020 - Theories of Family Process and Development (3)
• MF6021 - Schools of Family Therapy (3)
• MF6030 - Psychopathology and Assessment (3)
• MF6091 - Couples and Relational Therapy Skills (3)
• MF6100 - Individual and Relational Therapy (3)
• MF6102 - Group Therapy (3)
• MF6200 - Human Sexuality (3)
• MF6300 - Professional and Ethical Issues (3)
• MF6441 - Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy (3)
• MF6500 - Individual and Personality Development (3)
• MF6510 -  Social and Cultural Foundations of Therapy (3)
• MF6525 - Systematic Assessments and Appraisals (3)

Professionalization Group Requirements—Students Are Required to Take the Following

• MF6010 - Professionalization Group I (1)
• MF6011 - Professionalization Group II (1)
• MF6012 - Professionalization Group III (1)

Practicum and Practicum Seminar Requirements—Students Are Required to Take the Following

• MF6400 - Practicum I (3)
• MF6401 - Practicum II (3)
• MF6402 - Practicum III (3)

Professionalization Group Requirements

The Professionalization Group is a required experience for all first-year students and typically meets once a week for an hour during the first three semesters the student is in the program.

Students discuss topics and themes of the program curriculum, critical issues in the profession of marriage and family therapy as well as actively participate in their own personal and professional development in interaction with student colleagues and their professor. The Professionalization Group professor is the student’s advisor for the first year of the program.

Additional Practicum and Practicum Seminar Requirements

The practicum and seminar combination carries 3 credit hours per semester and 9 credit hours per academic year. The student will be required to spend a minimum of 20 hours per week (including practicum and practicum seminar) in the practicum training experience for a total of 600 hours.

Clinical Competency Evaluation and Portfolio Processes Requirements (Argosy University Chicago and Argosy University, Twin Cities)

Clinical Competency Evaluation

The Clinical Competency Evaluation (CCE) is a series of competency-based tasks designed to evaluate the student’s mastery of major clinical assessment and therapeutic skills. The tasks occur through the program and culminate in the practicum seminar. The CCE monitors the student’s development of therapeutic competency, in accordance with the standards of Argosy University and ensures the acquisition of the appropriate skill level for subsequent supervised therapeutic practice.  Demonstrating competency on each section of the CCE is a prerequisite for advancing to the next level of training.

The CCE assesses competency in assessment, case formulation/analysis, and psychotherapy.

This requirement is accomplished through a combination of passing specific courses with a grade of “B-” or better and, finally, through in-class (practicum seminar) presentations (both written and oral) of therapy. Successful completion of coursework and practicum alone does not guarantee passing a given CCE task.

 Portfolio Process

The Portfolio Process, introduced in the Professionalization Group experience, is an opportunity for the MA in Marriage & Family Therapy degree program student to demonstrate growth and competency in five areas:

• Theory of change
• Assessment competency
• Skill demonstration
• Clinical skill progression
• Overall professional development and clinical competency (case, cultural, ethical, written/oral competency) through the Clinical Competency Evaluation and other appropriate artifacts.

The Portfolio is assembled by the student throughout out his/her coursework and is minimally comprised of selected student papers, audio/video tape examples of skills chosen by the student, competed Basic Skills Evaluation Devices (BSED), and other products from the Clinical Competency Evaluation (CCE).

Submitted the semester before graduation, the Portfolio is evaluated for adequacy by the full-time faculty of the MA in Marriage & Family Therapy Department and is essential for graduation.

Comprehensive Examination and Portfolio Processes Requirements (Argosy University, Salt Lake City)

Comprehensive Examination

The Comprehensive Examination graduation requirement is fulfilled by passing the national Marriage & Family Therapy practice exam. This exam was developed by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB), and can be taken on-line through the AMFTRB website (amftrb.org).

Students are given two hours to complete the exam. The AMFTRB exam is comprised of 100 multiple choice items, which must be passed at the national passing rate (currently 66%).

The Comprehensive Exam assesses competency in the following domains: the practice of marital and family therapy; assessing, hypothesizing and diagnosing; designing and conducting treatment; evaluating ongoing process and terminating treatment; maintaining ethical, legal and professional standards.

Passing the AMFTRB practice exam suggests that a student has retained the appropriate information and gained a level of clinical experience appropriate for graduation from the MFT program.

If a student fails the exam, it may be retaken until passed. The exam must be passed in order for a student to be eligible for graduation.

The Portfolio Process

The Portfolio process, introduced in the Professionalization Group and described in the graduate handbook, is an opportunity for the MA in Marriage & Family Therapy degree program student to demonstrate growth and competency in each of the Argosy University Marriage & Family Therapy degree program student learning outcome areas, and AAMFT content areas:

• Theoretical knowledge (Theory of Change paper)
• Clinical knowledge (Skill Demonstration)
• Individual Development and Family Relations (Self-of the Therapist Paper)
• Professional Identity and Ethics (Personal Statement and Professional Vita)
• Research (Literature Review)
• Interpersonal Effectiveness (Letters of Reference and Recommendation)
• Additional Learning (15 CE hours)

The Portfolio is assembled by the student throughout his or her coursework in the program. Submitted at least four weeks prior to graduation, each section of the Portfolio is evaluated for adequacy by the faculty of the MA in Marriage & Family Therapy degree program. The Portfolio must be found adequate in order for the student to be eligible for graduation.

Any incidence of cheating, plagiarism, or falsification of information on the CCE or Portfolio will result in automatic dismissal from the MA in Marriage & Family Therapy degree program.

Course/Credit Transfer

Students may transfer a maximum of 12 credit hours or four courses toward the MA in Marriage & Family Therapy degree program. The following is a list of courses that may not be transferred:

Optional Forensic Counseling Concentration²

Students enrolled in the MA in Marriage & Family Therapy degree program at Argosy University, Twin Cities may choose an optional concentration in Forensic Counseling. Building on a solid foundation in systemic and relational theory and practice, the forensic counseling concentration will explore the influences contributing to justice and correctional system involvement, recidivism and release, custody and divorce processes as well as mediation and rehabilitation interventions.

The course sequence will provide further theoretical and practical experiences for students interested in community corrections and rehabilitation, community-based organizations, school settings(particularly alternative and charter schools), and adult/juvenile correctional settings.