Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy

Named one of the top 50 careers 2 years running by U.S. News & World Report!

Welcome to the Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy Program (MSMFT) website.

Our Program is run jointly with The Family Institute and Northwestern University, with your MSMFT degree being awarded by Northwestern University. Please visit our page on The Graduate School at Northwestern University's website.

Below you will find the things about our program that make us very proud. We invite you to dig deeper by examining our courses and reading the bios of our prestigious and clinically active faculty. Be sure to also check out the more than 400 publications of the Institute staff.

Of particular interest to prospective applicants are two articles recently published in the Journal, Family Process. These articles lay out an integrative perspective developed by our faculty and represent a cutting-edge approach to therapy. In addition, two of our faculty members recently published an article in AAMFT's flagship publication, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, which delineated the science and core principles behind effective couple therapy.

We hope you will take a close look at our program and encourage you to contact either of us with questions not fully answered by our website.

Douglas C. Breunlin, LCSW, LMFT MSMST Program Director McCormick Tribune Foundation Chair in Marital and Family Therapy Clinical Professor of Psychology Northwestern University Phone: 847-733-4300, ext. 9602 E-mail: d-breunlin@northwestern.edu

Anthony L. Chambers, PhD Core Faculty of the Marriage & Family Therapy Program Chair of the Recruitment and Selection Committee Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology Northwestern University Phone: 847-733-4300, ext. 312 E-mail: a-chambers@northwestern.edu

Ten Things That Make Our Program Great

1. OUR INSTITUTE

The Family Institute at Northwestern University administers the Program. With over 40 years of experience, the Institute is a world-renowned center of learning about family therapy. The Institute conducts over 60,000 hours of therapy annually, engages in important clinical research and is at the forefront of family therapy education. The MSMFT Program is located at the Institute's headquarters. This state-of-the art 26,000 square-foot facility is designed to maximize student learning. It has 10 interviewing suites equipped with two-way mirrors and videotaping capability where students conduct therapy under the helpful eye of their supervisors and make recordings of their interviews for later supervision.

2. OUR UNIVERSITY

Perennially ranked as a top fifteen University, Northwestern offers top shelf educations and delivers a brand name that carries its graduates far. Northwestern is a major research institution with fabulous facilities. As a member of the Big Ten Conference, Northwestern plays host to many intercollegiate athletic events. The beautiful campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan.

3. OUR LOCATIONS

Northwestern is located in the thriving suburbs of Evanston, Illinois but is also a train ride away from downtown Chicago. Students enjoy the best of both worlds. The rich diversity of the population of metropolitan Chicago provides a rich source of referrals for learning therapy.

4. OUR FACULTY

Our faculty are among the leaders in the field. Three sit on the editorial board of family therapy's premier journal, Family Process. Several hold or have held positions of leadership in organizations such as The American Family Therapy Academy and the American Psychological Association. The faculty have made seminal contributions to the literature. All of the faculty are practicing therapists who bring a wealth of current experience to the classroom.

5. OUR ACCREDITATION

The Commission on Accreditation accredits the Program for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). Students who graduate from an accredited program have fulfilled all graduate requirements for licensure in all 50 states. The AAMFT requirement that students graduate with at least 500 hours of clinical experience gives our graduates extensive training and a decided advantage when seeking employment.

6. OUR STUDENT BODY AND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

With students applying, competitively, from across the country, our faculty have the pleasure of teaching a talented, diverse, and academically advanced group of students. This environment leads to a challenging, enlightening and rewarding exchange of ideas between students. Through our Alumni Association, graduates network, support the program, and receive discounts on Family-Institute-sponsored professional education CEUs.

7. OUR CLINIC

The clinical component of our training program takes place at the Bette D. Harris Child and Family Clinic that is administered by the Family Institute. The client population is highly diverse and represents many of the problems and populations family therapists will encounter beyond graduate school. The Clinic has four client sites and all have two-way mirrors and recording equipment.

8. OUR SUPERVISION

Students receive extensive amount of supervision (more than double the number of hours required for accreditation). Supervision occurs in two formats: three-hour supervision groups with a small supervisee/supervisor ratio of 4:1 and individual supervision. Supervisory methods include live supervision (supervisor observes from behind a two-way mirror), videotape, audiotape and case consultation. Group supervisors are highly experienced and all are practicing clinicians, themselves. Supervisors must be either designated as "Approved Supervisors" of AAMFT or hold equivalent credentials.

9. OUR APPROACH TO THERAPY

Our approach to therapy is grounded in the concept of integration: that the approaches to therapy are best understood and used in a thoughtful and planful way. The senior faculty of The Family Institute have been at the forefront of psychotherapy integration for three decades. They published two seminal books on integration a number of years ago (Metaframeworks and Integrative Problem Centered Therapy) and have been working with other faculty to unify these approaches in what is currently known as The Family Institute Perspective. Human problems are nested in a biopsychosocial system and can best be resolved by removing the constraints of that system. Family, couple, and individual therapy may be warranted as well as attention to biology and the larger system such as the community.

10. OUR SCIENCE-PRACTITIONER APPROACH TO THERAPY

Although therapy will always be a blend of science and art, our approach to therapy is based on the 21st century trend to ground practice in scientifically proven methods. To prepare our students for this growing trend, we teach them to be consumers of research, and to know how to access and use this research with their own cases. The Institute research team has also developed its own research instrument designed to guide the progress of therapy. Known as the STIC (Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change), this instrument enables therapist and client to track the progress of therapy. Key measures of change are monitored, as is the crucial relationship between the therapist and client(s).

For more detailed information, contact the MSMFT Education Program Manager at 847-733-4300, ext. 206, email family-institute@northwestern.edu or visit the detailed links of the MSMFT Program menu.