Master of Science in Family Therapy

“The MSFT program at Friends is student-focused, it is professionally relevant, it is well-respected and it is a family. What other graduate program can boast that its alumni return to teach, supervise, volunteer and host students on a regular basis?”

Erin Cavanaugh, Family Therapy Graduate 2011

Costs & Value

Getting an MFT graduate degree has great long term success and value. With the competitive advantage, higher salary and real world experience that comes from a graduate degree, it only makes sense to pursue a graduate degree! Did you know that those with a graduate degree earn almost 20% more than those that only have an undergraduate degree? Read more reasons why it pays to get a graduate degree.

What jobs can you get with a master’s degree in family therapy?

Marriage and family therapy is an ideal profession for those who value helping others discover positive change in the midst of personal and relationship struggles. A family therapy degree at Friends University prepares you with the theoretical, clinical, multicultural and interpersonal competencies for eventual licensure and practice as a Marriage and Family Therapy mental health professional. Current Marriage and Family Therapy graduates provide care across a variety of settings and focuses, supporting individuals, couples and families.

With a high job growth in therapy degrees over the next decade, there has never been a better time to get a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. The need for jobs in social work and therapy is expected to grow 22% by 2028.

Counselor or Therapist Degree?

Are counselors and therapists the same thing? While titles like “counselor” and “therapist” are often used interchangeably when identifying health professionals, there are distinct differences that are key to helping you make the right degree choice.

A degree that opens doors across the mental health field

The MSFT program trains students in the context of a relational and systemic perspective and strives to produce ethically sound clinicians who are competent in multicultural, theoretical, clinical, and interpersonal domains.

Psychotherapy with individuals, couples and families all require specialized knowledge and training as well as personal inspiration. Our COAMFTE (Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education) accredited program offers extensive training and experience providing care to others in personal distress. Each year advanced students in the program collectively provide more than 10,000 hours of relational services to individuals, couples and families. In this, we believe we have created a unique graduate training experience that offers you these practices and more.

The Master of Science in Family Therapy Program at Friends University is pleased to provide a public portfolio of program information in compliance with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education. This information includes but is not limited to the MSFT program’s mission statement, program goals, student learning outcomes, faculty information, demographic data, student achievement data, and policies and procedures supporting the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Friends University. To access the information, please select the following link to the MSFT LiveText Portfolio Management System (www.livetext.com), select the “visitor pass,” and enter the following code: 340BA284

Accreditation

The marriage and family therapy graduate degree at Friends University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), 112 S. Alfred St., Alexandria, VA 22314 (703-838-9808), coa@aamft.org.

Program Goals

• Interpersonal Competency: The MSFT program will cultivate the person of the therapist.
• Theoretical Competency: The MSFT program will prepare students to understand and apply systemic concepts. 
• Clinical Competency: The MSFT program will prepare students to develop a systemically based framework for clinical practice.
• Sociocultural Competency: The MSFT program will promote attunement, equity and inclusion.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Treatment: Students will be able to deliver treatment that fosters inclusive clinical practice for all communities.

• Regulate: Students will be able to demonstrate a capacity to regulate emotion.
• Relate: Students will be able establish healthy relationships.
• Knowledge: Students will be able to understand the systemic concepts and research outcomes of Marriage and Family Therapy.
• Apply: Students will be able to construct a therapeutic framework utilizing the systemic concepts of Marriage & Family Therapy.
• Treatment: Students will be able to demonstrate systemically based skills to initiate, assesses, diagnose, plan and deliver evidence based clinical intervention in client systems.
• Professional Conduct: Students will be knowledgeable and compliant with legal and ethical parameters of clinical care.
• Social Identity: Students will be able to demonstrate attunement to the cultural dynamics of power, privilege and marginalization related to social identity.

Featured Faculty

Dr. Chris Habben

• Professor of MFT; MFT Program Director; Division Chair
• B.A., Hope College; M.S., M.A., Fuller Theological Seminary; Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Jana McCloud

• Assistant Professor of MFT (Wichita); Residency Lecturer (Christian Spiritual Formation & Leadership)
• Theology & Humanities
• B.A., Wichita State University; M.S., Friends University; D.M.F.T., Northcentral University (Candidate)

Eric Parks

• Special Appointment Assistant Professor of MFT (Kansas City)
• B.A., Wichita State University; M.MFT, Friends University

Dr. Michelle Robertson

• Professor of MFT (Wichita); Wichita Site Clinical Director
• B.A., Midwestern State University; M.M.F.T., Abilene Christian University; Ph.D., University of Louisiana

Alyssa Young

• Assistant Professor of MFT (Kansas City); Assistant Clinical Director (Wichita & Kansas City)
• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of Kansas; Masters in Family Therapy, Friends University; Doctor of Philosophy in Couple and Family Therapy, Antioch University, New England.