Couple and Family Therapy, (Ph.D.)

Program Overview

Adler University’s Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Couple and Family Therapy (CFTD) is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). It is designed for graduates with a license-eligible clinical master’s degree, as well as experienced clinicians. The CFTD emphasizes excellence in clinical practice, training students to apply empirically based knowledge, research, and techniques to therapy, training, and clinical supervision with a focus on self-of-the-therapist. Graduates of the program will be positioned to make a significant contribution to the field of couple and family therapy through practice, supervision, education, leadership, and scholarly work. The CFTD program uses an experiential learning model through a social justice lens with an in-depth focus on the self-of-the-therapist.

Couple and family therapists are behavioral health professionals who recognize that relationships and patterns of engagement influence individual and relational functioning, and therefore need to be part of the therapy process. The CFTD program emphasizes this systemic perspective, enabling practitioners to understand couples/relationships, families, and individuals (children, adolescents, and adults) in the context of complex relational, family, and societal dynamics. CFTD students are trained with advanced clinical skills to provide therapy for couples, families, and individuals using approaches based on the major models of couple and family therapy that are grounded in systems theory with specific training in grief, loss, and trauma. They assess, conceptualize, plan treatment, and intervene in order to promote change to occur in the relational systems of clients.

CFTD students may also add the Certificate in Sex Therapy to their program of study by either stacking the certificate onto their degree allowing them to still take some of the department’s elective courses or utilizing certificate courses to meet the electives requirement in the degree.

Graduates of the program have the core professional identity as a Couple and Family Therapist (CFT) qualified for professional membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and eligible for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in the state of Illinois. Licensure requirements can vary from state to state in their expectations of practicum hours and coursework. Students are strongly encouraged to review the licensing requirements in any state in which they would anticipate practicing. COAMFTE-accreditation improves portability across states as the curriculum and training meets the highest standards and rigor in the field. The CFTD program embodies Adler University’s commitment to social justice through graduating socially responsible and culturally competent therapists with a clear professional identity as a Couple and Family Therapist.

The mission of the CFTD program is to prepare professionals with the core identity of Couple and Family Therapist including attainment of advanced skills in research, theory, and application of a systemic framework and identity, including an ethical consciousness, cultural competence, and social responsibility. This mission is achieved through a commitment to our program goals and student learning outcomes.

Program Goals

1. To develop a clear professional identity as an ethical Couple and Family Therapist with advanced training, knowledge, and experience.
2. To train students to develop a culturally competent and systemic worldview in their work as a Couple and Family Therapist and AAMFT-Approved Supervisor (Candidate) across academic, clinical, research, and supervision settings.
3. To graduate socially responsible professional Couple and Family Therapists sensitive to social justice and diversity.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. To understand and apply advanced knowledge of systems, modern, and postmodern couple and family therapy theories.
2. To demonstrate cultural competency with diverse populations in the advanced practice as a Couple and Family Therapist across academic, clinical, research, and supervision settings.
3. To demonstrate knowledge of Adlerian principles that can complement systemic work with couples, families, and individuals.
4. To display advanced application in clinical and supervision skills in the practice of couple and family therapy with specific training in grief, loss, and trauma.
5. To exemplify doctoral-level knowledge, skill, and integration of research in the field of couple and family therapy.
6. To demonstrate sensitivity and knowledge in application of social justice, social responsibility, and oppression with couples and families.
7. To establish a clear professional identity including an ethical consciousness as a Couple and Family Therapist with advanced training in preparation to serve the profession.

Program Specific Admission Requirements

In addition to the admission requirements common to all of the Adler University doctoral program, the CFTD core faculty will review undergraduate and graduate transcripts, letters of recommendation (one academic plus one clinical), and a statement of interest. It is recommended that applicants’ statement describes why they are choosing (to enter the field of couple and family therapy if they are coming from a different behavioral health discipline), why they want to pursue a doctoral degree, as well as addressing any deficits where students do not meet the stated admissions requirements. Application requirements include:

• Clinical master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, couple and family therapy, medical family therapy, or related clinical field such as social work, art therapy, psychology, or counseling that is license eligible.
• Completion of clinical practicum* in applicant’s graduate degree program.
• GPA of 3.25 or higher out of 4.0 in applicant’s graduate degree program.
• Commitment to the profession of couple and family therapy as demonstrated in their application essay.
• Licensure or licensure eligibility as an MFT in the state of Illinois. Applicants without this can be admitted as a doctoral student but must complete coursework to meet the foundational curricular areas as required by COAMFTE.
• Letters of recommendation, including at least one from a graduate instructor and one from a clinical supervisor.

*Students with a non-clinical master’s degree are recommended to apply to the MCFT program.

Social Justice Practicum

 The Social Justice Practicum (SJP) is a nonclinical and non-discipline-specific experiential practicum. Students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to utilize collective power and social justice strategies to build a more equitable society. 

• The SJP is designed to help students learn how to work alongside different communities as agents of social change and serves as the catalyst for students to realize and understand their strengths and responsibility to contribute to social equity. 
• The SJP unites the academic institution and larger communities and is an anchor of student learning at Adler University. This experiential learning process includes attending monthly workshops to explore civics, intersectionality, and community organizing and completing a practicum at community-based organizations to work on projects that will strengthen the social justice missions of our community partner members. 

All students must complete the SJP before advancing onto any clinical or discipline-specific training, respective of the program in which they are enrolled. SJP requirements include: 

• Completion of a minimum of 200 hours at an approved SJP site.
• Completion of online modules.  
• A formal SJP presentation at the Social Justice Symposium.
• Students must receive a grade of “Pass” for the midterm and final evaluation to receive credit for completing the SJP.  

The SJP may not be waived, and life credit is not admissible to meet this requirement. 

CFTD Clinical Practicum

Students enroll in three consecutive semesters of clinical practicum concurrent with their second year of coursework. Successful completion of CFTD-720 and CFTD-72, and CFTD-701 if applicable, are prerequisites to clinical practicum. The purpose of practicum is for CFTD students to be clinically active and begin to apply advanced clinical skills gained through the advanced curriculum. Students required to postpone clinical practicum as decided by the CFT Student Development Committee (SDC) or who do not earn a B or better in these courses must retake them postponing the start of practicum and extending the overall length of the program.

To meet degree requirements, CFTD students must complete 120 hours of relational or conjoint direct client contact and 100 hours of supervision, including hours with their AAMFT approved supervisor or supervisor candidate through the practicum seminar. The CFTD Clinical Practicum can be a paid experience that is negotiated between the student and the site. Students can also count these hours towards licensure as long as the experience meets both the degree and licensure requirements. Additional resources regarding clinical practicum are available in the CFT Clinical Training Manual.

CFT Doctoral Qualifying Exam

The Doctoral Qualifying Examination (DQE) provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their theoretical and clinical competency as Couple and Family Therapists and across the student learning outcomes (SLOs). This is specifically identified as part of the advanced practical experiences component of the degree. Students are given the opportunity to synthesize the advanced curricular areas and demonstrate mastery in their area(s) of expertise. Additionally, the DQE assesses students’ integration of their knowledge with their clinical experience into a unified, coherent model for clinical work with human systems (couples, families, individuals, and communities).

Students are expected to demonstrate advanced professional skills in presentation, academic writing, clinical practice, systemic ethics and legal issues, and research methodology, with a focus on advanced clinical theory through a social justice lens. They are evaluated accordingly under each of the SLOs. Students must successfully pass all parts of their DQE prior to defending their dissertation proposal. Additional resources regarding the DQE are available in the CFT Clinical Training Manual.

CFTD Internship

The CFTD internship is designed to provide doctoral students with a supervised and full-time experience over three consecutive semesters. The internship must emphasize the development of the CFT professional identity (SLO7) consistent with the degree requirements, and the student’s professional goals. Students must be engaged in a supervised continuous experience in the practice and/or profession of couple and family therapy with no fewer than 30 hours per week (full-time employment status) over those three semesters. Students can create an internship experience that meets these requirements with more than one site or opportunity anywhere in the world. This can be a paid experience that is negotiated independently of the program. Additional resources regarding the CFTD internship are available in the CFT Clinical Training Manual.

CFTD Dissertation

The CFT doctoral dissertation provides students with the opportunity to engage in in-depth scholarship on an important issue in the field of couple and family therapy. It further provides students with the venue to demonstrate their skills in advanced research. The dissertation must represent substantial research that contributes to the field, including a comprehensive discussion of clinical and social justice implications. Additionally, dissertations must be original work and theory driven. Information on the dissertation process is available in the CFT Dissertation Guidebook which is presented and reviewed in CFTD-875 CFT Dissertation Prep Seminar. Students also take CFTD-862 CFT Dissertation Literature Review to support them in making significant progress prior to registering in their first dissertation credit.

*Students may take each of the dissertation courses for “credit” (CFTD-876, CFTD-877, and CFTD-878) up to three times. If students receive a “no credit” for any of these courses, they must retake. This is not included in the limit of three times.

Graduation Requirements

1. Successful completion of the advanced curricular areas as specified in the curriculum requirements, including courses required to meet the foundational curricular areas as required by COAMFTE.
2. Successful completion of advanced practice experiences, including practicum, the doctoral qualifying exam, internship, and dissertation.
3. Successful completion of Social Justice Practicum I & II.
4. Successful completion of MCFT-533 or the equivalent in the student’s master’s degree.
5. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and no grades of B- or lower in core curriculum.
6. Submission of completed graduation application and full payment of all outstanding tuition and fees.
7. Demonstration of professional attitude, decorum, and ethics commensurate with the profession of couple and family therapy.
8. Faculty approval for graduation and recommendation to the Board of Trustees for the Doctor of Philosophy in Couple and Family Therapy.