American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) is the professional association for the field of marriage and family therapy. The association leads the way to increasing understanding, research and education in the field of marriage and family therapy, and ensuring that the public's needs are met by trained practitioners.
LES System
Couple and Family Therapy: A Feminist-Informed Social Justice Program
Program Description:
The CFT Program is housed in the Department of Child Development and Family Science at North Dakota State University in a new state-of-the-art training facility. The program is accredited by the Commission for Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). As such, the program meets the rigorous standards of COAMFTE in the areas of theory, research, and clinical training.
In order to offer quality training, 6-8 students are accepted into the program each year to allow for a small faculty-student ratio. Students are required to take 63 semester credits, which includes course work, practicum, and thesis credits. Students complete their clinical and course requirements in 2.5 years. Graduation varies based on when students complete their theses.
Students who complete the program are prepared to enter a variety of settings including: work in clinical agencies, private practice, and doctoral training, non-profit agencies, and community mental health.
The CFT program at NDSU is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) affirmative training program.
Program Philosophy:
The CFT program is committed to centering all aspects of training in a feminist-informed, social justice framework. We are committed to making the cultural effects of racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism, etc. visible within the context of therapy. Students are encouraged to reflect on how issues of power, privilege, and oppression influence our personal lives and relationships. We believe it is our responsibility to help student therapists to extened their work beyond the therapy room by using their skills to create meaningful social change in the community.
