Marriage and Family Therapy

When you are ready to apply, you can create an online application. Please plan to spend about 10 - 15 minutes completing the application. You can create the application and return to the platform in the future to submit it if you require additional time. You should be prepared to answer a series of questions about your biographical information, program of interest, and educational/ work background. Additionally, you will be required to enter the names and contact information of two references. As part of the application process, you will be required to submit all official college transcripts (sent directly from your institutions), two recommendations (submitted directly from your references who will receive a unique email link), a personal statement, and a resume. Please note that you may submit the online application before submitting the required supplemental materials. For any questions about the online application please contact Fairfield University Graduate Admission.

See application information here.

The Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Fairfield University is accredited with the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). The Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) is the national accrediting body for the field of marriage and family therapy.

The COAMFTE serves under a broad mandate from the AAMFT Board of Directors to set standards for and accredit master's, doctoral, and post-degree clinical training programs in marriage and family therapy.

Accreditation is essentially a public service that aims to:

• Ensure and improve the quality of educational programs in marriage and family therapy
• Encourage programs' ongoing self-study and development
• Serve as an indicator that programs are meeting established standards and their own
• stated objectives
• Accreditation is a status granted to an educational institution or program that has been found to meet or exceed stated criteria of education quality. Accreditation is voluntarily sought.

COAMFTE accreditation provides several benefits for the University, the program, and the students. Accreditation is prestigious in that it recognizes that the program meets standards of excellence in education and training. Also, the State of Connecticut recognizes the curriculum of accredited programs as meeting the educational standards for eligibility for the licensure examination. This alleviates applicants of the responsibility of detailing their coursework and in some cases, justifying how certain courses meet the curriculum requirements. Finally, graduates of accredited programs are allowed to count the 500 clinical contact hours and the 100 supervision hours obtained during their practicum or internship in the master's program toward the requirements for Clinical Membership in AAMFT.

 Successful completion of our master's degree program qualifies students who have met additional postgraduate requirements to sit for the licensing exam in the State of Connecticut. Postgraduate requirements include a minimum of one year of clinical work with 1,000 hours of client contact and 100 hours of supervision by a Connecticut licensed marriage and family therapist. Further information regarding licensure may be obtained from the Connecticut State Department of Mental Health.

Marriage and family therapy is a distinct mental health discipline with its body of research, clinical techniques, and code of ethics. Marriage and family therapists diagnose and treat nervous and mental disorders from a systemic perspective. Standard Occupational Classification of the Bureau of Labor and Statistics states that MFTs are qualified to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems. They apply psycho-therapeutic and family systems theories and techniques in the delivery of professional services to individuals, couples, and families to treat such diagnosed nervous and mental disorders. They work with individuals, couples, families, and/or larger systems in a variety of contexts. Therapy focuses on interactional and relational processes and seeks to build on the client's strengths and resources. Marriage and family therapists help families address and change relationships and patterns of communication so that they can work out reasonable solutions to their problems for themselves.

There are many models of practice in marriage and family therapy. Individual practitioners may vary greatly in their methods and techniques of clinical work.

The Conn. programs that are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Marriage and Family Therapy Education are comparable in their rigor and quality. Each program, though, has its unique emphasis. Our Fairfield University training emphasizes a structural/strategic model of family therapy. In our on-campus Family Counseling Center, advanced students see individuals, couples, and families from the community under live supervision.

We develop individual plans of study with each student, taking into account your circumstances. Except during the summer semester, didactic courses are taught on weekday evenings between 4:55-9:15 p.m. or as a Friday / Saturday weekend class. However, this schedule changes profoundly when students enter the 5-semester sequence of their clinical training where they provide therapy in our on-campus clinic and practicum/internship sites. Since students have to be available for staff meetings, supervision, and client contact hours at their site and also need to accumulate 500 hours of direct client contact and 100 hours of supervision, it is close to impossible to simultaneously hold down a full-time position. Additionally, according to our licensing statutes, the clinical sequence can not be interrupted.

Anywhere from 3 to 6 years, it all depends on how many courses you want to take a semester. Full-time students can complete the program in 3 to 3.5 years, depending on the completion of our clinical requirements.

The clinical training component of the program consists of a sustained and intensive experience spanning 5 semesters. The student entering clinical training must commit to completing the 5 semesters consecutively and without interruption. In clinical training, students will complete 500 hours of direct client contact (250 of which must be relational) and receive a minimum of 100 hours of supervision. The process of securing a placement site begins in pre-practicum where the student begins the formalized process for selecting and interviewing for a placement site. Our off-campus sites of clinical work include: