Marriage and Family Counseling Degree Concentration

Students in the Marriage and Family Counseling degree concentration will receive specialized training in treating the family unit or an individual through the lens of the relationships they hold with others.

Student Learning Objectives - Marriage and Family Counseling Degree Concentration

Develop and demonstrate understanding of the major models used in couples and family counseling and applying systems thinking in case formulation.
Develop proficiency in the skills and techniques of systems-oriented counseling approaches and their use in work with couples and families.
Demonstrate the ability to assess a client system’s resources and constraints through the various perspectives including organization, sequences, development, multicultural, gender, and internal family system and select appropriate intervention strategies.

What is a marriage and family counselor?

Counselors trained in marriage and family therapy are licensed mental health professionals who are trained in psychotherapy and family systems to treat mental, behavioral and emotional disorders within the context of marriage, couples, and family systems—even if only a single person is a client. Counselors trained in marriage and family therapy adopt the belief that in order for an individual to change, their system must change.

What courses are required for the marriage and family counseling degree concentration?

The information listed below is from the current course catalog. Terms, sequences, courses and credit hours are subject to change at any time without notice.

Marriage and Family Counseling Concentration

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Term 1		Hours
COUN 501	Theories of Counseling	3
COUN 505	Counseling Skills	3
COUN 510	Professional, Legal, & Ethical Issues in Counseling	3
	Hours	9
Term 2
COUN 503	Psychodiagnosis & Psychopharmacology	3
COUN 506	Fundamentals of CBT and Suicidology	3
COUN 507	Social and Cultural Foundations in Counseling	3
	Hours	9
Term 3
COUN 504	Group Therapy	3
COUN 508	Lifespan Development	3
COUN 512	Intro to Marriage & Family Counseling	3
	Hours	9
Second Year
Term 1
COUN 509	Tests and Measurements	3
COUN 520	Assessing and Treating Addiction	3
COUN 515	Crisis & Trauma Counseling	3
	Hours	9
Term 2
COUN 561	Practicum Seminar	3
COUN 552	Research Methods, Statistics, & Program Evaluation	3
COUN 571	Career and Vocational Counseling	3
	Hours	9
Term 3
COUN 562	Internship I	3
COUN 528	Advanced Marriage and Family Counseling	3
COUN 590	Objective Comprehensive Exam	0
COUN 591	Case Conceptualization Comprehensive Exam	0
COUN 593	Comprehensive Exam (Standardized Patient Video)	0
	Hours	6
Term 4
COUN 563	Internship II	3
COUN 513	Working with Children and Adolescents	3
COUN 526	Psychotherapeutic Aspects of Human Sexuality	3
COUN 565	Capstone Advocacy Project	0
	Hours	9
	Total Hours	60

What topics do counselors trained in marriage and family therapy address?

Counselors trained in marriage and family therapy often address the following topics:

Communication skills in relationships
LGBTGEQIAP+ (SAIGE) issues
Parental concerns
Marital or couple conflicts or discord
Sexual-related issues, concerns and disorders
Feelings of depression, anxiety or loneliness
Domestic and intimate partner violence (IPV)
Child and adolescent behavioral problems
Grieving
Depression and anxiety
Substance abuse

For more information about pay, job outlook and work environment, visit the Marriage and Family Therapists section of the Occupational Outlook Handbook.