Program Overview

Marriage and Family Therapy Program

The Master of Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) program at Lipscomb University is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in this career path. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marital and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) and can be completed in two years through a cohort format.

Program Overview

The MMFT program offers a 60-credit-hour curriculum that includes comprehensive courses to cultivate therapy techniques, diagnostic skills, and systemic therapeutic approaches. The program also includes a minimum of 300 hours of clinical work through clinical practice courses.

Specializations

The program offers several specializations, including:

• Play Therapy: This specialization is a 9-credit concentration that includes an additional Play Therapy course and one Clinical Supervised Practice with a supervision emphasis on play therapy cases.
• MFT Focused Electives: Integrated Behavioral Healthcare: This track includes a course on the introduction to medical family therapy and integration of behavioral/mental health interventions across various medical settings.
• MFT Focused Electives: Thesis: This option is for students whose career path includes doctoral work after completion of the master's degree and consists of a 63-hour degree plan.

Clinical Requirements and Theory of Change Paper

Students in the MMFT program are required to accomplish a minimum of 300 direct client contact hours with 100 of those hours being relational client contact hours. The program also requires a Theory of Change (TOC) paper as a capstone project, which is an integrative culmination of all learning in the program.

Admissions Requirements

To apply for the MMFT program, students must submit:

• Lipscomb University's graduate application
• Official transcripts from all schools in which a degree was conferred
• A bachelor's degree with a 3.0 GPA
• An essay addressing the student's motivation for pursuing Marriage and Family Therapy and how the program's values align with their career goals
• Two letters of recommendation
• A resume
• A 45-60 second video answering a question about what the student does for fun
• Interview

Tuition and Aid

The tuition rate for the MMFT program is $962 per credit hour. The university offers various scholarships and financial aid programs to help students pay their tuition.

Program Highlights

The MMFT program employs a cohort model that emphasizes communal learning and extended field experiences. The program also includes hands-on clinical training and is fully accredited by COAMFTE.

Career Paths

Graduates of the MMFT program can pursue careers as marriage and family therapists or play therapists.

Faculty

The MMFT program has a diverse faculty with expertise in various areas of marriage and family therapy. The faculty includes:

• Amber Kelley, Program Director for Marriage and Family Therapy
• Chris Gonzalez, Professor and Director, Marriage and Family Therapy
• Meghan Lacks, Assistant Professor
• Dave Morgan, Professor
• Hunter Stanfield, Associate Professor
• William Turner, Distinguished Professor
• Sean Surber, Clinic Director for Marriage and Family Therapy

Related Programs

Lipscomb University also offers related programs in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Psychology, and Counseling.