Program Overview

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Graduate Certificate in Medical Family Therapy

The Graduate Certificate in Medical Family Therapy is designed to provide specialized training to educate direct care service providers working with, or desiring to work with, specialized populations with a particular focus on meeting the medical and psycho-social needs of people experiencing chronic health conditions, substance use, chronic relapsing, and those requiring specialized trauma care.

About

This certificate program aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to work with clients who are bearing health issues through the biopsychosocial-spiritual model. Students will gain a theoretical understanding of medical and mental health issues and develop specialized knowledge in collaborating with various members of a medical team, understanding the different roles of the care team, and possessing skills to communicate effectively with the team, and most importantly, being an advocate for the patient in numerous capacities. The program is available fully online, allowing students to pursue their entire degree, certificate, or microcredential exclusively through online education. The fully online modality provides students with the flexibility to complete their studies from anywhere, at any time, as long as they have a stable internet connection. The program's online format is designed to be engaging and interactive, with a range of multimedia resources and online discussions that facilitate student learning and community building.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• Apply evidence-based family therapy and health behavior theories and interventions with the Biological, Psychological, Social, and Spiritual (BPSS) framework with individuals, couples, families, and groups in healthcare systems.
• Demonstrate integration of BPSS framework into (a) direct care (i.e., assessment, diagnoses, treatment/intervention, monitoring/ follow-up); (b) treatment team collaboration; (c) development/ coordination of a comprehensive treatment plan; (d) clinical documentation and provision of resources with awareness of research and culturally informed practice for common diseases and conditions.
• Explain the multi-directional influences between family/ support systems and healthcare systems.
• Link the impacts of family systems and behaviors to disease management and recovery process in discussions with the medical/ healthcare team.
• Demonstrate knowledge of systemic theoretical approaches applied to BPSS and relational issues to treat patients and family/support systems.
• Utilize tools to orient and advance understanding of healthcare culture (e.g., medical vocabulary texts, medical vs. behavioral health team member stereotypes, structural map of healthcare team and organization) and collaborative practices.
• Understand normative and cultural standards of care protocols that reflect family/support systems involved in treatment-based needs of the healthcare team and population trends. e.g., end-of-life discussions; advanced directives; significant prescriptions for ADHD; eating disorders; multiple family members with multiple chronic conditions/disease states.
• Apply medical family therapy in tertiary environments and palliative care and provide a preliminary sense of comfort and authentic presence relating to dying and grieving persons.
• Discuss how race, culture, religion, and spirituality are interconnected and need to be understood to inform a therapist's responses to meet the needs of those grieving and dying.
• Assist in creating an overall understanding of the intricacy of ongoing interpersonal interactions in the lives of adult trauma survivors (including peer, romantic, therapeutic, and parent relationships)
• Assess current trauma treatment modalities and investigate interventions that most effectively address specific symptom presentation while understanding the role of culture and culture-related trauma on treatment outcomes.
• Demonstrate adherence to ethical practice when engaged in therapeutic and consulting services with individuals, couples, families/ social supports, secondary supports, healthcare teams, community partners, and others directly involved in helping patients, families, and organizations.
• Demonstrate an understanding of medical terminology, varying associated diseases and symptoms related to specific substance categories. E.g., stimulants (e.g., cocaine), depressants (e.g., alcohol), opium-related painkillers (e.g., heroin), hallucinogens (e.g., LSD)

Career Possibilities

Medical Family Therapists have opportunities to work in various settings such as:

• Integrated health centers
• Hospitals
• Private practice
• Primary care physician offices
• Collaborative health centers

Requirements

The Medical Family Therapy Certificate is a 15-credit course of study. To apply, students must:

• Be currently enrolled in a mental health program (Couple and Family Therapy, Psychology, Social Work, Clinical Mental Health Counseling) or related field (e.g., Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy), or be a state intern/provisionally licensed, or be fully licensed in the aforementioned fields.
• Submit a resume, a statement of intent explaining the reason for applying, two letters of recommendation, transcripts for all completed degrees, and GMAT and/or GRE scores (optional).

Plan Requirements

Total Credits Required: 15 Required Courses - Credits: 15 Complete the following courses:

• CFT 726 - Crucial Issues in Medical Family Therapy
• CFT 727 - Clinical Methods in Medical Family Therapy
• CFT 728 - Therapy, Culture and Spirituality with Dying and Grieving Persons
• CFT 729 - Medical Family Therapy and Trauma
• CFT 730 - Medical Family Therapy and Substance Abuse

Certificate Requirements

• This program is available Fully Online.
• Completion of a minimum of 15 credits.
• A grade point average of at least 3.00 for course work required for the certificate.
• No grade lower than B- is acceptable.

Graduation Requirements

Students may apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing their degree requirements. All required forms must be submitted to the graduate college via the Grad Rebel Gateway.