M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy

A Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) is a mental health practitioner who provides psychotherapy and related change process services with individuals, couples, families, and groups. MFTs are focused on the interpersonal and relational aspects of human behavior, as well as the social contexts in which problems occur. They can work in a variety of settings such as: Non-profit organizations, Educational organizations, Health care organizations and Private Practice. San Diego State University's Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Program is a full-time cohort model program with new enrollments once a year. It is an intensive program offering extensive clinical experience and rigorous academic studies to prepare students to practice as highly competent entry-level MFT's. Graduates of our program are able to provide therapeutic services and facilitate related change processes with a focus on social justice in variety of settings. As students, they participate in learning and practicing systemic and social constructionist ideas through the culturally-infused curriculum, and intensive strength-based, community-focused clinical training. Our affordable program is accredited by Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). The purpose of the Marriage and Family Therapy program is to prepare students to practice as highly competent entry-level MFTs, capable of applying systemic-social constructionist ideas and practices in therapy and related change processes, such as between families and larger systems, in a multicultural society. The MFT program is founded on the beliefs that: individuals, couples, and families function within a variety of intersecting social contexts, and they struggle with increasingly complex developmental issues, unanticipated stressful events, and sociocultural, economic, and political factors that constrain achievement of successful social participation. Community providers need specialized training and multi-systemic therapeutic approaches to expand their resources for addressing relational problems that emerge from these factors.