Loyola Marymount University Bulletin 2011-2012 > College of Communication and Fine Arts > Marital and Family Therapy

Marital and Family Therapy

Up one level:

College of Communication and Fine Arts

In this section:

Course Work Sequence

Faculty

Chairperson: Debra Linesch

Professor: Debra Linesch

Assistant Professor: Einat Metzl

Assistant Clinical Professor and Director, Helen B. Landgarten Art Therapy Clinic: Paige Asawa

Practicum Coordinator: Kathleen Fogel-Richmond

Lecturers: Anthony Bodlovic, Erica Curtis, Joellen Lapidus, Philip Levin

Contact Information

Office Location: University Hall, Suite 2500

Telephone: 310.338.4562

Fax: 310.338.4518

Mission Statement

The Graduate Department of Marital and Family Therapy offers a graduate program leading to a Master of Arts in Marital and Family Therapy. In addition to State of California required curriculum in traditional marital and family therapy coursework, the program is augmented with art therapy coursework. The department provides its graduates with comprehensive training in both verbal and nonverbal modalities. The structure of the program begins with the foundational marital and family therapy coursework, teaching sound theoretical understandings as well as a variety of clinical strategies, including art therapy as a modality. Additional coursework focuses on the art therapy process providing graduates with training in clinical art therapy and giving them breadth and skill in a nonverbal modality.

The Department trains clinicians to work in facilities providing psychological therapeutic services such as: community mental health centers, family counseling agencies, psychiatric hospitals, general hospitals, therapeutic and public schools, residential treatment facilities, drug, alcohol and rehabilitation centers.

The Department provides two- and three-year programs of rigorous academic work combined with two clinical internships of approximately 840 hours and 420 hours of direct client contact.

Initiated at Immaculate Heart College in 1974, the Department moved to Loyola Marymount in 1980. It encourages well-trained, traditionally grounded marital and family therapists who can expertly utilize art therapy within their clinical work. This philosophy effectively facilitates the comprehensive successes of our graduates within the systems that deliver mental health services in our communities.

The curriculum is designed to meet all the academic requirements established by the State of California’s Board of Behavioral Science Examiners for the M.F.T. license. The core curriculum and the additional training in art therapy allow the graduate to apply for registration with the American Art Therapy Association.

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Department of Marital and Family Therapy should know:

A broad theoretical basis for the practice of art psychotherapy
The complex societal culture in which they are engaging
The legal and professional responsibilities of the licensed practicing psychotherapist.

Graduates of the Department of Marital and Family Therapy should be able to:

Advance to professional engagement in the mental health community
Describe individual and family dynamics according to the theory and concepts of the discipline of marriage and family therapy
Delineate short-term and long-term psychotherapeutic goals and develop treatment plans
Synthesize the art therapy modality with traditional theoretical approaches and use a variety of techniques and interventions to achieve systemic change
Present case material in verbal and written form at a professional level
Work with others from varied and diverse perspectives
Engage in critical scholarly discourse in the field of art psychotherapy.

Graduates of the Department of Marital and Family Therapy are encouraged to value:

An increasing commitment to change as part of the psychotherapeutic and artistic process
The ongoing development of multicultural competencies
Engagement with the community in the service of social justice.

Admission Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of 3.0 ("B") average or higher
Prerequisites in Psychology and Studio Art
1. A minimum of eighteen (18) semester hour credits (or twenty-seven [27] quarter-hour credits) of study in studio art which demonstrates proficiency and disciplined commitment in art making
2. A minimum of twelve (12) semester hours credits (or [18] quarter-hour credits) of study in psychology, which must include developmental psychology and abnormal psychology
Submit an application with a $50 application fee.
Satisfactory score on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT)
Autobiography with emphasis on personal life experiences rather than educational or occupational information
Portfolio of art work
Personal interview
A $250 deposit must accompany your letter of acceptance within 21 days of notification by the University of your admittance into the program. The deposit is applied toward tuition and is non-refundable.
Admission is on a rolling basis

Program Requirements

The Master of Arts degree will be granted upon satisfactory completion of a minimum of 60 semester hours. A total of eleven practicum semester hours are applied towards the required total semester hours of credit. The internship fulfills a minimum of 840 hours with 420 direct client contact hours. The internship includes a minimum of two hours a week of supervision. This is provided by licensed psychotherapists who are approved by Loyola Marymount University.

Students enrolled in the full-time day Master of Arts in Marital and Family Therapy program will complete the degree requirements in two years. A three-year day program is also available.

Students are required to maintain a "B" (3.0) grade point average in both classroom and internship tracks.

The Department takes seriously its role in the training of therapists. The personality as well as the intellectual capability of each student is carefully evaluated. In light of this, a student may be disqualified from the program for factors other than grades.