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Counseling and Family Therapy Department Banner

Counseling and Family Therapy Department

Our undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs provide unparalleled opportunities for students to learn and excel in the exciting fields of behavioral health counseling and family therapy. Students leave prepared to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation or go on to continue their advanced degrees. We train students to integrate theory and practice, as well as to be both culturally aware and culturally sensitive, socially just clinicians and researchers.

Internationally recognized and clinically experienced faculty train students to become successful clinicians and researchers. Our graduates go on to meet the national demand for competent mental health and addictions treatment professionals in a culturally diverse marketplace.

We are located at the dynamic University City Health Sciences Campus, complete with a clinical skills simulation lab, and multiple clinics. Our innovative courses, clinical training, and co-op opportunities offer an unparalleled education for those interested in the helping professions.

Our Commitment:

The Department of Counseling and Family Therapy (COFT) recognizes structural racism is historic, ongoing and embedded in every institution; institutions and health services for which you will enter as a graduate of the COFT program. The insidious, systemic nature of racism has and continues to create a context where the lives of people of color are threatened, outright. COFT is dedicated to addressing these atrocities for the impact upon health disparities and health inequities. COFT will incorporate curricular attention to identify populations that may be dissimilar to yourselves, in order to bridge any adversity gaps, and to educate students prepared to be successful in the multiplicity of roles and environments, upon graduation. Racism impacts every human interaction, is perpetuated by individuals, groups, organizations, and governments, and is directly responsible for people of color experiencing:

Commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion without action are hollow. COFT will ensure discussion/evaluation space in each course to address moving thoughts into actions. Inaction is complicity. As future mental health professionals, you will adhere to fundamental principles rooted in do no harm across a variety of disciplines:

COFT will not be complicit in perpetuating structural racism, individually, collectively, or institutionally. We apologize for any appearance of complicity in courses, or communications, and affirm the following commitment, to action, moving forward:

Immediate

  • Curricular review of all COFT courses, and programs for content specific.
  • Utilizing department funds for anti-racist trainings and scholarship focusing on health equity and inclusion.
  • Leverage University resources for fundraising efforts to collaborate with community organizations doing anti-racist work.

Short Term

  • Calling out racism via university, community, and professional publications and presentations.
  • COFT Community Advisory Board to facilitate ongoing engagement, collaboration and participation in training, research, and education.
  • Development of faculty, supervisor, and student affinity groups.

Long Term

  • Equitable recruitment, retention, and development of diverse faculty, professional staff, students, and applicants.
  • Annual faculty and supervisor required trainings in cultural competency and anti-racist practices.

We the faculty, supervisors and students of the Department of Counseling and Family Therapy are committed to dismantling structural racism. Our commitment is intrinsic to our identity as people, and vital to all aspects of our work as mental health practitioners, including education, practice and research. We recognize that ongoing self-interrogation is paramount to the process of individuals, communities, societies, moving from inaction to action, from ally to activist, from racist to anti-racist, to create a truly just, equitable world. Our graduates will be equipped to engage continually in this anti-racist self-work in their personal and professional lives, and to effectively support and advocate for racially marginalized individuals, couples and families.

PROGRAMS

UNDERGRADUATE

Human Development and Counseling

GRADUATE

Master of Family Therapy
Master's in Addiction Counseling (online) (Program is currently paused for admissions)

DOCTORAL

PhD in Couple and Family Therapy
Doctor of Couple and Family Therapy (online)