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MFTs out there?

melizzzzard
melizzzzard Posts: 21 Member
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Anyone in grad school for Marriage and Family Therapy? I'm about to graduate with my undergrad and am pretty sure I want to get a Masters in Counseling or Clinical Psychology with the MFT emphasis. Anyone in the program or completed the program who can give me some advice or warnings?

Replies

  • jenn8074
    jenn8074 Posts: 2 Member
    Hi! I'm in an MFT grad program and am really loving it -- just getting ready to start my practicum in the next few months. I'm a big fan of how MFTs take a systemic approach, even when working with individuals. In my program, we start along with the individually focused counseling program students, and then break off into our more specialized classes after a few semesters. So I've got friends from both programs, and it's really interesting to see how different the approaches are. The individual counseling students take a lot more straightforward diagnostic and psychopathology classes, and while we do have that in the MFT program too, everything is so much more tied in with a family/relational component, and treatment planning is focused on their entire relational system, instead of just the client.

    I've heard the licensure process is very different from state to state (I'm in MN), and that California has just about as many LMFTs as the rest of the states combined. One big downside to the current licensing process is that it can be really hard to get licensed in another state if you have to move someday. The educational and supervision hours required are really all over the board. So if you ever think you might move out of state, just be sure to find a school that has a program where you'll get as many credits and supervision hours as possible (especially relational!) so it'll be easier to meet licensure requirements even in states that have really tough standards.

    Good luck!
  • abeechu
    abeechu Posts: 24 Member
    OMG -- this is so awesome! I'm in a similar situation to melizzzzard's, so this thread is so applicable. I haven't decided if I want to do focus on MFT or just general LPC since the ultimate goal is working towards counseling children and families in a hospital setting. Thanks, jenn!
  • peniculala
    peniculala Posts: 81 Member
    I'm a PsyD student. Just about to head out on my internship year. My orientation is Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), which is a couples and family therapy. I'll be honest, sometimes I wish I'd just gone for an MFT because what I really want is to work with couples and families. I'll be working at a medical clinic for Internship as a behaviorist, but I feel I'll end up somewhere great for residency. I do like having the generalist background because I feel it has prepared me to work in a lot of areas related to familes. So, I go back and forth about it sometimes. That's my 2 cents.
  • OMG_Twinkies
    OMG_Twinkies Posts: 215 Member
    I just graduated (M.A. Clinical Psychology w/Emphasis in MFT). I went to school in Los Angeles and the other poster was correct… CA is the land of the MFT. The market is so saturated here, it's nuts trying to find an internship (traineeships are pretty easy). I moved out here from MO just for school, and now that I'm done, I'm moving to TN to get my internship hours and license. Here in CA, I work exclusively with families, and my ultimate goal is to work with couples. The systemic approach is fascinating and I've spent the past year and a half utilizing it and watching the progress unfold in my clients. I knew when I started that I did not want to live out here in CA (strictest licensing structure around) and I'd be moving to TN to license, so I spend my grad school time carefully cross-referencing the CA requirements with the TN structure, just to make sure I was keeping up and learning what was really pertinent to my own licensure. I recommend you really think about where you want to license, and if you have any idea whatsoever, research the state. :drinker:

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