The marriage and family therapy Ph.D. program at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics recently received reaccreditation after extensive study.

The program was reviewed by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education, or COAMFTE, according to an SU News release.

For an academic program to be reaccredited, it must officially meet the standards of the national organization particular to the field, said Thomas deLara, chair of the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy.

“We’re one of the oldest accredited programs in the country,” deLara said. “This program has a … distinguished history, and is recognized nationally for its excellence.”

Once a program has been granted accreditation, it does not have to be renewed for another six years, according to the release. This is because of the lengthy and complicated process of receiving reaccreditation, deLara said.

“It usually takes about a year. … Sometimes, it can take longer,” deLara said. “It’s painfully difficult.”

Departments seeking reaccreditation begin by completing a self-study, wherein several hundred pages of documents are compiled, deLara said. This documentation concerns everything from credentials of faculty and staff to the exact learning objectives described and met on course syllabi.

Once collected and sent to COAMFTE, a representative from the organization visits campus, typically for one or two days, deLara said.

The organization carefully sifts through all of the information that has been collected and compares it to a national standard for the quality of academic programs in marriage and family therapy, deLara said.

Falk College’s Ph.D. program blends a traditional classroom-style of learning with hands-on, interactive work, said Dyane Watson, one of the program’s instructors, in an email.

After learning the academic and ethical theories inherent to an open-ended field like therapy, the program transitions into application of these ideas, Watson said.

“Students … engage in role plays to help them put that thinking into practice,” Watson said.

Under supervision from faculty and more advanced students, students participate in an interview process to determine their readiness to dive into fieldwork, Watson said. She added that students who pass this interview process can begin taking clients while still being supervised by a faculty member.

Students in the Ph.D. program spend a one-year internship providing therapy services for people in the Syracuse city community, said Lisa Tedeschi, the program’s internship placement coordinator.

Tedeschi said some students take more than one internship to gain specialized experience and resume building.

Students in the internship stage can be placed in schools, hospitals, behavioral health clinics or private practices, Tedeschi added.

This is because marriage and family therapy is a complex field, Watson said, and working in a variety of environments helps students adapt to a variety of clients.

Watson added that the family and therapy program emphasizes that therapists must understand themselves to understand the clients they work with.

“Our program focuses on knowing how our attitudes, values and life experiences influence out work,” Watson said. “Generally, these issues are related to our family of origin and cultural experiences.”

As it continues to expand its curriculum, the marriage and family therapy program is keeping its eyes toward the future and focusing on how it can improve, Watson said.

“I believe our department is flexible,” Watson said. “Our department chair continues to challenge us to grow.”

Published on February 17, 2016 at 10:20 pm

Contact Bridget: blmcalli@syr.edu