College
College of Health Professions
Degree
Master of Family Therapy
Campus
Center City
Format
On Campus
Credits
66
Duration
2 Years
Contact Information
Program
Program
Clinical Experience
The Program requires 400 hours of direct clinical experience and 150 of those hours must be with couples or families. Students receive a minimum of 100 hours of supervision, at least 50 hours of which is based on direct observation, videotape or audiotape. Students complete 8–10 hours of clinical practice per week and receive both individual and group supervision.
The first-year practica are designed to help students develop the basic clinical skills and competencies necessary to conduct couple, family, and individual therapy. The second-year practica help students broaden and integrate advanced clinical skills in working with diverse populations.
Practicum placements are available at a variety of clinical settings, including 14 Council for Relationships locations in the Philadelphia region and sites within the Jefferson Health System. Students choose from a wide spectrum of options for their clinical training, such as:
- Outpatient Mental Health Clinics
- Community Agencies
- Homeless Shelters
- Schools
Jefferson’s clinical starts in that sweet spot: the middle of the first year when you’ve had some classroom experience and time with your supervisor. Starting this early gives you more opportunity to integrate clinical experience with early learning, which I think is really important. We would talk through theory and clinical technique in the classroom, through videos and role play during the day, and then immediately apply it in a clinical setting that evening with a client. That’s something you don’t see until the second year in most programs.