Child and Family Therapy Concentration and Certificate

Counseling students discuss topics with professors.

Overview

Degree Level: Graduate
Degrees Offered: Certificate, Concentration

Department: Psychology Department
school/college: College of Arts and Sciences

Concentration and Certificate in Child and Family Therapy

Arcadia’s Graduate Program in Counseling prepares highly qualified counselors to work with a range of communities across various settings. This can be community agencies, private practices, hospitals, college counseling centers, and primary and secondary schools. The Child and Family Therapy concentration is one of seven available specialty concentrations offered as part of the Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC, 60 credits) program, which is accredited by the Masters in Psychology and Accreditation Council (MPCAC). A graduate certificate in Child and Family Therapy is also available to practicing clinicians who already have a master’s degree and wish to further their knowledge and skills in this specialty area.

The most memorable lessons that I’ve learned from Arcadia’s counseling program is that it’s okay to make a mistake and that it’s important to know yourself. Throughout this program, we’ve had multiple counseling role plays and opportunities to expand on our own experience and how we can tie them into our careers as counselors. I remember my first time doing a role play and I was so nervous! Thankfully, my professors reassured me that this is the time to mess up and that I wasn’t there to be a perfect counselor, but one who knew herself and one who was able to relate to clients to create meaningful therapeutic relationships.

Lisa Cole-Brinkley '19, Child and Family Therapy

STUDENT OUTCOMES

Concentration: Child and Family Therapy

This 15-credit concentration is only available to students completing the 60-credit MAC. This includes three required courses and two additional electives. These courses focus on child and family mental health, including assessment, diagnosis, and various evidence-based therapies. Additionally, this concentration also emphasizes the importance of cultural tailoring for youth and families from diverse backgrounds.

Graduates will identify psychiatric disorders and other challenges commonly presented by youth and families in counseling, apply concepts of child and family counseling to case conceptualization and treatment planning, and demonstrate counseling skills. Students who complete this concentration are required to do their internship at a site that provides clinical services to youth and families.

Certificate: Child and Family Therapy

The Child and Family Therapy Graduate Certificate is one of three advanced educational options for practicing counselors who already have a Master’s degree and related mental health providers looking to further their knowledge and skills and career opportunities. This graduate certificate provides specialized training in child and family mental health, including assessment, diagnosis, and various evidence-based therapeutic treatments. This certificate also emphasizes the importance of cultural sensitivity and cultural tailoring in working with youth and families from diverse backgrounds.

You can learn more by viewing our Graduate Counseling Program Manual.

Featured Courses

Family Counseling

Required Course

In this course you will be introduced to the history, theory, and evidence-based approaches in family/systems therapy. Practice family interviewing and assessment, creating conceptualizations and treatment plans, applying evidence-based techniques, and recognizing the influence of multicultural factors on family therapy.

Treatment of Childhood Internalizing Disorders

Required Course

Gain exposure to current empirically supported psychotherapies for childhood internalizing disorders and related conditions. Explore topics including the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of pediatric anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depressive disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In this course, you will learn from lectures, discussions, and small-group learning activities. Complete assignments designed to help you practice child/caregiver interviewing, case conceptualization, treatment planning, and applying therapeutic interventions from treatment manuals. Read from a variety of treatment manuals and practice skills repeatedly via role-play.

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