The University of Rhode Island offers a two-year program leading to the Master of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy. This program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). The objectives of the program are:

• To train marital and family therapists to a high level of expertise in this specialty area so they can competently treat diverse families and couples in crisis as well as during normative and developmental transitions.
  
  
• To prepare graduate students to meet the standards for associate membership in American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).
  
  
• To promote viable research in marital and family therapy in order to enhance students’ research competency.
  
  
• To provide a community resource in a vital area of mental health to meet the service needs of the university and community.
  
  
• To promote a systems approach to therapy.
  
  
• To become a state and regional voice for the promotion of marital and family therapy.
  
  
• To provide a resource for mental health professionals in the state and region who seek additional training.

Graduates of the program are now employed in various parts of the country in mental health agencies, family services agencies, and state departments of children and families.

The Marriage and Family Therapy program provides students with an intensive, specialized training which  serves as a firm theoretical and practical base for becoming competent family and individual therapists. The family therapist must possess an understanding and ability to treat individuals and families from a systems perspective. The therapist must also know how to deal with the societal, cultural, and government forces that influence family relationships.

The program consists of:

1) Conceptual instruction in family systems, family development, research methods, and therapy;

2) Supervised clinical experience with individuals, couples, and families having a wide range of problems;

3) Contextual learning in a professional setting that includes family therapy and family-based evaluation and preventative work.

Students seeking the marriage and family therapy specialization take between 54 and 60 credit hours exclusive of prerequisites. The number of graduate hours required will depend on previous graduate coursework in related fields, but usually averages about 60 hours. It takes a minimum of two years of full-time study to complete the program.

Clinical training and experience begins in the first semester and continues throughout the program. A one-year off-site practicum in marriage and family therapy begins in the summer. Supervised off-site placements (internships) are completed at various community settings, including the department’s on-campus Family Therapy Clinic. AAMFT standards require 500 hours of clinical practice and 100 hours of supervision during the program. Several supervision techniques are employed, including live supervision using a one-way mirror, telephone call-ins, and co-therapy. Videotaping of sessions is required.

Sample Program of Study for the M.S. Degree with an Option in Marriage and Family Therapy:

In addition to the required courses listed below, students must take one elective course in the semester of their choice.

• HDF 500 Human Development Seminar
• HDF 535 Families Under Stress: Coping and Adaptation OR HDF 578 Ethical, Legal & Professional Issues in MFT
• HDF 563 Marital and Family Therapy I
• HDF 565 Family Therapy Practicum

Semester II - Spring

• HDF 559 Gender Issues in Therapy OR HDF 505
• HDF 564 Marital and Family Therapy II
• HDF 565 Family Therapy Practicum
• HDF 569 Assessment in Family Therapy
• HDF 570 Research in Human Development and Family Studies

• HDF 565 Family Therapy Practicum
• Off-site placement begins

• HDF 565 Family Therapy Practicum
• HDF 566 Theoretical and Clinical Problems
• HDF 578 Ethical, Legal & Professional Issues in MFT OR    HDF 535 Families Under Stress: Coping and Adaptation
• HDF 583 Master’s Internships (off-site placement)

• HDF 505 Human Sexuality & Counseling OR HDF 559
• HDF 565 Family Therapy Practicum
• HDF 581 Professional Seminar
• HDF 584 Master’s Internship (off-site placement)

This is a sample program; each student’s program will be tailored in accordance with his or her background, according to courses already taken, and the student’s vocational needs. Students completing this program will be eligible for associate status in AAMFT. An additional 500 hours of clinical practice and 100 hours of approved supervision are needed beyond the master’s program in order to obtain clinical membership in AAMFT. While licensure requirements vary somewhat from state to state, generally graduates of this program are qualified to take the national licensing examination. In RI one must have 2 years of post graduate professional experience, 2000 hours of clinical work, and 100 hours of clinical supervision to qualify for the licensing exam.

The Marriage and Family Therapy program provides an intensive educative and training experience in which clinical expertise is stressed. Consequently, enrollment is limited and selection is competitive. Full-time students have priority both for admission and internships. Review of applications begins February 1. Admission requirements include:

• Evidence of competent academic performance in the undergraduate major
  
  
• Miller Analogy or Graduate Record Exam scores (TOEFL as appropriate)
  
  
• Personal statement describing your interest in MFT and outlining your professional goals
  
  
• Two or more letters of recommendation attesting to observed experience related to the helping professions
  
  
• Undergraduate or graduate courses in the following areas:
  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Developmental Theory
  • Marriage and Family Relationships
  • Introduction to Counseling
    
    
• All candidates for admission must present themselves at the University for a formal interview with MFT faculty. The goal of this personal interview is to determine whether the applicant possesses the full range of academic qualifications, experiential background, clinical competency, and readiness to undertake the rigors of an academically and emotionally demanding clinical preparation program.

Our program values diversity within its curriculum and among its faculty and students.  We endorse the University of Rhode Island’s policy not to discriminate, whether overt or subtle, on the basis of race, sex, religion, age, color, creed, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression in the recruitment, hiring, or treatment of students, faculty, and staff.  Program members resolve to help each other by sensitively and caringly drawing attention to inappropriate behavior and by challenging each other’s attitudes in a spirit of growth.

All graduate applications are done online. To apply, visit the Graduate School online.

Financial Aid

Opportunities for financial aid, outlined in the graduate catalog, include graduate assistantships, work-study opportunities, tuition scholarships, and graduate student loans. The Office of Financial Aid can provide specific data.

The main campus of the University is in the village of Kingston, in rural southern Rhode Island, about six miles from the ocean. The central quadrangle of the green and spacious campus is on the top of Kingston hill, with student housing on the hillside and athletic and agricultural fields and buildings on the plain below.

Kingston is 30 miles south of Providence, and just across Narragansett Bay from the resort of Newport. It lies between two major metropolitan areas. New York is 160 miles southwest, Boston 70 miles north, and both are within easy reach by rail or car.

The University has about 10,600 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students on the Kingston campus, and about 750 full-time and 100 part-time faculty. Because URI is a state university, the faculty is involved in teaching, wide-ranging research, and in reaching out with practical information to help the people of the state. Given the wide diversity of families in the U.S.A., the program is particularly interested in attracting minority graduate students.

URI Transition Center
2 Lower College Road
Kingston, RI 02881
FAX: 401-874-4020
E-Mail: jadams@uri.edu

Faculty in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program

Jerome F. Adams, Ph.D. (Purdue University). Professor and director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program. Interests: family therapy process research, adolescent drug abuse, family assessment, and family therapy training and supervision. Rhode Island Licensed Psychologist; member American Psychological Association, Division 43; clinical member and approved supervisor AAMFT.

Tiffani S. Kisler, Ph.D. (Arizona State University). Assistant professor.  Interests: sex therapy, human sexuality and couples therapy. Clinical member and supervisor candidate AAMFT; member National Council for Family Relations; International Association of Relationship Research; The Society for Scientific Study of Sexuality.

Jacqueline A. Sparks, Ph.D., (Nova Southeastern University). Associate professor. Interests: Client-directed, outcome informed therapy, community and family based services, brief and postmodern applications to client-directed change. Florida Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist; clinical member and approved supervisor AAMFT.

Dale Blumen, M.S. (University of Rhode Island). Clinical Coordinator of Family Therapy Clinic. Interests: family therapy training and supervision, family relations in later life, parent-child issues, remarried families, divorce counseling. Clinical member and approved supervisor AAMFT; member National Council for Family Relations; Rhode Island Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

Phillip Clark, Sc.D. (Harvard University). Professor and Director, Program in Gerontology. Interests: geriatric health promotion, comparative health care policy, ethical issues in caring for the elderly, interdisciplinary health care teams, and aging and developmental disabilities/mental retardation. Member, Gerontological Society of America; Canadian Association on Gerontology; Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.

Barbara M. Newman, Ph.D. (University of Michigan). Professor and HDF Program Chair. Interests: lifespan development, adolescent-parent relationships, theories of human development, psychosocial theory, and parent involvement and its relationship to academic achievement.