M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Marital and Family Therapy Specialization
Course description
Offered in Los Angeles, Westwood, and Irvine.
Two years full time. Program is offered in both traditional weekday formats as well as flexible formats suitable for working professionals:
Westwood formats: a weekday format in which students attend class two days each week, and a weekend format in which students attend classes two weekends a month
Curriculum qualifies graduates to sit for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) MFT licensure exam, and prepares them to enter a doctoral program that leads to licensure by the California Board of Psychology (BOP).
Program is unique in that students receive a solid foundation in the principles of clinical psychology, in addition to gaining the essential diagnostic, therapeutic, and consultative skills they need to be outstanding marital and family therapists working with a range of clinical populations and a variety of emotional, behavioral, and psychological issues.
Students may fulfill their practicum, traineeship, and internship hours at The Chicago School’s Counseling Centers in Westwood and Irvine. Developed around an innovative apprentice model, the centers offer students the opportunity to work side by side with senior clinicians in the psychology and marital and family therapy fields as they apply classroom theories in a real-world environment. The model is unique in the breadth and depth of experience it offers; students are not limited to a single treatment philosophy and instead are exposed to a wide variety of therapeutic approaches and clinical interventions. They develop a working knowledge in a variety of clinical sub-specialties and benefit from an unusually rich learning experience that includes intensive mentoring by seasoned practitioners, and that prepares them to work in a wide range of professional environments or to launch private practices of their own.