FAMILY, COUPLE, AND INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY
Master of Science in Psychology
Offered on the San Antonio campus (traditional program) and through the Houston Weekend Degree Program, the Family, Couple and Individual Psychotherapy (FCIP) concentration is one of two concentrations in the Master of Science in Psychology degree program at Our Lady of the Lake University. The FCIP concentration emphasizes strengths-based approaches to mental health services. In coursework and practice, students learn to work with clients from a wide variety of ethnic, economic, educational and religious backgrounds and develop proficiency in providing psychotherapy services to individuals, couples, families and groups. The FCIP concentration is designed to meet the academic requirements for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in Texas, and also meets the academic requirements for licensure as a Professional Counselor (LPC) and Psychological Associate (LPA) in Texas.
Practitioner Focus
Faculty members focus on designing classroom experiences that are relevant to the practice of systemic psychotherapy. Students are required to apply their knowledge in several courses that have a practical component. Thus, many courses go beyond awareness and knowledge to focus on skill development. Students begin their practicum training after completing 18 hours of specified courses. Full-time students generally begin practicum in the summer of their first year. This experience begins with clinical teams at the Psychology Department's training clinic, the Community Counseling Service (CCS). The team approach provides a supportive environment. Up to six students and a faculty supervisor meet weekly as a team to deliver psychotherapy services. After the first semester, and with the approval of their supervisors, students may complete a portion of their required practicum hours at approved off-campus sites. Students are required to obtain a minimum of 500 hours of supervised, direct delivery of services.
Students in the FCIP concentration are taught a variety of theories and professional skills. However, the program emphasizes a particular set of systemic therapy models. These models are described in various ways, such as: Strengths-based, Postmodern, and Social Constructionist. While there are variations among these collaborative models, all of them have in common:
- An emphasis on each person's strengths, resources and unique perspectives
- An emphasis on a non-pathological view with skepticism regarding the usefulness of psychiatric diagnosis
- An emphasis on collaborative practice in therapy
These Collaborative, Social Constructionist, and Competency-Based models include:
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- MRI Strategic Family Therapy
- Client Directed Outcome Informed Therapy
- Collaborative Therapy
These theoretical models are taught in our Systemic Approaches to Counseling courses, and strongly influence the perspective of many of our other courses.
In addition to these emphasized theories, students are provided a working knowledge of several other common and classical models of family and individual therapy and are taught necessary diagnostic skills to allow them to function as independent therapists.
Students are urged to become Student Affiliates of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). Applications are available online at www.aamft.org.
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Our Lady of the Lake University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Our Lady of the Lake University that fall under one of these areas: (1) to learn about the accreditation status of the institution, (2) to file a third-party comment at the time of the institution’s decennial review, or (3) to file a complaint against the institution for alleged non-compliance with a standard or requirement.