Couple and Family Therapy

Antioch University New England’s Couple and Family Therapy programs are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). This specialized professional accreditation ensures that the program meets national standards, not just state or regional standards for couple and family therapy education. The MA program has been accredited since 1993 and the PhD program since 2010.

Our Faculty

PhD CFT Program

Our doctoral program is designed to prepare professionals to advocate for, design, practice, administer and lead SEL programs in K-12 educational institutions, higher education, and community organizations.  Through a transdisciplinary curriculum that includes shared seminars in a diverse learning community, and individualized work within the SEL specialization, students will become acquainted with SEL research and scholarship, explore the diverse topics possible under this heading, consider the importance of emotional intelligence competencies for all stakeholders, and the assessment and evaluation strategies needed for the sustainability of SEL programs. Students will develop and practice their own SEL skills as a foundation for their leadership in this field.

This degree is offered in an online, low-residency format.

Program Overview

The Doctor of Education in Educational and Professional Practice is intended for professionals who use educational practices in the service of social, economic and environmental justice, in schools and beyond. The program is designed with working adults in mind. Classes are offered online, with a four-day, face-to-face residency each July on one of our campuses. A new cohort will enter the program each summer term and, if you take two courses each term, you should be able to complete the degree in three years.

You will study with an accomplished, diverse, and caring faculty who will guide you through a transdisciplinary curriculum that integrates scholarship and practice. Your culminating project will be a dissertation that establishes your place among scholar-practitioners who seek to infuse educational practice in schools, communities, in national and global settings with the essential competencies and processes of social emotional learning.

Social Emotional Learning Specialization

In partnership with Six Seconds, The Emotional Intelligence Network, we are excited to present a specialization in Social Emotional Learning, the process through which young people and adults develop a set of skills for becoming emotionally literate, are able to combine thinking and feeling to make optimal decisions, deepen and maintain healthy relationships, solve problems, and reach personal and collective goals. SEL also comprises the strategies and processes for promoting and infusing SEL into the fabric of an educational community.

Educators who practice and promote these SEL competencies enable students to learn, grow, and thrive, with more positive social behaviors, increased academic performance, and greater engagement with peers and adults. Longitudinal studies affirm that SEL programs promote positive youth development, with student outcomes reflecting school, career, and life success, along with commitment to community.

The field of social emotional learning has blossomed over the past several decades and is increasingly recognized as an essential component of education in K-12, higher education and community settings.  This SEL specialization will lay the groundwork for educators in school and community based organizations and independent SEL consultants to advocate for, develop, implement, and assess social emotional learning instruction, curriculum, policies, and procedures using evidence-based tools listed in the RAND and CASEL assessment guides. Acknowledging that the scope of SEL is broad, the SEL specialization allows for much flexibility in focus while maintaining consistency and rigor with a deep inquiry into the broad range of SEL scholarship and practice.

All students in the SEL specialization will:

• develop as scholars, practitioners and changemakers;
• evaluate program impact using normed and validated assessments;
• design custom SEL interventions, applicable in all learning settings; 
• apply the benchmarks for SEL implementation, which include all students and adults developing SEL skills, SEL integrated into classrooms to enhance academic learning and the whole school using SEL to build a thriving learning community; and 
• explore the intersectionality of SEL with equity, cultural competence, and social justice.

Throughout the program, students will continue to develop and deepen their own SEL skills for greater self-awareness, intentionality, and purpose, essentially “walking the talk.” Through assessments, self-reflection, and cohort discussion, students will develop their own SEL competencies, allowing for more meaningful relationships with their own students and colleagues, reducing stress and burn-out, and modeling SEL behaviors and attitudes for students and the community.

The specialization may be composed of seminars and individualized study. You may also choose to take courses in other Antioch programs and to transfer in credits from previous graduate work. Each student’s dissertation topic will fall within their chosen specialization.

Click here for Curriculum Info and Course Descriptions

Residency Information

Residencies for the EdD program are held on the first Saturday of each term.

Admissions

Admissions Criteria

Antioch’s student population is richly diverse, which creates a learning climate unique to the degree. To be successful in this program, you will have a minimum of five years’ professional experience, either before or after your Master’s work. Regardless of your formal position, you must be able to envision yourself as an education change agent in whatever setting you work.

Although you must hold a Master’s degree, your degree does not need to be in Education. You should have an interest in using your EdD to advance study about educational practice in your field and should be able to identify a specialty focus for your doctoral work. You may be able to transfer in up to 12 credits of prior Master’s or post-Master’s graduate study in that specialization, either from Antioch or another accredited university.*

How to Apply

1. Complete the online admissions Portfolio, which is comprised of the following elements:
   1. Online Application, which provides the most recent information about your education, professional experience, references, and other personal data.
   2. Official transcripts from all colleges or universities where you earned a degree or certificate. Both undergraduate and graduate school transcripts must arrive at the Office of Admissions in a sealed envelope or sent via secure transcripts email service.
   3. Two letters of reference. These references should be from persons who are or have been in a position to evaluate your work. At least one must be an academic reference such as an instructor or program administrator who can speak to your academic promise as a doctoral student. Your recommenders can submit their letter electronically using the online application or send a signed, sealed copy directly to Admissions.
   4. Resumé/CV
   5. Personal statement. Your statement of about 1000 words should describe (a) how your education and experiences to date have prepared you to pursue for this Ed.D., (b) what you want to accomplish professionally through this degree, and (c) how the degree will help you achieve their long-term professional goals. Please also indicate which specialization you would like to pursue, understanding that this choice may change during the program.
   6. Work sample. This should be one piece of professional or academic work that you think is representative of your finest efforts. It might be a published essay or a chapter of a book, a curriculum, a grant proposal, a business plan, a strategic plan, a newsletter, or other types of documents. The submitted document should not exceed fifteen pages in length. If your document is longer, please excerpt the most relevant section.
   7. There are additional requirements for International applicants
2. Submit a non-refundable $50 application fee.
3. If selected, interview with an EdD faculty member or director via phone or Skype.

The EdD does not require the GRE or any other standardized test for admissions.

*Pursuant to Ohio Department of Higher Education regulations, only graduate credits in excess of 30 applied toward the master’s degree may be eligible for transfer.

Please submit all materials to:
Antioch University
Admissions Office
900 Dayton Street
Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387
–OR–
[email protected]

All application materials submitted become part of an applicant’s file and cannot be returned.

Technology Requirements

Students in this program participate in online learning activities organized within small- and large-group learning communities. Antioch University Online is a 100% online learning environment, and therefore, in addition to having the traditional learning skills, students are expected to have basic technological skills, compatible computer hardware, operating system, and internet connectivity upon entrance into the program.

LEARN MORE

Cost

Graduate Degree Tuition

Student fees information

LEARN MORE

Financial Aid

Many AU students finance their education through some form of financial aid. You may not be sure which federal, state, public, and private aid packages – such as loans, scholarships, and grants – are right for you. Our staff is here to help you, so you can focus on what’s most important: beginning your academic program at AU.

LEARN MORE

The Elective Concentration

Although not required, students often choose to take a group of elective courses in a single concentration area. An elective concentration consists of six 3-credit elective Advanced Seminar courses, selected by a student in consultation with his or her advisor. They are taken one per semester during the fall and spring of the third year, one per summer and fall semesters of the fourth year, and two per semester during spring of the fourth year. There are no prescribed tracks or special proficiency areas as such. Students create their own elective concentration. Another possibility is the Major Area of Study in Behavioral Health Integration and Population Health. Supplementary elective experiences are offered in the form of Weekend Courses and Supervised Individual Studies.

The specific array of elective courses available during any one semester depends on a process that assures that choices are appropriately diverse, meet logistical needs of the program, and are consistent with students’ interests and preferences. Usually 16 different electives are offered during an academic year. Therefore, the possibilities may change from year to year. Elective Advanced Seminars are typically restricted to twelve students.

Our experience is that students do not choose electives on the basis of career focus alone. As in universities across the country, students often choose to take courses with faculty seen as particularly gifted psychologists and teachers, even if the course content in itself is not directly in line with a particular student’s long-term goals. Other students specifically decide not to take electives relevant to their primary interests, opting instead to get as broad an education as they can while in graduate school. For these reasons, the actual selections students make often differ somewhat from the examples of possible elective concentrations listed below, as selected by four hypothetical students with differing interests.

Most popular electives are offered on an annual basis; others are offered every second year or on demand. In examining the sample elective concentrations above, it is important to keep four things in mind. First, all of these are Advanced Seminars; students will previously have had one or more required courses in directly-related areas. Second, elective Advanced Seminars comprise at least one-third of the academic day during the third and fourth years of the program. Third, by the end of the program, students also will have had six Advanced Seminars, practica consistent with their career plans, and more than four additional credits of weekend courses and/or supervised individual studies that add variety, breadth, and depth to their overall program. Finally, many students select a broad array of courses rather than taking only those within a single concentration.

Sample Advanced Seminars by Interest Area

Child Clinical Psychology

• Attachment and Complex Trauma in Development and Psychotherapy
• Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies
• Clinical Neuropsychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Psychological Testing of Infants, Children, and Adolescents
• Weekend Courses and SISs

Assessment

• Weekend Courses and SISs
• Health Psychology
• Psychological Testing & Evaluation of Infants, Children, and Adolescents
• Infant Mental Health
• Intervention with Children and Adolescent

Adult Psychotherapy

• Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies
• Contemporary Psychoanalytic Practice
• Brief Psychotherapy
• Integrative Psychotherapy
• Professional Geropsychology
• Couples Therapy
• Health Psychology
• Substance Abuse
• Weekend Courses and SISs

Health Psychology

• Health Psychology
• Integrated Care
• Psychopharmacology or Neuropsychology
• Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies
• Weekend Courses and SISs

Introduction

For more information about psychologists in different primary care settings, please watch the following short videos from the American Psychological Association:

• Introduction
• Family Medicine
• Pediatrics
• OB/GYN

For more information on Behavioral Health Integration please visit integrationacademy.ahrq.gov.

This degree is offered by AU New England.

 Major Area of Study Requirements

Required Elements:

• Meet all regular program degree requirements to complete the doctoral in Clinical Psychology
• Notify the Director of the M.A.S. of the student’s intention to follow the course of study and to receive the credential that its completion bestows.  Preferably this is done at the beginning of the third year.
• 9 credits and a project as follows:
  • Biological Bases of Behavior (3)
  • Health Psychology (3)
  • Integrated Primary Care Concepts (2)
  • Integrated Primary Care Skills Workshop (2)
  • Health track of the Consultation Course (2, 1-hour courses)

Of note, Biological Bases of Behavior and Consultation are required for the PsyD program, so do not represent additional requirements. Two academic years of practicum experience in a setting that offers exposure to health psychology competencies. One of these years can offer a minimum of six hours per week of this exposure, while the second should have health psychology/behavioral health integration as the primary care (e.g., in a primary care setting or other medical setting serving underserved populations)

• At least 3 additional elective credits in a relevant area, defined broadly (e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Substance Abuse, Brief Therapy, Mindfulness, Psychopharmacology)
• At least one behavioral health integration/population health practicum (e.g., in a primary care or other medical setting serving underserved populations)
• Dissertation on a topic relevant to behavioral health integration/population health.  Students should present their dissertation topics to the Director before they are finally determined to be sure that they are judged to meet the criteria.

Recommended Elements:

• Second practicum in behavioral health integration/population health with underserved populations.

Career Outlook

Job Demand: Both federal and state health care authorities have defined the need for behavioral health clinicians in primary care as a crisis. It is hard to imagine an area of psychology that could possibly be in higher demand once you have finished your training.

Cost

Clinical Psychology Faculty and Staff

AUNE’s superb faculty is a very strong and positive element of our program. Three categories of faculty, rather than the more conventional two, staff the Doctoral Program: Core Faculty, Affiliate Faculty, and Adjunct Faculty. Their roles and brief biographies appear near the end of this catalog.

Core Faculty administer the program, serve in the Doctoral Management Group, chair the dissertation committees, and provide advisement for the third and fourth-year students. Most members of the Core Faculty teach a section of Doctoral Research Seminar and/or Case Conference plus one other course most semesters.

Affiliate Faculty teach a Professional Seminar and, within that context, monitor the practicum training of their six to eight students, a process which also involves visits to practicum training sites. A number of Affiliate Faculty also teach at least one content course sometime during the year.

Adjunct Faculty are contracted to teach particular courses in their areas of expertise.

The following is an index of faculty and staff of the Department of Clinical Psychology at Antioch University New England. For more information, email addresses, and phone extensions, click on the name of a faculty/staff member.

Core Faculty

Affiliate Faculty

Staff

Adjunct Faculty