Department of Couple and Family Therapy
Master of Science (M.S.) in Couple and Family Therapy
Advance your skills to work with individuals, groups, couples, and families, and consult with organizations using a systemic, relational perspective. Our M.S. in Couple and Family Therapy program at NSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine offers personalized mentoring, diverse internships, and a supportive professional community.
What Sets Us Apart:
- Specialized Electives: Explore specialties like medical family therapy, solution-focused coaching, and equine-assisted family therapy.
- 100% Job Placement Rate: Receive top-quality training leading to professional positions in various clinical and organizational settings.
- Accredited Excellence: NSU’s M.S. in Couple and Family Therapy is Florida's only fully COAMFTE-accredited program, meeting licensure requirements across all 50 states, D.C., and U.S. protectorates."
M.S. Program Mission
The mission of the Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Master of Science (M.S.) in Couple and Family Therapy program is to provide training using a relational/ systemic theoretical lens in working with individuals, couples, families, groups, and organizations. The program curriculum emphasizes the ethical and professional practice of couple/marriage and family therapy, offering professional and scholarly services to the community, including culturally and sexually diverse populations and other marginalized groups. Through these practices, the program demonstrates a commitment to issues of cultural and sexual diversity, inclusion, and international sensitivity. The program provides a global perspective of research, scholarship, and service and participates in reflective practices through self-evaluation and input from our communities of interest, as we strive to maintain the highest professional standards.
M.S. Program Vision
The vision of the Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Master of Science (M.S.) in Couple and Family Therapy Program is to embrace a systemic/relational paradigm while providing clinical training to support community needs, including those of culturally and sexually diverse, international, multicultural, marginalized, and underserved groups. The M.S. in Couple and Family Therapy Program trains students to become competent couple/marriage and family therapists with the ability to work systemically with all populations.
Our program further strives to uphold all ethical, legal, and professional standards in the field.
Ph.D. in Couple and Family Therapy
Immerse yourself in historical and contemporary theories, research, and methodologies of family therapy to excel in the field. Our Ph.D. in Couple and Family Therapy at the College of Osteopathic Medicine offers a flexible 81–114 variable credit program tailored to propel you toward your career goals in academic, supervisory, clinical, or community settings.
What Sets Us Apart:
- Enhanced Clinical Skills: Develop expertise in showcasing the significance of qualitative and quantitative research through interdisciplinary studies, clinical internships, and specialized electives.
- Pursue Licensure While Learning: Seamlessly transition into new roles within the field by pursuing licensure during your studies.
- Top-Tier Accreditation: NSU’s Ph.D. in Couple and Family Therapy is fully accredited by the COAMFTE of AAMFT. It fulfills educational requirements for licensure in Florida and other states.
Ph.D. Program Mission
The mission of the Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Couple and Family Therapy program is to develop students who are committed to advanced academic and clinical practice and who are prepared for leadership in the field of couple/marriage and family therapy through research, supervision, teaching, and clinical theory and practice. Additionally, students in the Ph.D. program are committed to serving diverse, international, multicultural, marginalized, and underserved communities as ethical practitioners while focusing on the relational strengths and resources of clients with an appreciation and respect for cultural and sexual diversity and inclusion.
Ph.D. Program Vision
The vision of the Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Couple and Family Therapy Program is to develop students who are committed to academic, research, and clinical innovation and prepared for advanced leadership in the field of couple/marriage and family therapy. The application of systemic/relational theory is the foundation for our training with an emphasis on serving culturally and sexually diverse populations in a variety of settings.
Our program further strives to uphold all ethical, legal, and professional standards in the field.
Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy (D.M.F.T.)
Ignite your career as a couple and family therapist with a Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy degree from NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. With our innovative and interdisciplinary coursework and hands-on practicum experience, you'll gain the skills to launch your own counseling business, clinical programs, and educational training.
What Sets Us Apart:
- Integrative Curriculum: Our program integrates systemically oriented theory and clinical practice, language and thinking systems, and qualitative and quantitative research.
- Expansive Career Pathways: Prepare for a career as a private practitioner, agency administrator, clinical supervisor, or senior clinician, and expand and enhance your existing clinical skills to become a top-level practitioner.
- Prestigious Accreditation: NSU's D.M.F.T. program is the first campus-based COAMFTE-accredited program in the US. It meets the educational requirements for licensure in Florida and many other states.
D.M.F.T. Program Mission
The mission of the Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy (D.M.F.T.) Program is to develop practitioners and professionals whose chief contributions are as clinicians, supervisors, educators, and applied researchers in the field of couple/marriage and family therapy. Graduates of the D.M.F.T program are trained to practice within ethical and professional bounds using systemic/relational models with diverse, international, multicultural, marginalized, and underserved communities. Graduates are able to work in agencies, treatment facilities, medical offices, private practices, and other sites providing services to the community while focusing on cultural and sexual diversity and inclusion across all settings.
D.M.F.T. Program Vision
The vision of the Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy (D.M.F.T.) Program is to foster professional advancement and excellence while providing graduates with high level training that supports the needs of our communities with a focus on cultural and sexual diversity and inclusion across all settings in which clinical, research, and supervisory services are provided.
Our program further strives to uphold all ethical, legal, and professional standards in the field.
Student Resources
Whether you're seeking guidance from academic and career advisers, accessing important forms and information through SharkLink, or exploring NSU library resources, we've got you covered.
Student Clubs and Organizations
Join the Marriage and Family Therapy Club for personal and professional development opportunities in family therapy. Engage with professors and practitioners, and connect with peers through social events, workshops, and community service. Follow the club on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
The Friends of Stable Place welcomes all NSU students to collaborate with equine professionals for practice, research, and leadership skills. Participate in educational workshops, social gatherings, and community service initiatives, and contribute to the development of Stable Place through volunteering. Connect with the club on Facebook or Instagram.
Community Outreach
Ready to make a difference in today's world? At NSU, you have numerous avenues to address issues affecting communities. One impactful way to begin is by joining forces with like-minded individuals who share your passion for change and justice.
Family Therapy Clinics (Internship Site): The Brief Therapy Institute (BTI) emphasizes leveraging clients' strengths and resources to find innovative solutions to their challenges. Therapists are equipped to work with diverse populations, fostering change typically within 5 to 10 sessions.
Medical Family Therapy: Medical Family Therapy is a joint effort between NSU’s Department of Couple and Family Therapy and Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine to offer short-term therapeutic support to patients dealing with medical issues. This service is an additional resource available to patients referred by their NSU physicians through the Ziff Medical Clinic.
Clinical Externship Sites: Graduate students can choose from over 70 community-based externship sites for their clinical training. Options include hospitals, addiction treatment centers, childcare facilities, schools, homeless shelters, equine therapy programs, and private practices in the tri-county area. Whether you're seeking guidance from academic and career advisers, accessing important forms and information through SharkLink, or exploring NSU library resources, we've got you covered.
It is with great pride that, we, the members of the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine's Department of Couple and Family Therapy at Nova Southeastern University, share with our students one of the guiding principles of our training programs. Our programs are guided by the importance of inclusion, diversity and affirmative practices in the classroom, coursework, clinical training, as well as all professional and collegial relationships and interactions. We are committed to training our students in a manner that is respectful of and sensitive to religious/spiritual beliefs, cultural traditions and practices, gender identities and in all areas that distinguish individuals. Our goal is to be self-reflexive practitioners, holding ourselves accountable for our commitment to our principles. We further strive to train students to respond to each other with the same honor and respect. Subsequently, we expect students will treat fellow students, staff, and clients accordingly. We stress a commitment to servicing clinical populations in an affirmative, supportive and competent manner including but not limited to underprivileged, minority, and socially oppressed groups, ethnic, racial, religious groups, LGBTQ individuals, foreign nationals, individuals with different levels of ability both physical and mental, as well as individuals of various genders, ages and socioeconomic and relationship statuses. Ultimately, we believe that individual belief systems and values should be respected but that those belief systems and values do not hinder the practice of affirmative therapy.
Additionally, our programs abide by the AAMFT Code of Ethics. Specifically, the following:
1.1 Non-Discrimination. Marriage and Family Therapists provide professional assistance to persons without discrimination on the basis of race, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, gender, health status, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or relationship status.
Our programs acknowledge and embrace the changing nature of society and the need to prevent discrimination of groups that are yet to be federally recognized. Our programs support COAMFTE’s definition of diversity "as being inclusive of race, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, relationship status, gender identity, socioeconomic status, disability, health status, religious or spiritual belief, religious or spiritual affiliation, and national origin" (COAMFTE Accreditation Standards 12.5, p. 9) and thus prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, relationship status, gender identity, socioeconomic status, disability, health status, religious or spiritual belief, religious or spiritual affiliation, and national origin.
Contact Us
For general inquiries and questions, please email familytherapy@nova.edu.