J o h n F K e n n e d y U n i v e r s i t y

COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGYMA PROGRAMEncompassing the mission of John F. Kennedy University andthe Graduate School of Professional Psychology, the Masterof Arts in Counseling Psychology supports student learningand faculty involvement that integrates academic endeavor,clinical practice, and the unique development of eachstudent. The goal of the program is to nurture the developingpractitioner by providing an intimate classroom experience,offering hands-on supervisory feedback in clinical practicumsettings, and encouraging personal exploration and growthin the student’s own psychotherapy experience. Graduates ofthe program proceed to licensure and professional positionsproviding mental health services in a variety of settings.The necessity of post-degree learning is encouraged andemphasized.The MA degree program in Counseling Psychology withan emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy is designedto prepare students for future clinical practice as marriageand family therapists (MFTs). The curriculum provides indepthexposure to many theoretical approaches examiningand applying both systemic and individual approaches topsychological treatment through a combination of experientiallearning, theory, and intensive fieldwork. Students arerequired to increase their self-knowledge through an ongoingexamination of their personal values, individual strengthsand weaknesses, and their awareness of diversity andsocial context. This innovative, applied, 79-unit program iscomposed of three phases: Phase I (coursework), Phase II(field placement coursework and written comprehensiveexam), and Phase III (field placement coursework andoral comprehensive exam). Successful completion of eachphase is required in order to advance to the next phase.Phases II and III consist primarily of field placement withindividual and group supervision, but also include advancedcoursework.• Phase I—Foundation courses of Phase I combine currentand traditional theory applied within the context ofthe classroom using didactic and experiential methods.Coursework includes the core competencies of theprogram: theory, diagnosis and assessment, clinical skills,legal and ethical issues, and treatment approaches andmodalities.• Phase II—The focus shifts to clinical training as the firstof two fieldwork placements begins, simultaneouslycompleting additional coursework. Most students havetheir first direct clinical experience at a JFK UniversityCommunity Counseling Center in Pleasant Hill orSunnyvale. All students do a clinical placement in aschool, working with children. The counseling centersprovide an in-vivo, dynamic, and immensely rewardingexperience for the training student-psychotherapists andtheir clients. Students may also choose from a wide varietyof community-based mental health agencies, schools,and hospitals within the greater Bay Area. During thiscomponent, students complete the written portion of theMA comprehensive exam, modeled after the state’s MFTlicensure examination.• Phase III—While continuing advanced coursework,students continue to focus on their second field placement,working under direct, individual, and group supervision.Late in Phase III, students complete their oral exam.Students who choose to complete an optional, in-depth MAproject do so during this phase.Students pursue the master’s degree with its emphasis inmarriage and family therapy and may also elect to addan area of emphasis to further sharpen a focus of studyfor future practice. This is accomplished by concurrentenrollment in one or more of the specialization areasincluding addiction studies, child and adolescent therapy,couple and family therapy, expressive arts therapy, sportpsychology, and individual study. Each specialization requiresadditional coursework and a specific population for onefieldwork placement.The student body is highly motivated and diverse. Attendanceis continuous, but may be done at a self-developed pace.Faculty are an experienced group of practitioner-scholars whobring current knowledge and professional experience to theclassroom.Alumni of this program enjoy a high pass rate on the state’sMFT examinations. They are considered some of the best,most comprehensively trained providers of psychotherapyand counseling services in the San Francisco Bay Area, andare highly sought after by agencies and other employers upongraduation and licensure.Performance Review and AdvisementAdvising is readily available with a program chair, programdirector, or faculty advisor. Students are required to meetwith an advisor at least once per academic quarter duringtheir first 30 units of study, and encouraged to meet quarterlythroughout their attendance.Following admission, an ongoing process of evaluationbegins. When such evaluation indicates that a student’sperformance falls below the standards of the CounselingPsychology Program, the student will be referred to theReview and Advisement Committee. The committee requiresindividual consultation with a faculty advisor and mayrequire changes in the student’s program, such as additionalcoursework, an additional supervised field experience, or aleave of absence. Students who do not maintain a minimumB grade average will be referred to an advisor.GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 167