MFT-8961 - MFT Doctoral Internship I

Semester Credits: 1 Weeks: 12

Upon completion of the practicum course, doctoral students are required to complete a 9-month, full-time (i.e., 30 hours per week) clinically focused internship. Prior to beginning the doctoral internship, all students must develop an internship contract approved by the Director of the MFT Doctoral Programs in the PhD MFT Internship Contract DRF in Taskstream. This nine-month experience is organized into three 1-credit courses, each being 12 weeks in duration. The first of these is MFT 8961. All students in this internship must have a local supervisor who has the documented expertise to mentor the PhD student’s development in the area of the student’s specialty. The supervisor’s credentials must be approved by the Director of MFT Doctoral Programs as a part of the internship contracting process in Taskstream. The internship contract will guide both the student’s work during the 9-month internship, and the supervisor’s evaluations of the student’s work. While each student’s Internship will be very individualized to provide the best possible growth through experiential learning, each internship will share these characteristics: students will meet regularly with their local supervisor; unless it is required by the student’s internship contract, students will not have to attend the weekly supervision groups online; each internship is focused solidly in the student’s degree specialty (e.g., military family therapy, medical family therapy, couples therapy); it represents a growth in the student’s previous functioning (i.e., it cannot be simply doing more of what you are already doing); and it provides an experiential base for the student to meet the PhD Program Outcomes and Student Learning Outcomes.