MASTER of CLINICAL FAMILY THERAPY
COURSE PRE-REQUISITES, STRUCTURE AND SUBJECT OUTLINE 2012
COURSE PRE-REQUISITES / ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
· Candidates must have completed their undergraduate studies with at least a B grade or 70% average and should have:
A four year degree in a related discipline or a bachelor degree plus an approved fourth year of study and have at least two years experience working with families as a case manager or as a family counsellor
OR
Have completed a three year undergraduate degree in the health and welfare field and have at least three years experience working with families as a case manager or as a family counsellor
OR
Have completed a Graduate Certificate in Family Sensitive Practice or equivalent course, and have a three year degree in a related discipline and have at least two years experience working with families as a case manager or as a family counsellor.
· In addition, applicants are required to be currently working in a counselling or therapy role (either paid or voluntary) and have an employment description that allows them to counsel families. During the course, students are expected to be working within a counselling or therapy relationship with at least 5 families at any one time throughout the year.
· Completion of the Introductory Workshop in Family Therapy*: four-day, continuing education course offered by The Bouverie Centre, or alternative equivalent course from another institution.
Note: To book in for this Introductory Workshop in Family Therapy, please send in payment with completed Continuing Education application form, which can be located at http://www.bouverie.org.au/courses/continuing-education/general-information.
· Working with Children check (can be done after places are offered) as required by the Department of Justice.
WHY APPLY FOR THIS COURSE?
This is a tried and true, practically oriented Masters level course that has been running for 20 years in one form or other. It developed out of the Postgraduate Diploma in Family Therapy that started at Bouverie in 1989. It is ideal for psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, youth workers, drug and alcohol counsellors, psychiatric nurses, or workers from other professions such as teaching and general nursing who are suitably qualified and want a change of career. It offers a solid grounding in systems theory as well as lots of experiential work, including supervised clinical practice in a live family therapy context in teams of no more than 6 students. No other tertiary institute currently offers this, and the feedback, along with our experience as educators, is that this is the very best way to learn how to do the work. So if you already have a degree of some kind in human service work with individuals and/or families, but would like to develop your actual skills in family work in an exciting but safe learning group, this is the course for you.
COURSE STRUCTURE
Course Name: Master of Clinical Family Therapy
Course Code: HMCLFT
Faculty: Faculty of Health Sciences
Campus: Other Site 2 (O2)
The two-year Master of Clinical Family Therapy is a training program in family therapy theory and practice, offered part-time for two years. Students are required to attend for six hours per week (three and a half to four hours of supervised clinical experience and two to two and a half hours of theory).
There are 8 units in the course: two theory units and two live clinically supervised units per year.
The live supervision classes meet for three and a half hours (8.00 am – 11.30 am or 3.00 pm - 6.30 pm) in first year, and four hours (7.45 am – 11.45 am or 2.30 pm - 6.30 pm) in second year. Live supervision groups consist of no more than 6 students in each group. These groups meet concurrently at the above times.
Theory classes are held in one large group. In total there will be 26 two-hour or two and a half hour theory classes in each year.
Can I specialise in either Narrative or Systemic therapy?
The content will be the same for all students in both years of the Clinical Masters. The course seeks to explore and critique both systemic and post-modern theoretical frameworks and practices, including recent innovations and their consequences for the field. Students with a particular interest in any of the theoretical frameworks covered can, within the parameters of the course, structure their learning experiences to reflect that interest. For example, students can elect to focus on a particular framework in their essays, or conduct family sessions within that framework.
Aim
The overall aim of the course is to extend the knowledge and skills acquired by clinical workers in their undergraduate education and subsequent work experience so that they can work effectively as family therapists in a wide range of therapy contexts.
This is intended firstly, by developing the ability to integrate, in the therapist-family interface, practice wisdom, theoretical knowledge, the use of self, and involvement with the wider context and secondly, by equipping participants with the skills to generate new knowledge and evaluate effectiveness.
It is anticipated that at the end of the course participants will have:
· developed a sound knowledge of the theoretical bases and practical applications of family therapy;
· achieved clinical proficiency in all phases of family therapy with a wide range of family problems;
· explored and analysed the network of relationships between their own family experiences; their clinical experiences; the process and outcome of therapy and the broader environments with which they and families interact and in which therapy takes place;
· developed basic skills in the critical evaluation of family therapy.
SUBJECT OUTLINE
YEAR 1 UNITS, 2012
Subject Title: Family Therapy Theory A
Subject Code: FTH5FTA
This subject is designed to give students an in-depth understanding of the foundations of systemic thinking and some of the early models of family therapy, primarily with a view to providing some theoretical and philosophical frameworks for actual practice, but also to give students an appreciation of the history and context of the development of these frameworks. The ethical implications of the models will be addressed more comprehensively in the following year.
Semester: One
Class requirements: one 2.5 hour lecture per week
Assessment: one 3,000-word essay (100%)
Co-requisite: FTH5SCA. Students must be enrolled in
HMCLFT Master of Clinical Family Therapy
Credit points: 10
Subject Title: Family Therapy Theory B
Subject Code: FTH5FTB
This subject is a continuation of FTH5FTA from the previous semester, designed to give students a working knowledge of further foundational models of family therapy. There will also be an emphasis this semester on working with the complexities introduced when families have experienced trauma.
Semester: Two
Class requirements: one 2.5 hour lecture per week
Assessment: one 3,000-word essay (100%)
Co-requisite: FTH5SCB. Students must be enrolled in
HMCLFT Master of Clinical Family Therapy
Pre-requisite: FTH5FTA
Credit points: 10
Subject Title: Supervised Clinical Practice A
Subject Code: FTH5SCA
In this subject students are taught to develop family therapy assessment and executive skills, initially with roleplay families and subsequently with families from The Bouverie Centre's waiting list and the student's own workplace. The emphasis is on gaining first hand experience in the various aspects of family therapy practice and integrating the theory taught in the course with clinical practice. The subject is aimed at developing conceptual and practical skills by live supervision as a therapist and as a member of a reflecting team. The subject is conducted in small groups led by an experienced family therapist supervisor. Concurrent with the 91 hours of clinical supervision within the first year of the course, throughout the year, students must be working within a counselling or therapy relationship with at least 5 families at any one time.
Semester: One
Class requirements: one 3.5 hour clinical practice session per week,
plus an additional 39 hours of clinical work
Assessment: one 2-hour oral review of clinical competencies (group of 6) AND one contact sheet (Hurdle requirement - pass/fail; student supervisor rated) ( 0%)
two 2,250-word case analyses (75%)
one 1,500-word learning goals reflection (25%)
Co-requisite: FTH5FTA. Students must be enrolled in
HMCLFT Master of Clinical Family Therapy
Credit points: 20
Subject Title: Supervised Clinical Practice B
Subject Code: FTH5SCB
In this subject students are taught to develop family therapy assessment and executive skills, initially with roleplay families and subsequently with families from The Bouverie Centre's waiting list and the student's own workplace. The emphasis is on gaining first hand experience in the various aspects of family therapy practice and integrating the theory taught in the course with clinical practice. The subject is aimed at developing conceptual and practical skills by live supervision as therapist and as a member of a reflecting team. The subject is conducted in small groups led by an experienced family therapist supervisor. Concurrent with the 91 hours of clinical supervision within the first year of the course, throughout the year, students must be working within a counselling or therapy relationship with at least 5 families at any one time.
Semester: Two
Class requirements: one 3.5 hour clinical practice session per week,
plus an additional 39 hours of clinical work
Assessment: one 2-hour oral review of clinical competencies (group of 6) AND one
contact sheet (Hurdle requirement - pass/fail; student supervisor rated) (0%)
two 2,250-word case analyses (75%)
one 1,500-word learning goals reflection (25%)
Co-requisite: FTH5FTB. Students must be enrolled in
HMCLFT Master of Clinical Family Therapy
Pre-requisite: FTH5SCA, FTH5FTA
Credit points: 20
YEAR 2 UNITS, 2013
Subject Title: Family Therapy Theory C
Subject Code: FTH5FTC
In this subject students will study systemic applications of post-modern developments in the counselling field and will reflect further on the theoretical and philosophical foundations of family therapy and their ethical implications. Students are encouraged to critique relevant theories and to participate in debates current to family therapy. In addition, trainees will be supported to assess families' circumstances, alongside the therapist's own context, values and skills as important factors in developing their own family therapy style. Continuing on with the theme of assisting trainees to develop their own therapeutic style, particular attention will be given in this subject to working with children and adolescents in the context of family therapy.
Semester: One
Class requirements: one 2 hour lecture per week
Assessment: one 3,000-word essay (100%)
Co-requisite: FTH5SCC. Students must be enrolled in
HMCLFT Master of Clinical Family Therapy
Pre-requisite: FTH5FTA, FTH5FTB
Credit points: 10
Subject Title: Family Therapy Theory D
Subject Code: FTH5FTD
In this subject students will continue in their examination of the theoretical and philosophical foundations of family therapy as well as in the ethical implications of models encountered in the previous year. There will be some focus on specific issues in practice, with particular emphasis given to working with couples and with chronic illness.
Semester: Two
Class requirements: one 2 hour lecture per week
Assessment: one 3,000-word essay (100%)
Co-requisite: FTH5SCD. Students must be enrolled in
HMCLFT Master of Clinical Family Therapy
Pre-requisite: FTH5FTA, FTH5FTB, FTH5FTC
Credit points: 10
Subject Title: Supervised Clinical Practice C
Subject Code: FTH5SCC
In this subject students are taught to enhance their family therapy skills working with families from The Bouverie Centre's waiting list and the student's own workplace. The emphasis is on gaining first hand experience in the various aspects of advanced family therapy practice and integrating clinical practice with relevant theories. Students refine conceptual and practical skills in live supervision as a therapist and as a member of a reflecting team. Students are given the opportunity to learn in small groups led by an experienced supervisor. Concurrent with the 104 hours of clinical supervision within the second year of the course, throughout the year, students must be working within a counselling or therapy relationship with at least 5 families at any one time.
Semester: One
Class requirements: one 4 hour clinical practice session per week,
plus an additional minimum 39 hours of clinical work
Assessment: Family therapy skills assessment. (Hurdle requirement - pass/fail; student supervisor rated) (0%)
three 2,000-word case analyses (100%)
Co-requisite: FTH5FTC. Students must be enrolled in
HMCLFT Master of Clinical Family Therapy
Pre-requisite: FTH5FTA, FTH5FTB, FTH5SCA, FTH5SCB
Credit points: 20
Subject Title: Supervised Clinical Practice D
Subject Code: FTH5SCD
In this subject students are taught to enhance their family therapy skills, working with families from The Bouverie Centre's waiting list and the student's own workplace with an emphasis on their gaining first hand experience in the various aspects of advanced family therapy practice and integrating clinical practice with relevant theories. Students will aim to further refine conceptual and practical skills in live supervision as a therapist and as a member of a reflecting team. They will focus on their development of their individual style as therapists. Concurrent with the 104 hours of clinical supervision within the second year of the course, throughout the year students must be working within a counselling or therapy relationship with at least 5 families at any one time.
Semester: Two
Class requirements: one 4 hour clinical practice session per week
plus an additional minimum 39 hours of clinical work
Assessment: Family therapy skills assessment. (Hurdle requirement - pass/fail; student supervisor rated) (0%)
one group of 6 oral presentation (10-minutes/member)(15%)
one 2,000-word essay (35%)
one 3,000-word case analysis (50%)
Co-requisite: FTH5FTD. Students must be enrolled in
HMCLFT Master of Clinical Family Therapy
Pre-requisite: FTH5FTA, FTH5FTB, FTH5FTC,
FTH5SCA, FTH5SCB, FTH5SCC
Credit points: 20
Course Co-ordinator: Ms.
