The Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) program at the University of Louisiana at Monroe is one of the unique programs offered by the institution. The program was recently awarded with a top-40 ranking on BestCounselingDegrees.net’s list of the nation’s most affordable MFT degrees.
ULM was ranked at number 38 on the list with some of the most respected institutions in the country. Brigham Young University was the number one program on the list. Other ranked universities include: Texas Tech University; University of Southern Mississippi; Abilene Christian University; Seton Hall University, Oklahoma State University, and many more.
ULM offers the MFT programs both on campus, and online through eULM. This gives students around the world access to the various MFT degree options. The programs are also accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE).
The site states part of its methodology: “We chose to list only COAMFTE accredited programs because this accreditation board provides the gold standard for the field of Marriage and Family Therapy. The COAMFTE ensures that graduates of programs with its seal of approval will have the curriculum and supervised clinical experience accepted by all 50 states to work towards licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT).”
Because of this, ULM was the only Louisiana institution on the list and one of only 14 schools in the South represented.
“On behalf of the ULM MFT faculty, it is an honor for our COAMFTE accredited M.A. and Ph.D. programs to be ranked at 38 on ‘The 50 Most Affordable Accredited Marriage and Family Therapy Programs 2015.’ We pride ourselves on being committed to a systemic orientation, to training clinicians whose competencies in systemic practice, clinical scholarship, and ethics will professionally serve a diverse society, and to being the only COAMFTE accredited program in the state of Louisiana,” said Dr. Jana Sutton, program director of ULM MFT.
In addition to the COAMFTE accreditation, programs are ranked based on research through the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), and by the 2014-2015 graduate tuition cost of each program.
The MFT programs ranked each offer supervised clinical hours, and practicum and internship hours, which “allow students to integrate what they have learned in the classroom in clinical practice with the supportive and instructive supervision of Marriage and Family Therapy faculty and AAMFT approved clinical supervisors.”
ULM also provides students the opportunity to work in the Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic in Strauss Hall. The clinic is open to the public and provides therapy services at a low cost. The clinic is staffed by ULM MFT interns under direct supervision by clinical faculty.
The supervising faculty members hold professional mental health licenses in Louisiana, as well as clinical credentials as approved supervisors in the AAMFT.
The center was established in 1983 to provide MFT graduate students the opportunity to administer therapeutic services to the greater Monroe community. These students gain experience and supervised training as they prepare for careers as marriage and family therapists.
To learn about ULM’s MFT programs, visit http://www.ulm.edu/mft/
To view the complete BestCounselingDegees.net ranking, visit http://www.bestcounselingdegrees.net/best/affordable-accredited-marriage-family-therapy-programs/
