California State University, Los Angeles

M.S. in Counseling, Option in Marriage and Family Therapy

On-Campus

Cal State LA
1250 Bellflower Boulevard
Long Beach, California 90840

M.S. in Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy Program Page
Cal State LA SBFC Master’s Program Website

 

Program details below are quoted from program websites, supplied here for informational purposes only, and subject to change at any time. Refer to the program website for current information, deadlines, complete admission requirements, etc. It is the responsibility of the prospective student to verify with program administrators program details and that the program still meets BBS requirements for licensure in the state of California.

Program Snapshot

Accreditation

The university is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission. The MFT program has been reviewed and approved by the California State Board of Behavioral Sciences. The PPS/CWA credential program is accredited by the California state Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Concentrations/Specializations Offered

The School-Based Family Counseling (SBFC) graduate program at California State University, Los Angeles is a Master's in Counseling program. It satisfies all of the academic requirements for the California state Marriage and Family Therapy license. Our program integrates the Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Credential in School Counseling with Advanced Authorization in Child Welfare and Attendance (CWA) into the Master's degree coursework as well. This means that when you graduate from our program, you will be able to obtain employment as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist in any setting and/or a School Counselor in K-12 schools. The CWA authorization qualifies you for specialized school counseling positions related to child welfare and attendance in K-12 schools.

Cal State LA has a long history of involvement and activism in East Los Angeles and the greater Los Angeles urban area. As such, our program has a specific emphasis in training our students to become culturally competent, social justice oriented counselors. Our on-campus counseling clinic allows our students to gain direct clinical experience with our community members in a supportive setting.

LMFT Track or Dual LMFT/LPCC Track

LMFT and LPCC

Length of Program

The SBFC program requires 73-77 semester units. This takes from 2.5 - 3 years to complete depending on amount of fieldwork the student is able to complete after the first year of coursework.

Schedule/Format

  • Students take four to five courses per semester in the first two years. This includes two to three courses during the summer semesters.

  • This program is full-time and is cohorted, meaning you must take your required classes at your assigned time and with your assigned cohort.

  • Class times are from 4:30pm-7:15pm and from 7:30pm-10:10pm. Saturday courses may be offered. Students take courses 2-3 times per week.

  • Students may have outside employment during their Master's program, however full-time employment is often not possible, especially when completing fieldwork.

Program Start

Fall

Estimated Total Program Tuition

The total cost of the degree depends on when you are able to complete your fieldwork. Students are allowed to begin fieldwork during the second year and most finish it in the 3rd year. This would result in 4 semesters at the full-time rate (currently = $4200 per semester) = $16,800; PLUS 1 summer semester at the end of the first year with 2 classes through Open University (currently $990 per class) = $1980; Plus 2 semesters of 3-6 units of fieldwork in the third year (part time rate currently at $2800 per semester) = $5600 for a Total = $24,380.

Religious Orientation

None

Entering Class Size and Classroom Sizes

24-36 admitted. Our class sizes range from 12 (for clinical classes) to 24 with some lecture size classes.

Fieldwork Hours Accrued During Program

Students complete 15-20 hours per week of fieldwork in their second year and third year.

One of the unique aspects of our program is our family counseling clinic, an on-campus clinic that provides our community members with no-cost counseling services.

During the first and second semesters of your first year, you will complete the majority of your practicum hours in this clinic. Using a family systems, multicultural, SBFC-focused approach, you and a co-therapist will assist parents and their children with issues that range from school behavioral problems to family separation issues.

Students train in the clinic during their first semester, completing shadowing, peer counseling, and role plays. Students use the clinic equipment to record and evaluate their growing skill set. They are closely supervised by faculty members.

Personal Psychotherapy Requirement During Program

While we strongly encourage personal psychotherapy, we do not require it.

Comprehensive Exam/Culminating Project/Thesis/Etc:

Most of our students take a comprehensive exam to graduate, though we do offer a thesis option. If you are interested in going on to doctorate work and would like to complete a thesis, you must come in with a research agenda, be highly intrinsically motivated, and be a good academic writer and researcher. Research opportunities are offered to students as faculty need and student desire arises.

Application Process

Application Deadline

Application filing period opens on October 1, 2021, deadline is January 14, 2022; classes begin August 22, 2022.

Late applications may be considered if space is available.

Undergraduate GPA Required

The minimum GPA requirement for our program is 3.0. We accept students from all majors.

GRE Requirement

None

Prerequisite Courses

There is only one prerequisite, which is a course in Counseling or Psychological Theories. This must be completed before beginning the program in the Fall. COUN 4500-Counseling Theories is offered at Cal State LA in the Summer semester before the program begins if you have not taken a similar course beforehand. There are no other courses that can be taken before acceptance to the program.

Application Highlights

  • Once our application window opens, you will have to first apply to the university through the general Cal State system. Then, you will apply to our specific program using Cal State LA's system.

  • We assess applicants based on their GPA, application materials (e.g., statement of purpose, letters of rec), experience, and dispositions. We highly recommend that all of our applicants gain experience in the mental health field prior to applying, either through internships, volunteer work, or employment. We look for applicants who have a passion for what they do and demonstrate healthy and professional boundaries. We are also looking for applicants who have a demonstrated interest in both school counseling and marriage and family therapy.

Interview Requirement

Applications are screened by the SBFC Admission Committee and in person interviews are scheduled for selected applicants. Every selected applicant is required to participate in a 20 minute in person interview with the SBFC Admissions Committee.

Program Summary

The School-Based Family Counseling (SBFC) Program at Cal State Los Angeles is a graduate program within the Division of Special Education and Counseling in the Charter College of Education. Students have the opportunity to earn the Masters of Science degree in Counseling.

The distinguishing feature of our program is the focus on School-Based Family Counseling, which equips students with all the competencies and skills of an effective school counselor, while providing an increased understanding of mental health issues, to work directly in public schools and school-based related agencies. Coursework and fieldwork experience are geared toward the K-12 settings, although not exclusively. This is in contrast to the traditional family therapy model, in which the counselor is not trained to work in school systems. Our students, on the other hand, are trained to work with children and their families within the context of the educational system, utilizing a family systems theoretical orientation.

The Master of Science Degree in Counseling is designed to train family systems oriented counselors who are eligible to apply for licensure in California as Marriage, Family and Child Therapists (MFT) and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCC), both of which also require 3000 hours of supervised experience, at least 1500 of which must be completed after earning the Masters degree. It also includes the Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Credential in School Counseling and the Advanced Authorization in Child Welfare and Attendance (CWA) as part of the Masters degree. A minimum of 105 units are required depending upon prior coursework and culminating experience.  A major component of the SBFC program is direct clinical training in working with families with multicultural clients. 

Another unique characteristic of our program is the implementation of the cohort model.  Each fall, we admit one cohort of students into our program. These students progress through the program together, taking a carefully constructed sequence of classes. The purpose of this is to ensure that each student will be able to finish their program within the 2 ½ - 3 year timeline, but also as a means for building collegiality and support among the student body. 

Graduates from the SBFC program are eligible to:  

  • work as School Counselors in public and private K-12 level schools.

  • work as Child Welfare and Attendance specialists in K-12 level schools.

  • work with agencies that provide school-based counseling and send therapists into schools.

  • work in mental health agencies.

  • work in a private practice setting, once licensed by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS).

School-Based Family Counseling (SBFC) is an integrated approach to mental health intervention that focuses on both school and family in order to help children overcome personal problems and succeed at school.

Essentially, SBFC practitioners see the school and the family as inextricably interconnected systems. We believe that MFTs are better therapists when they understand how to assist their clients in navigating and succeeding within the school system. We believe that School Counselors are better counselors when they have a deeper understanding of how a student's mental health and family system can affect their school performance. Over the past decade, these tenets of SBFC have been reflected in a) the increasing number of school-based mental health jobs available for Associate and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and b) the increased focus on training school counselors how to address socio-emotional issues, risk, and trauma.

Our students leave our program prepared to take on the complex challenges facing children and their families in contemporary society.