Our Mission
The University of Rhode Island Graduate Program in Couple and Family Therapy has been continuously accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) since 1985.
The URI Couple and Family Therapy Program prepares students to become competent, ethical, research-informed, and culturally responsive couple and family therapists.
Our mission guides our curriculum, clinical training, supervision, assessment, and commitment to the communities we serve.
Program Goals
The CFT Program goals are to:
- Provide students with quality instruction in couple and family therapy theories, models, and research skills applicable to clinical practice.
- Provide skill-based training to help students become competent and ethical couple and family therapists.
- Provide opportunities for students to practice culturally responsive and socially just couple and family therapy.
Student Learning Outcomes
The CFT Program’s Student Learning Outcomes are based on the program mission and goals and reflect the systemic, ethical, research-informed, culturally responsive, and professional competencies expected of couple and family therapists.
- SLO #1: Students will demonstrate knowledge and application of couple and family therapy theories across clinical problems and populations.
- SLO #2: Students will demonstrate competency in designing an ethical research project and evaluating and applying research to inform clinical practice.
- SLO #3: Students will demonstrate clinical competency in assessing, diagnosing, and providing systemic treatment to individuals, couples, and families.
- SLO #4: Students will demonstrate ethical and professional decision-making in the practices of couple and family therapy, including adherence to professional standards, workplace policies and applicable laws and regulations.
- SLO #5: Students will demonstrate culturally responsive and socially just clinical practice in couple and family therapy.
Professional Standards
The Student Learning Outcomes are informed by:
- Principles of the Profession of Marriage and Family Therapy (PPMFT)
- AAMFT Core Competencies
- AAMFT Code of Ethics
- AMFTRB Examination Domains, Task and Knowledge Statements
- Rhode Island Department of Health Licensing Regulations
Assessment and Client Outcomes
The CFT Program uses Better Outcomes Now (BON) to help students learn and apply outcome-informed clinical practice. BON allows students and supervisors to track client progress throughout therapy and use client feedback to inform treatment.
Students are trained to use outcome data as part of clinical decision-making, helping them evaluate whether therapy is meeting clients’ needs and adjust treatment when needed.
Graduate Outcomes
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The URI CFT Program is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our curriculum, clinical training, faculty and student community, and work with clients and communities.
Becoming a culturally responsive couple and family therapist requires more than learning about different cultures and backgrounds. It also requires students to consider how their own identities, experiences, assumptions, and biases may influence their work with clients and families.
Throughout the program, students have opportunities to develop and practice culturally responsive and socially just approaches to couple and family therapy. These issues are addressed throughout coursework, clinical training, supervision, role plays, and work with clients.
The program recognizes and respects the many dimensions of diversity that shape people’s experiences, including culture, race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, ability, disability, religion, ideology, and other aspects of identity and social location.
We recognize that people’s strengths, challenges, and experiences are shaped by the contexts in which they live. All members of the CFT community are expected to treat one another and our clients with dignity, respect, and fairness.
University of Rhode Island Land Acknowledgment
The University of Rhode Island occupies the traditional stomping ground of the Narragansett Nation and the Niantic People. We honor and respect the enduring and continuing relationship between Indigenous people and this land by teaching and learning more about their history and present-day communities and by becoming stewards of the land we, too, inhabit.