The Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy program, which is housed in the Department of Child and Family Studies, has earned accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), the national accrediting body for the field of marriage and family therapy.
The MFT master’s program was established at USF in fall 2020 to meet a growing demand for marriage and family therapists in the state of Florida. The program recently celebrated its second graduating class in July 2023 and its partnership with James A Haley LMFT Training program, which provides paid internships for students, in February 2024.
“The success of the MFT program is already being seen in the work that our graduates are doing in the community and in the accomplishment of being recognized as only the second COAMFTE-accredited master’s program in the state of Florida," said MFT Program Director Ryan Henry, PhD, LMFT. "We look forward to continuing to expand the program and increase the positive impact our graduates are having on families in the Tampa Bay area.”
MFTs are trained to diagnose and treat a wide range of client issues within the context of relationships. The MFT program curriculum at USF is based on Florida’s state licensure requirements, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Code of Ethics and Marriage and Family Therapy core competencies, the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards National licensure examination domains, and national accreditation standards from COAMFTE.