SECTION 5: MARRIAGE, COUPLE, AND FAMILY COUNSELING

F. MARRIAGE, COUPLE, AND FAMILY COUNSELING

Students who are preparing to specialize as marriage, couple, and family counselors are expected to possess the knowledge and skills necessary to address a wide variety of issues in the context of relationships and families. Counselor education programs with a specialty area in marriage, couple, and family counseling must document where each of the lettered standards listed below is covered in the curriculum.

  1. FOUNDATIONS
    1. history and development of marriage, couple, and family counseling
    2. theories and models of family systems and dynamics
    3. theories and models of marriage, couple, and family counseling
    4. sociology of the family, family phenomenology, and family of origin theories
    5. principles and models of assessment and case conceptualization from a systems perspective
    6. assessments relevant to marriage, couple, and family counseling
  2. CONTEXTUAL DIMENSIONS
    1. roles and settings of marriage, couple, and family counselors
    2. structures of marriages, couples, and families
    3. family assessments, including diagnostic interviews, genograms, family mapping, mental diagnostic status examinations, symptom inventories, and psychoeducational and personality assessments
    4. diagnostic process, including differential diagnosis and the use of current diagnostic classification systems, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
    5. human sexuality and its effect on couple and family functioning
    6. aging and intergenerational influences and related family concerns
    7. impact of crisis and trauma on marriages, couples, and families
    8. impact of addiction on marriages, couples, and families
    9. impact of interpersonal violence on marriages, couples, and families
    10. impact of unemployment, under-employment, and changes in socioeconomic standing on marriages, couples, and families
    11. interactions of career, life, and gender roles on marriages, couples, and families
    12. physical, mental health, and psychopharmacological factors affecting marriages, couples, and families
    13. cultural factors relevant to marriage, couple, and family functioning, including the impact of immigration
    14. professional organizations, preparation standards, and credentials relevant to the practice of marriage, couple, and family counseling
    15. ethical and legal considerations and family law issues unique to the practice of marriage, couple, and family counseling
    16. record keeping, third party reimbursement, and other practice and management considerations in marriage, couple, and family counseling
  3. PRACTICE
    1. assessment, evaluation, and case management for working with individuals, couples, and families from a systems perspective
    2. fostering family wellness
    3. techniques and interventions of marriage, couple, and family counseling
    4. conceptualizing and implementing treatment, planning, and intervention strategies in marriage, couple, and family counseling
    5. strategies for interfacing with the legal system relevant to marriage, couple, and family counseling

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