skip to content

The Research and Professional Experience

"This program offers numerous opportunities to be involved with research, applied work, and clinical practice within the university and across local communities. It is unique in the way it supports diverse student initiatives and creativity." - Erika London

"I have appreciated the many opportunities to collaborate on research projects across disciplines in order to address family issues both in the U.S. and internationally." - Julie Griggs

Our Goals as a Research Community

An important goal of the MFT program is to create a stimulating research environment where students and faculty work together on projects that further the knowledge and development of the profession. This may involve completion of an optional thesis for master's degree students and a required dissertation for doctoral students. Students may also be granted a research assistantship that provides a stipend and tuition reimbursement while allowing the student to work closely with a faculty member on his or her research. Other research opportunities include participating in research practicum experiences, work groups on the basics of preparing a master's thesis, presentations of master's thesis or doctoral dissertation proposals, and attendance at the final oral defense of students who have completed a thesis or dissertation. Students also have access to the clinic's data base for use in selected research projects. The data base includes basic demographic information on all clients served in the clinic; information of type and severity of clients' presenting problems; a variety of outcomes measures of individual, couple, and family functioning; and reports of clients' satisfaction with the services they received. Finally, students are encouraged to present their research and scholarly work at state and national conferences and to submit their work for professional publication. These works are often co-authored with faculty members and other students.

Our philosophy about research, practice and theory

The faculty is committed to preparing individuals who can serve as leaders in the field of marriage and family therapy. Some will choose to become highly trained practitioners. Others will choose to become leaders in research and theory. Regardless, of the direction one chooses for oneself, we believe that all students must possess a solid grounding in the basics of clinical practice, research, and theory. The rapid developments in the field of marriage and family therapy over the last several decades demands that those entering the field have a broad appreciation for the knowledge base that informs MFT and an understanding of the challenges facing the profession as it continues to evolve.

Areas of faculty research include:

  • Evaluation of marriage and family therapy training and supervision
  • Family measurement and clinical assessment
  • Assessment and intervention with high conflict couples
  • Evaluation of community-based youth prevention programs
  • Racial and ethnic diversity in family therapy training
  • Developing culturally relevant approaches to family therapy
  • Internationalizing family therapy and family therapy training
  • Domestic Violence
  • Researching Systemic Cognitive-Developmental Theory

Areas of student research include:

  • Person of the Therapist Scale
  • Therapist Self-Efficacy
  • Depression among Violent Clinical Couples
  • Differences between Voluntary and Mandated Clients
  • Family Dynamics of Individuals Receiving Substance Abuse Treatment
  • Typologies of High Conflict Couples: Comparisons between Clinical and Community Samples


Research Opportunities

There are a number of centers associated with the School of Family Studies that offer excellent contexts and opportunities for student research. These include:

  • The Center for Applied Research provides assistance to state and community based agencies in the development, delivery, and evaluation of human services programs. Faculty from the School of Family Studies contribute multi-level consultation and expertise to the design, execution and analysis of the various evaluation projects. This collaboration with state and community based agencies facilitates the development of high quality program and agency evaluation with meaningful results. Research done at the Center is based on the effectiveness of these programs within the community.
  • The Humphrey Center offers students the opportunity to complete research within the direct realm of marriage and family therapy through the investigation of significant clinical issues, such as family dynamics, cultural diversity and contextual influences, and the process of the effectiveness of therapy.
  • The Center for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection supports research and application on the antecedents, consequences, and other correlates of interpersonal acceptance and rejection, especially parental acceptance-rejection and acceptance-rejection in intimate adult relationships, peer relationships, and other interpersonal relationships. The Center's mission is to conduct and promote basis issues surrounding mostly parental acceptance-rejection and to formulate and implement practical intervention, prevention, educational, and other such applications pertinent to these issues. The Center is the world's preeminent information resource center regarding interpersonal acceptance and rejection due to the wealth of information and research available.
  • The Child Development Lab functions as a setting for teaching, training and research in childhood education and development. As one of its principal missions, the CDL strongly encourages and facilitates research. To this end, the CDL staff is committed to working cooperatively with researchers interested in issues of family, child development, and early childhood education. Dozens of projects - from student observations associated with class projects to large-scale faculty research programs - are supported by the CDL. The CDL's primary goal is to foster the optimal development of children. We offer child-centered curricula based on current research and k