College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Catalog 2016

78 degreed professionals that the student wishes to invite. However, only full time faculty of CAHSS will have the final say on the acceptability of the final product and its final presentation. Students register for a minimum of 6 credit hours of Applied Clinical Project. Students must continue to register for ACP credit hours until they complete, successfully defend, and finalize their project. This may entail taking more than the minimum Applied Clinical Project credit hours stipulated in the catalog. If for some reason, students cannot continue working on their ACP, they must apply in writing to their faculty supervisor and Program Director for a leave of absence, which must be in place three weeks prior to the start of a term. If a student requests a leave for longer than one term or takes a second term-long leave, they may not be able, upon their return, to continue with the faculty supervisor with whom they had earlier been working. If a student requests a leave for longer than three consecutive terms and has not registered for the following term, they are considered inactive and would need to reapply to the program. If a Leave of Absence is requested and approved, this does not extend the 7 year timeframe for completing the degree program. Individual Supervision for State Licensure or AAMFT Membership Due to the AAMFT Code of Ethics principles related to multiple relationships and conflict of interest, full-time faculty may not serve as the supervisor for licensure for students enrolled in the program. Concentration in Family Systems Health Care Students in the D.M.F.T. program may choose to pursue a concentration in Family Systems Health Care. The concentration focuses on the relationships between psychosocial medicine and biomedicine in the treatment and prevention of illness and disease. Students learn the basics of biopsychosocial theory, practice, and collaboration. The program prepares professionals to offer therapeutic services in a variety of medical settings, including private medical practices, hospitals, community clinics, primary care/specialists' offices, and agencies. Students in the Family Systems Health Care concentration program have ample opportunities to gain practical expertise through classroom learning and hands-on clinical, research, teaching, and service experiences. Specific areas of study include: adjustment patterns of clients and their families to chronic and acute illnesses; models of collaboration between medical family therapists and other health care professionals; the role of medical family therapists in the continuum of medical services; the politics and economics of health care; understanding human systems in health care; and brief interventions and systemic assessments useful in the treatment and care of patients and their families. Additionally, the program emphasizes professional development by assisting students in strengthening their professional and personal qualities necessary for successful participation in the medical milieu. The student's growth as a reflective practitioner is encouraged through clinical research in physician, patient, therapist, family communications, adjustments to acute, chronic, or terminal illness, social effects and ethical dilemmas of new medical technologies, and other issues that transcend historical distinctions between physical treatment and psychosocial interventions. Program faculty and students cooperate to publish research findings and clinical experiences. Also, faculty and students of the program contribute to the growth of Family Systems Health Care and medical family therapy by supporting and participating in professional groups such as the Collaborative Family Health Care Coalition, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Bereavement, Gerontology, and others.