College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Catalog 2016

89 of systemic thinking and strength-based models of relational and family systems that can be applied in health care and medical settings. The Graduate Certificate in Family Systems Health Care focuses on the relationships between psychosocial medicine and biomedicine in the treatment and prevention of illness and disease. This program prepares professionals to offer systemic thinking in a variety of settings, including private practices, hospitals, community clinics, primary care/specialists' offices, health care and managed care agencies and organizations. Specific areas of study include adjustment patterns of patients and their families to chronic and acute illnesses; models of integration and collaboration among medical systems and other health care professionals; the role of the family health care provider in the continuum of 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, their families, and interactions within the health care milieu. The Graduate Certificate in Family Systems Health Care consists of eight courses (24 credits), which include biopsychosocial and systemic theories, relationship skills, professional issues, and health care systems. The program is offered in a distance-learning, online format, and some courses may also be available in a residential format. This flexible format allows mid-career working adults, and those unable to attend on-campus programs, to study in a creative, rigorous, and structured fashion. Students enrolled in the online program will be invited to participate in Residential Institutes on the main campus two times per year as part of their practical experience and add to their collaboration with co- professionals. Residential students in the family therapy master’s or doctoral degrees can take their practicum experiences to apply their clinical and relational skills at a health care internship site. A minimum of 200 clinical hours, along with approved supervision, are required for this certificate. Students must have a bachelor’s degree and 3.0 GPA to apply. Students may enroll full or part time, taking 3 to 9 credit hours per term. Students who attend full time can expect to complete the program in 1 or more years, depending on pace of study. Students who complete Graduate Certificate in Family Systems Health Care courses online may wish to attend the Residential Institutes to further add to their collaboration with co-professionals and further their studies. Summer attendance is required based on course offerings. Degree Plans A sample of a degree plan is shown for a full time student who begins studies in fall term. Degree plans will be modified based on a student’s enrollment date and pace of study. To complete the requirements for the Graduate Certificate in Family Systems Health Care, students must take 24 credit hours. Additional electives may be taken based on a student’s interests with the approval of the program director. Students in graduate programs (i.e., M.S. in Family Therapy, Ph.D., or D.M.F.T. in Family Therapy) that include the following courses can transfer up to 9 credit hours into this certificate program:  SFTM 5010: Introduction to Systems Theory  SFTM 5321: Theories of Marital & Family Therapy  SFTM 6320: Assessment in Marital & Family Therapy Electives are available and are based on a student’s interests (i.e., Clinical Practicum III; Gerontology, others).