New Marriage and Family Therapy Program

On any given day in the United States, 1.8 million people visit a marriage and family therapist. 

“American families are talking to each other about their problems more than ever before, and they understand the role therapists can play in the process,” says Barbra Fletcher Stephens, assistant professor of counseling psychology and founder of Lewis & Clark’s new Marriage and Family Therapy Program.

Lewis & Clark’s program is unique in that it allows students to specialize in one of three distinct areas: treatment of children in the context of families; treatment of addictions in the context of families; and standard treatment in marriage and family therapy. In addition, a licensure-only track is available to people who already hold a master’s or doctoral degree in counseling. The program is endorsed by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs, a designation that enables graduates to practice anywhere in the country.

“Working with families is an ever-evolving dance,” says Fletcher Stephens. “Sometimes the choreographer is sadness; at other times it’s violence. It’s our job as therapists to identify the problem and offer family members a program of treatment that returns the relationships involved to a state of health.”

—by Gwenn Stover