Reviews  the core concepts needed for medical family therapists to collaborate successfully with providers and interdisciplinary care teams. Topics covered will include levels of medical care, warm handoffs, continuity of care, referrals, and types/roles of other providers. The varied roles of the medical family therapist in primary care and specialty care will be reviewed. Students will practice teaching each other about the MedFT's role on a healthcare team. (Formerly called: Collaboration Between Therapists and Physicians - The Basics.) Graduate students outside MFT and MDFT, and CE professionals, may register with permission of the Medical Family Therapy program director or class instructor. Typically offered: Spring.

This seminar reviews the nature of biopsychosocial-spiritual therapeutic and behavioral health interviews and interventions used to work with individuals, couples, and families dealing with a medical illness. We will examine brief biopsychosocial-spiritual interview formats and practice using them. We will review medical language and charting, different levels of integrated care, and examine communication and collaboration skills required to work successfully with healthcare providers. (Formerly called Interviewing for Biopsychosocial and Spiritual Care.) Graduate students outside MFT and MDFT, and CE professionals, may register with permission of the Medical Family Therapy program director or class instructor. Typically offered: Autumn.

This course will cover several prevalent types of illnesses in children and adults while focusing on the impact on the patient and family. Topics to be covered include types of illness from a culturally responsive systemic and biopsychosocial perspective, family life cycle implications, family structure implications, several commonly used (in primary care) mental health assessment tools, the behavioral health consultation model and health-focused systemic/relational family therapy will be discussed. (Formerly called: Family Therapy Tools for Medical Illnesses.) Graduate students outside MFT and MDFT, and CE professionals, may register with permission of the Medical Family Therapy program director or class instructor. Typically offered: Winter.

Review basic brain structure, human neural development within relationships, with emphasis on the processes of attachment and psychotherapy. Touches on basic neurodiversity symptoms and professions to refer to for assessment and treatment (e.g., autistic spectrum and sensory integration). Learn about brain development in the first twenty years of life, including memory, the shaping the nervous system, left and right brain functions, emotional regulation other benefits of promoting metacognition skills and an integrated brain. Graduate students outside MFT and MDFT, and CE professionals, may register with permission of the Medical Family Therapy program director or class instructor. Typically offered: Winter.

This course explores the impact of individual and family beliefs/meanings regarding anticipatory grief, forgiveness, grief across the lifespan and in family process, and death. Course readings, resources, and discussion will focus on a variety of cultural and religious beliefs and practices. Both individual and family models of grief will be examined. Students will be expected to demonstrate openness, respect, and curiosity as well as the capacity to discuss models of grief in respect to one’s own biases as well as to potential fit with others’ values and beliefs. Graduate students outside MFT and MDFT, and CE professionals, may register with permission of the Medical Family Therapy program director or class instructor. Typically offered: Spring.

This course explores the impact of individual and family beliefs/meanings regarding health, the illness experience, healing, suffering, and resilience. Particular focus will be given to eliciting patient/family beliefs around internal resources and faith practices, as well as external resources: family, church, and community. This course will also review how to work with family belief systems and construct healing beliefs, how to negotiate when other treatment providers and/or the family have conflicting beliefs, and how to strengthen culturally-informed provider, patient, and family relationships. Graduate students outside MFT and MDFT, and CE professionals, may register with permission of the Medical Family Therapy program director or class instructor. Typically offered: Winter.

This seminar will focus on the impact of harmful health behaviors on health and wellness. It will review the need for psychosocial providers who can work with providers to help patients and families as they make a significant lifestyle change. Topics will include: US statistics of diseases caused largely by lifestyle, assessing values, priorities, barriers, and motivations to change of patient and families. Focus of class will be on introduction and practice of motivational interviewing skills. Graduate students outside MFT and MDFT, and CE professionals, may register with permission of the Medical Family Therapy program director or class instructor. Typically offered: Autumn.

This seminar will examine the integration of trauma-informed Biopsychosocial-spiritual (BPSS) care and medical family therapy. Topics may vary year to year based on the expertise and specialization of students enrolled in the course. The course will address important issues within trauma-informed care, such as definitions of trauma, biological experiences of trauma, , vulnerabilities during and after trauma exposure (for individuals, families, and communities), possible roles for medical family therapists on trauma and crisis interventions teams (e.g., critical incident stress debriefing), and assessing barriers to medical and mental healthcare. By the end of the course, students will be able to describe how to apply a trauma-informed lens to their area of specialization in medical family therapy. Class is open to MFT graduate students and MDFT students. Other graduate students and CE professionals by permission of the Medical Family Therapy program director or class instructor. Graduate credit requires registration, tuition payment, and completion of all assignments. Typically offered: Spring.

Medical family therapists work with families who need to process difficult health topics that affect their present and their futures. After families have met with medical care providers and specialists many families still need the support to navigate health-related decisions, discussions, and differences. Students taking this course will learn how family dynamics intersect with various illnesses (e.g., cancer, diabetes, genetics infertility) and decisions as well as gain skills that will enable them to meet family systems where they are in their process of difficult discussions, discernment, decisions, and/or grieving. Course will rotate Specialty Practice focus and students may retake course with new topic with permission of instructor. Typically offered: Alternate Years, Occasionally.

Independent Study in Medical Family Therapy. Arrange with program director.

Places students in a bio-medical outpatient setting (such as Medical Oncology or Family Practice) where they will provide, in collaboration with an attending health care provider, medical family therapy (i.e., individual, couple, family and group medical therapy) to patients and their families. These services will be provided under the supervision of a program faculty member. Training will take place in supervision groups as supervisors provide feedback on live and videotaped sessions. Medical clinics associated with the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy will be used as practicum sites for our students. Typically offered: Autumn.

Places students in a bio-medical outpatient setting (such as a Medical Oncology or Family Practice) where they will provide, in collaboration with an attending health care provider, medical family therapy (i.e., individual, couple, family and group medical therapy) to patients and their families. These services will be provided under the supervision of a program faculty and attending physician. Training will take place in supervision groups as supervisors provide feedback on live and videotaped sessions. Medical clinics associated with the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy will be used as practicum sites for our students. Typically offered: Winter.

Places students in a bio-medical outpatient setting (such as Medical Oncology or Family Practice) where they will provide, in collaboration with an attending health care provider, medical family therapy (i.e., individual, couple, family and group medical therapy) to patients and their families. These services will be provided under the supervision of a program faculty member. Training will take place in supervision groups as supervisors provide feedback on live and videotaped sessions. Medical clinics associated with the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy will be used as practicum sites for our students. Typically offered: Spring.

Places students in a bio-medical outpatient setting (such as Medical Oncology or Family Practice) where they will provide, in collaboration with an attending health care provider, medical family therapy (i.e., individual, couple, family and group medical therapy) to patients and their families. These services will be provided under the supervision of a program faculty member. Training will take place in supervision groups as supervisors provide feedback on live and videotaped sessions. Medical clinics associated with the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy will be used as practicum sites for our students. Typically offered: Summer.

This course is available to students and the Medical Family Therapy Certificate program. This course is a variable credit course used to fulfil one to eight credits of the internship requirement for Medical Family Therapy Certificate students who wish to pursue chaplaincy career development in a medical setting. The course focuses on research or practice of the Chaplain's provision of biopsychosocial-spiritual care of patients, their families, or healthcare providers. Students will demonstrate competence in the provision of spiritual care to people of diverse identities, cultures, and spiritualities in a medical setting. Typically offered: Occasionally.