An increased emphasis on the importance of including spirituality and religion in counseling places systemic family therapists in a unique position due to their relational focus. However, research indicates a lack of graduate training to ensure competence in addressing this dimension. This article offers possibilities for integrating spiritual and…

This research study analyzed the curriculum of school counselor preparation programs and programs' emphasis on preparing counselors to support students in their college admissions and college choice processes. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, including surveys of counselor education department chairs and document analysis of the…

Racial/ethnic minorities carry a disproportionate burden of mental illness, in comparison to Whites. As such, the integration of cultural humility within mental health oriented (MHO) counseling disciplines seeks to prepare counseling professionals to address root causes of these disparities. Cultural humility requires lifelong learning and ongoing…

This theoretical essay outlines the hermeneutic of Divine relationship, a theological lens through which Christians can develop a deeper appreciation for God's inherently relational nature and desire to be in relationship with all of humanity. In addition to the nature of God, this hermeneutic highlights the nature of human persons, sin and…

The experiences of Mexican immigrant students are underrepresented in the existing research in the field of marriage and family therapy (MFT). Many studies have explored the experiences of Latinx in educational settings and similar fields and some have focused on immigrant students in graduate school from second, third, and higher generation;…

The direct link between the student-teacher relationship and student success has been heavily researched in the postsecondary educational setting, especially the student-teacher relationship between African American students and African American instructors. The importance of this relationship is often highlighted when there is underrepresentation…

Many important decisions regarding couples and families are made by the legal system. However, this system's adversarial nature often results in relational losses for clients, even when one "wins" a case. Some believe a solution may exist in legally-minded marriage and family therapists, who, as experts in family systems theory, are in a…

This phenomenological study explored the experiences of international students in CACREP-accredited marriage, couple, and family counseling programs. Seven former international students from the program who have practiced counseling in their home country were interviewed to understand their learning experiences, adaptation process and counseling…

Individuals in marriages and long term committed relationships often turn to friends and family members for support and input about relationship problems. Given their lower use of mental health services, these confiding relationships may be particularly important to African Americans. The goal of this study was to evaluate an educational…

Previous literature on the assessment of multicultural counseling competence has been concerned only with counselors' abilities when working with individual clients. We expanded this line of research by investigating trainees' multicultural case conceptualization ability in the context of working with couples. Despite the fact that trainees…

This study investigated processes, strategies, and frameworks that took place during group supervision classes, which best cultivate the self-awareness of Mental Health and Marriage and Family Counselors-in-Training (CITs). It was designed to explore factors across multiple theoretical models, which contributed to the cultivation of self-awareness…

This study established the validity and factor structure of the Affirmative Training Inventory (ATI; T. S. Carlson, C. R. McGeorge & M. Rock, unpublished) as a measure of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) affirmative clinical training. Additionally, this study examined the latent associations among the subscales of the ATI and the Sexual…

The following qualitative study examined the impact of counselor training on the experience and process of four counseling students' couple relationships. Students were selected from a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited program to take part in three rounds of interviews and member-check…

Objective: This report describes the reliability and validity of the Evidence-Based Practice Process Assessment Scale (EBPPAS)--Short Version, validated with three disciplines (Social Work, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs), and Psychologists), that assesses practitioners' perceived familiarity with, attitudes about, and…

The MFT core competencies and latest COAMFTE accreditation standards usher in a new paradigm for MFT education. This transition necessitates not only measuring student mastery of competencies but also, more importantly, adopting a contemporary pedagogical model. This article provides an overview of the changes, a review of parallel trends in other…