Graduate Certificate in Couple and Family Counselling Studies
Online, Canada
Graduate Certificate
DURATION
12 months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
STUDY FORMAT
Key Summary
About: The Graduate Certificate in Couple and Family Counseling Studies at the University of Lethbridge is the only programme of its kind in Alberta. You can study online, part-time, earning a graduate-level credential without committing to a master's programme. The programme builds mental health and relationship counseling skills across disciplines and suits social and health services professionals.
Career Outcomes: Graduates can deepen practice or pursue further study. Typical pathways include couple, marriage and family counselor, social worker, psychologist, mental health practitioner, community services worker, and other clinical support or counseling roles in health, education and non-profit sectors and government agencies.
The Graduate Certificate in Couple and Family Counselling Studies is the only program of its kind in Alberta!
- Gain key mental health-care knowledge and skills for relationships
- Enhance your practice or pursue further education
- Build a foundation in the growing family and couple counselling profession
- Suitable for a range of social- and health-services fields
- Flexible online, part-time study
Benefits of this graduate certificate
- Take courses online, part-time
- Earn a graduate-level credential without commitment to a master’s program
- Deepen your knowledge and skills in this field
- Explore the subject matter from a variety of disciplines
Courses (12.0 credit hours)
Year one
Fall Term:Couple and Family Counselling Studies 5000: Theories and Concepts in Couple and Family Therapy (3.0 credit hours)
Spring Term: Couple and Family Counselling Studies 5100: Practical Applications of Couple and Family Concepts with Ethical Considerations (3.0 credit hours)
Summer Session 1: Couple and Family Counselling Studies 5200: Working with Couples and Parents (3.0 credit hours)
Summer Session 2: Couple and Family Counselling Studies 5300: Systemic Stress and the Family: Adaptation and Dysfunction (3.0 credit hours)
Upon successful completion of this program, you will:
- Demonstrate a solid understanding of systemic theories, contemporary therapy models, and concepts of family dynamics that inform couple and family therapy practices
- Apply systemic couple and family concepts to enhance existing counselling skills and to expand one’s knowledge of self within a relational context
- Examine communication and intergenerational patterns that promote couple and parent-child relationships
- Assess the challenges for family functioning using a life course and ecological-systemic perspective
- Conduct decision-making based on relevant ethical principles and considerations when working with couples and families
- Conceptualize addiction and mental health using a couple and family therapy lens
uLethbridge awards a number of internal and external scholarships, awards and bursaries. We also encourage you to utilize additional resources for award applicants, including other funding databases.
We have an admission award called the Univ. of Lethbridge Graduate Research Award (ULGRA) for which every student admitted to a full-time graduate program is considered. Please note that admission into a program is not a guarantee you’ll receive award funding. This admission award has no application and you will be assessed at the time you apply for admission. You can review the guidelines for ULGRA here.
Additionally, you will be considered for Graduate Assistantships work at the time of admission and your supervisor may be able to offer you a Research Assistantship or stipend (ask your supervisor about that possibility).
The Graduate Awards website lists many upcoming funding opportunities. Each entry provides key information about the funding opportunity, including the application deadline and information on how to apply
Most couple, marriage, and family counselors have a master's degree or higher in marriage and family therapy, social work, psychology, or a related discipline.
