Child Therapy, CAS

Contact:

Thom deLara, Department Chair and Professor of Practice,
Department of Marriage and Family Therapy
315-443-9830
tdelara@syr.edu

Faculty:

Deborah Coolhart, Thom deLara, Tracey Reichert Schimpff, Tracey Marchese, Dyane Watson, Melissa Luke, Derek Seward

Description:

The Certificate of Advanced Studies in Child Therapy is available for graduate students, clinicians, mental health professionals, and practitioners from allied disciplines who intend to expand their knowledge and skills in clinical practice with children and their families or care-givers. The proposed Certificate of Advanced Studies in Child Therapy is in keeping with the concerns expressed by state and federal agencies about the critical shortage of mental health professionals who are trained to address the needs of children, adolescents and their families.

Admission:

The Certificate of Advanced Studies in Child Therapy is restricted to baccalaureate prepared licensed/certified professionals, and students currently enrolled in master’s level licensure qualifying programs. GRE’s are not required. Psychopathology (or its equivalent) is required for completion of the Child Therapy CAS. Because Psychopathology is a required course in the SWK, MFT and MHC master’s degree programs, it is not listed as a course in the Child Therapy CAS. However, applicants who previously completed a master’s degree, and did not have Psychopathology in their course of study, must take a Psychopathology course in addition to the required 12 credits in the CAS. Completion of the Advanced Certificate in Child Therapy program alone does not qualify an individual for licensure as a social worker, marriage and family therapist, or any other profession licensed under Title VIII of the Education Law, nor does it authorize a certificate holder to engage in those scope-restricted professions.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Understand principles of child development; human sexuality; gender development; and family development and processes, especially in the context of trauma

2. Understand foundational theories and techniques of child and family psychotherapy

3. Know which models, modalities, and/or techniques are most effective for presenting problems with children, including children and families with trauma

4. Comprehend a variety of individual and systemic therapeutic models and their application, including evidence-based therapies and culturally sensitive approaches for working with children and families, including trauma- related approaches to treatment

5. Know how to deliver interventions in a way that is sensitive to special needs of clients (e.g., gender, age, socioeconomic status, culture/race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, personal history, larger systems issues of the client)

Curriculum Requirements:

Three of the following courses:

Either
MFT 686 - Play Therapy with Children and Families 3 credit(s)
or
COU 678 - Child Centered Play Therapy 3 credit(s)
One of:
SWK 626 - Persons in Social Context 3 credit(s)
or
MFT 688 - Family Therapy Across the Life Cycle 3 credit(s)
or
COU 626 - Social and Cultural Dimensions of Counseling 3 credit(s)
or
COU 645 - Counseling Prepracticum II: Advanced Multicultural Counseling Skills 3 credit(s)
Either
MFT 643 - Family Therapy with Complex Trauma 3 credit(s)
or
SWK 738 - Core Concepts in Trauma Treatment for Children and Adolescents 3 credit(s)

And one of the following courses:

SWK 742 - Violence, Bullying, & Trauma: Clinical Perspectives 3 credit(s)
SWK 709 - Practice with Children, Adolescents and Families 3 credit(s)
MFT 644 - Family Therapy with LGBTQ Youth 3 credit(s)
COU 672 - Counseling Children and Adolescents 3 credit(s)

Transfer Credit:

A maximum of three credits from a combination of transfer and/or external examinations/extra-institutional and experiential learning will be accepted toward a C.A.S.

Part-time Study:

Part-time study is allowed.

Satisfactory Progress:

Students must complete each course with a grade of B- or better and an overall GPA of 3.00 or better.