Marriage and Family Therapy

Program Overview

Help individuals, couples and families from diverse backgrounds overcome life challenges and improve their mental wellbeing. Lipscomb University’s Master of Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) program in Nashville, TN (accredited) provide the knowledge and skills you need to succeed in this career path.

Whether you just finished undergraduate studies, are looking for a meaningful career change or would like to expand your existing skill set, a Marriage and Family Therapy master’s degree can position you to serve and heal in impactful ways. 

Through rigorous coursework and a minimum of 300 hours of clinical training, you will be well prepared for the MFT licensing exams. Our programs can be completed in two years through a cohort format, following a specific course sequence (see course tab).

Lipscomb’s Marriage and Family Therapy Program in Nashville is COAMFTE accredited. The academic curriculum and clinical experience components in the program align with state regulations.

The Lipscomb MMFT programs are supported by an advisory board composed of strategic stakeholders inside and outside of Lipscomb University.

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Why Earn Your Master of Marriage and Family Therapy at Lipscomb?

The Master of Marriage and Family Therapy program offers unique opportunities for your training, growth and career development as a marriage and family therapist. Our focus on diversity (see below) situates graduates of the program to deliver high quality services mental health care and relationship therapy to anyone. Our Nashville program is COAMFTE accredited, which allows you to gain specialized experiences and outcomes. Through the program, you will gain the expertise necessary to pursue your license with confidence and get hired quickly after graduation.

Lipscomb produces practitioners who:

• Are prepared for licensure and a sustainable career as a marriage and family therapist.
• Have a strong, founded identity as a marriage and family therapist trained in systems theory.
• Work with clientele from diverse cultural, ideological, and demographic backgrounds.
• Are capable of treating mental and emotional disorders, health and behavioral problems, and relationship issues.
• Are capable of scientific evaluation and evidence based practice and treatment of mental and emotional disorders, health and behavioral problems, and other relationship issues.

Our Commitment to Diversity

In Lipscomb’s MMFT program, we strive to engage graciously with human systems in ways that result in healing, growth and increased resilience. We understand that individuals and human systems are unique and also an expression of the image of God. Therefore, it is our goal to treat everyone well, abiding by the Golden Rule. When people “do unto others as you would have them to do to you,” a shared cultural humility emerges allowing room for self-expression without fear of academic or social penalties. We are sensitive to the diverse nature of humanity and treat people and social systems with respect and appreciation in areas where differences and disagreements may be present.

Diversity spans the widest variety of individual and social system differences. These differences may be observed in:

• Age
• Ethnicity and Race
• Gender
• Physical Health and Ability
• Sexuality, Sexual Identity and Sexual Orientation
• Cultural Assumptions
• Language and Communication Processes
• Political and Philosophical Ideology
• Religion, Spirituality and Faith
• Privilege and Power
• Socioeconomic Status
• Nationality and Immigration Status
• Family and Social Structure

We seek to foster a safe learning environment where honest expression and respect for differences may result in the desired outcome of academic communion. Since agreement is not a prerequisite for academic communion, diversity and disagreement are not only welcomed but invited. In our MMFT programs, we believe the presence of healthy, respectful disagreement promotes a more productive academic environment for everyone.

View the Nashville program Graduate Achievement Data Table and Program Diversity.

Master of Marriage and Family Therapy Program Outcomes

The mission of our Master of Marriage and Family Therapy programs is to prepare you with academic and clinical training that is founded in science for work with individuals, couples, families and social systems from diverse ideological, spiritual, demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. This marriage and family therapy training is informed by Christian values, such as love, empathy, forgiveness, grace and tolerance. This encourages students to provide greater service in the home, congregation, community, nation and world.

Through our robust MMFT programs, you can provide effective marriage and family therapy services in a variety of settings, such as mental health centers, private practices and churches as a highly trained, caring and compassionate therapist. You will be equipped with the key therapy techniques and skills to serve individuals overcoming their mental health challenges, help couples restore a thriving relationship and lead families to create healthy and effective family processes.

Review detailed Program Goals and Outcomes.

Explore program outcome information specific to the Nashville program:

• Graduate Achievement Data Table and Program Diversity
• MFT Program Handbook