This webpage is chock-a-block full of information that will help you get from your first day of class and beyond to licensing. Here, you can locate forms, figure out how to get books and parking passes. In addition, you will find resources that will tell you about the national licensing exam, whether you intend to stay in Georgia or go to another state. 

  • APA Style Help
  • Purdue Owl
  • U. Of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center
  • Graduate writing tutors at the Academic Support Center (ASC) offer FREE tutoring for graduate-level writers in any discipline. Tutors can help you with strategies for developing and connecting ideas, using APA documentation styles, and catching common grammatical and punctuation errors. Two graduate-level writing tutors have been specially trained to help. Tutors can meet you either online, or face-to-face at the ASC, located in Langdale Hall. To make an appointment, call (229-333-7570) or visit the ASC website here. 

 

If you have a disability, physical or mental impediments to learning, the VSU Access Office may be able to help. Their mission is to create an accessible, inclusive, sustainable learning environment, where disability is recognized as an aspect of diversity that is integral to the campus community and to society.

Please visit the Access Office page if you would like to connect with them and establish a plan.

Following New Student Orientation, the program sends a list of new student names and 870 numbers to the Key Shop who will then set you up with swipe access into building and therapist lounge.

If you have trouble with your swipe card at any time, go to the Key Shop website and follow the directions. If you continue to have difficulties, please tell Jessica Millican, Clinical Coordinator. She’ll work with the Swipe Card office to correct the problem.

Licensure in a Different State

Although you will be taking a course that reviews state licensing in general, we encourage you to begin educating yourself now about the state licensing regulations for the state in which you intend to work or practice after graduation. To do this, begin by going to the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB) website. AMFTRB is the central clearinghouse that supports all state licensing boards. This is an extremely informative website, and we invite you to explore it thoroughly. Once on the AMFTRB homepage, click on Students, MFT Candidates, & Licenses: A pull-down menu offers various links that let you see each states’ requirements, practicum requirements, and more. We encourage you to learn early about the requirements of the state in which intend to seek licensure, and we invite you to pull down the Rules and/or Laws of your preferred state. You need to know as soon as you can if your state’s licensing eligibility has additional requirements. You will find a link to each state’s laws and rules inside the description of the state.

Georgia Licensure

Our curriculum is designed to meet all requirements for MFT licensure in the state of Georgia, so if you intend to seek licensure in Georgia, you are all set to apply as soon as you have your official transcript and diploma in hand. You will learn about licensing in one of the courses that you take in the program. But, since it’s never too early to start on your own, begin now by going to the AMFTRB website. The Association of Marital & Family Therapy Regulatory Boards is the central clearinghouse supporting all state licensing boards. There you will find a great deal of helpful information. Then, go to the website for licensing as an MFT in the state of Georgia. Under the Laws, Policies, and Rules pulldown menu, click on GA Law and Board Rules to begin familiarizing yourself with them. And, finally, pull down a copy of the application for licensure as an associate marriage and family therapist exam and the application for licensure as a marriage and family therapist (full licensure). Look both over. Get a sense of what is required.

The Georgia Board has provided helpful How-To guide for the licensure process. 

Here is the list of what you must have in place in order to apply for licensure as an associate marriage and family therapist (LAMFT) in the state of Georgia:

  1. a master's degree from
  2. an accredited university
  3. an MFT program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education that includes

           i. completion of a one-year practicum in marriage and family therapy under supervision

          ii.  500 hours of direct clinical experience in marriage and family therapy

          iii. 100 hours of supervision of such experience;

       4. registration with the Georgia board with a contract for obtaining postmaster's experience under direction and supervision

After you’ve applied, taken, and passed the national licensure exam, you will be licensed as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (LAMFT). As an LAMFT, you begin accruing full-time post-master’s experience in the practice of marriage and family therapy under direction and supervision. Within a period of not less than two years and not more than five, you are required to accrue a minimum of 2,000 hours of direct clinical experience and 100 hours of postmaster’s supervision of such experience. After accruing these client and supervision contact hours, you will submit the full LMFT application and become a licensed MFT (LMFT).

 The following diagram, offered on the AMFTRB website shows the general process of applying for and taking the MFT National Exam:

MFT National Exam Graph

MESA
MESA is a group of faculty and staff who provide activities that mentor, engage, support, and promote the academic achievement of Hispanic students through organized collaborative efforts.
Click here for more information.

Multicultural Affairs at VSU 
The mission of the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and Multicultural Affairs is to promote and sustain an environment of diversity, equity, respect, and inclusiveness for all members of the university community through education, intervention, compliance, training, assessment, programming and support services.

Student Life
The mission of the Office of Student Life is to promote student development and leadership by providing quality programs and services that fulfill the diverse educational, recreational, social, and multicultural needs of the student population and the university community. If you are interested in viewing student organizations offered at Valdosta State University, click here.

Valdosta State University LGBTQ+ Resources 
The purpose of campus LGBTQ+ resources is to foster an active and diverse culture at Valdosta State University. This provides opportunities for students to build friendships and encourages open-mindedness and diversity within the community. See this page for more information.

Community Friends for International Students 
The purpose of community friends for international students is to give each new VSU international student a friend in the Valdosta community who will become a resource for the student and help the student in times of homesickness and cultural adjustment.  A Community Friend also provides the student an opportunity to share his/her culture. The Friend can be an individual or an entire family.  By inviting an international student to dinner, taking her to the mall, or participating in other such social activities, a Community Friend helps an international student feel welcome and helps compensate for the separation from friends and family. This is also a unique opportunity to learn about another culture and country and make a difference in the life of an international student. For more information, contact Irina McClellan, International Student Advisor, 229-333-7410. 

FUNDING AND GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

Grants for Multicultural Students 
A web site which offers multicultural students opportunities for grants at all school levels and for various degrees http://staff.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3specpop.htm

Academic Information 
A Web site which offers multicultural student resources and scholarship opportunities: http://www.academicinfo.net/studentminority.html

FinAid 
A web site which offers links and information on financial aid funding and fellowships:
http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/minority.phtml

Hispanic Scholarship Fund 
HSF is the nation’s leading organization supporting Hispanic higher education. HSF was founded in 1975 with a vision to strengthen the country by advancing college education among Hispanic Americans, the largest minority segment of the U.S. population. In support of its mission to double the rate of Hispanics earning college degrees, HSF provides the Latino community more college scholarships and educational outreach support than any other organization in the country.
http://www.hsf.net/

The United Negro College Fund 
UNCF is the nation’s largest, oldest, most successful and most comprehensive minority higher education assistance organization. UNCF provides operating funds and technology enhancement services for 38 member historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), scholarships and internships for students at almost 1,000 institutions and faculty and administrative professional training. 
http://www.uncf.org/scholarships

National Consortium 
The National Consortium of Directors of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Resources in Higher Education has a combined vision and mission on the Consortium is to achieve higher education environments in which lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni have equity in every respect. http://www.lgbtcampus.org/

The American Indian Graduate Center 
AIGC is unique in the higher education landscape in the support and services provided and in having grown in its services by expanding partnerships with other agencies. We now collaborate with like-minded organizations and graduate schools that support many of our American Indian and Alaska Native students. For over thirty years the American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) has awarded more than 9000 fellowships to qualified Native American and Alaska Native students to pursue graduate degrees in all fields. https://www.nativeforward.org/

In the past, students have found it helpful to begin reading about the field of Family Therapy before they begin classes. Some of the books may be used in your classes—but faculty are notorious for tinkering with their syllabi and changing texts from year to year, and since faculty often make text decisions only a short time before classes start, there is no predicting if any of these texts will show up in one of your classes or not! The following books are all worth reading before you arrive: 

Becvar, D., & Becvar, R. (1982) Systems theory and family therapy: A primer. Boston, MA: University Press of America.

  • This book is an introduction to systemic thinking. The authors provide the reader with the basic concepts of systems theory and its application in a clear and concise manner. They use many case examples and illustrations.

Coombs, G., & Freedman, J. (1990). Symbol, story, & ceremony: Using metaphor in individual and family therapy. New York: W. W. Norton.

  • In this book, Coombs and Freedman invite us to learn how to use and apply metaphors in therapy as well as give us examples of a wide variety of metaphors.

Flemons, D. (2002). Of one mind: The logic of hypnosis, the practice of therapy. New York: W. W. Norton.

  • A simply marvelous book that draws epistemological parallels between the logic that drives both hypnosis and family therapy. The book is chock-a-block full of fascinating case examples and stories about how to think and practice relationally.

Hoffman, L. (2002). Family therapy: An intimate history. New York: W. W. Norton.

  • A personal account of the history of family therapy from the very first exciting days of its inception by an independent band of systems-thinkers to the present day. Using personal examples, case stories, and discussions of theory, Hoffman takes us with her as she takes a personal historical journey through the family therapy field.

Miller, S., Duncan B., & Hubble, M. (1997). Escape from Babel: Toward a unifying language for psychotherapy practice. New York: W. W. Norton.

  • This book helps the reader become aware that while there are many different models of therapy, the magic is not in the model, but in a mix of factors. The authors have researched many models of therapy and identified underlying themes and characteristics common to all therapy, regardless of model.

Treadway, D. (2004). Intimacy, change, and other therapeutic mysteries: Stories of clinicians and clients. New York: Guildford.

  • In his fictional book, Treadway, a therapist himself, explores situations which therapists and clients may encounter. He explores day-to-day examples of therapy as well as what occurs beyond the therapy room to show the effects of therapy on both the therapist and client.

If you have a question that we did not address, please don't hesitate to call us at (229) 219-1281, and we'll do our best to answer it. And, whether you are a client or a student, go to our online suggestion box, and let us know your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about the program or the clinic.