Marital and Family Therapy Graduate Programs, Alliant International University, 10455 Pomerado Rd., San Diego, California 92131, USA.
J Marital Fam Ther. 2011 Oct;37(4):468-78. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2011.00240.x. Epub 2011 Jul 27.
Professional accreditation of graduate programs in marital and family therapy (MFT) is intended to ensure the strength of the education students receive. However, there is great difficulty in assessing the real-world impact of accreditation on students. Only one measure is applied consistently to graduates of all MFT programs, regardless of accreditation status: licensure examinations. Within California, COAMFTE-accredited, regionally (WASC) accredited, and state-approved programs all may offer degrees qualifying for licensure. Exam data from 2004, 2005, and 2006 (n = 5,646 examinees on the Written Clinical Vignette exam and n = 3,408 first-time examinees on the Standard Written Exam) were reviewed to determine the differences in exam success among graduates of programs at varying levels of accreditation. Students from COAMFTE-accredited programs were more successful on both California exams than were students from other WASC-accredited or state-approved universities. There were no significant differences between (non-COAMFTE) WASC-accredited universities and state-approved programs. Differences could be related to selection effects, if COAMFTE programs initially accept students of higher quality. Implications for therapist education and training are discussed.
婚姻和家庭治疗（MFT）研究生课程的专业认证旨在确保学生所接受的教育的质量。然而，评估认证对学生的实际影响存在很大的困难。只有一项措施被一致应用于所有 MFT 课程的毕业生，无论其认证状态如何：执照考试。在加利福尼亚州，COAMFTE 认证、地区（WASC）认证和州批准的项目都可以提供有资格获得执照的学位。审查了 2004 年、2005 年和 2006 年（书面临床案例考试的 5646 名考生和标准书面考试的 3408 名首次考生）的数据，以确定不同认证水平的课程的毕业生在考试成功方面的差异。与其他 WASC 认证或州批准的大学的学生相比，来自 COAMFTE 认证课程的学生在加利福尼亚州的两项考试中都更成功。（非 COAMFTE）WASC 认证的大学和州批准的项目之间没有显著差异。如果 COAMFTE 课程最初接受更高质量的学生，那么差异可能与选择效应有关。讨论了对治疗师教育和培训的影响。
