Empower couples, families, and youth as an expert clinician focused on relationship dynamics and social justice. Broaden your professional opportunities in research and academia working with expert faculty. Earn your Ph.D. in four years of full-time study at our state-of-the-art Chicago Campus. Pursue your goals with real-world experience, including study abroad opportunities, tailored to your interests.

Our Ph.D. in Couple and Family Therapy is the only Ph.D. program in Illinois that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). Our program prepares recent graduates of clinical master degree programs and experienced clinicians to be advanced practitioners in couple, marriage, and family therapy as well as leaders in research, teaching, and advocacy. Our innovative program meets the standards of the Higher Learning Commission and trains clinicians to be socially responsible practitioners well-versed in major models of couple and family therapy. Faculty are licensed Marriage and Family therapists and AAMFT Approved.

Supervisors provide students personalized mentorship with a focus on self-of-the-therapist development to cultivate a systemic framework and identity, including an ethical consciousness, cultural competence, and social responsibility. Through our unique emphasis on social justice, we prepare professionals with the core identity of Couple and Family Therapist to encourage positive change within personal relationships—among parents/guardians and children; between partners and spouses—as well as within larger social systems. Our immersive curriculum blends intensive coursework, advanced practicum, and experiential learning, including a dissertation and internship.

Our Ph.D. in Couple & Family Therapy program fosters excellence and scholarship in clinical practice with a focus on applying empirically based research to therapy, training, and supervision. As evidenced by the program’s mission, we are committed to diversity in a variety of ways. The mission of the CFTD program is to prepare professionals with the core identity of Couple and Family Therapist including the attainment of advanced skills in research, theory, and the application of a systemic framework and identity including an ethical consciousness, cultural competence, and social responsibility. This is achieved through a commitment to our Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes. As evidenced by the program’s mission, goals, and student learning outcomes, the Couple and Family Therapy Department is committed to diversity in a variety of ways including the composition of our faculty, supervisors, and students.

Adler University is a nationally recognized pioneer in graduate education, training culturally competent clinicians who empower individuals and strengthen communities around the globe.