New master’s program will prepare students to address mental healthcare crisis
A new master’s program in Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) at the University of Georgia will train future clinicians to address the growing mental healthcare provider crisis.
CFT, a specialized form of psychotherapy, has proven effective in treating family conflicts, child and adolescent behavioral problems and mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.
The program, housed in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS), will begin enrolling students this fall after being approved by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents in April.
Students completing the two-year program will be prepared to work in entry-level mental health and family therapy positions and pursue advanced doctoral training.
Currently, only Mercer University and Valdosta State University offer a residential master’s program in Georgia in the field. FACS has offered a doctoral program in couple and family therapy for 40 years.
"While an additional master’s program will not solve the mental health provider deficit, it will begin to alleviate the strain of the Baby Boomer retirement crisis in which providers are retiring faster than the field can replace them,” said program director Jennifer Gonyea, a clinical professor in the department of human development and family science within FACS. “We are absolutely training the next generation of providers in telemental health, evidence-based treatments and trauma-informed care.”
During their first-year practicum, students will practice at the UGA Love and Money Center, an interdisciplinary unit within FACS that provides clinical training and client services for the Athens area community that enhance the relational and financial health of individuals, couples and families.
The program also will continue to partner with community-based agencies to provide placements for students to gain clinical experience, all under the supervision of licensed and trained clinicians.
“This strengthens the Love and Money Center’s ability to meet local needs for relational and developmentally appropriate therapies for individuals, couples and families,” Gonyea said. “In addition, more community-based mental health providers will reduce the strain on emergency departments and law enforcement agencies in dealing with pediatric and adolescent mental health crises.”
Students will have the option of pursuing either a thesis or non-thesis option. Both tracks require students to prepare a clinical competency capstone paper grounded in the theoretical and empirical literature.
“As a research-focused institution, it’s important that we train providers in treatment methods that have been demonstrated to be effective,” Gonyea said.
Recruitment for the first cohort is under way.
Gonyea said upcoming efforts will focus on outreach to advisors in undergraduate programs such as psychology, social work and sociology, as well as collaborating with the UGA Career Center to provide information on the program’s scope.
One of the program’s long-term goals is to seek an auxiliary clinic site, potentially at UGA campuses in other parts of the state, to provide additional opportunities to serve Georgia residents, Gonyea said.
"In addition, to providing our wonderful majors with an accessible path toward a career in allied heath, I see this master's program as being a bridge to connect our department and FACS to our surrounding communities in meaningful and restorative ways," said April Few-Demo, head of the FACS department of human development and family science. "The dream is to train well-rounded, high-quality mental health professionals who can contribute to healing in their beloved communities responsibly and encourage others to consider this profession."
Gonyea noted the program also aligns with the goals of Georgia HB 1013, a 2022 legislation championed by the late Speaker of the House David Ralston that required insurance companies to cover mental health and substance abuse issues as they would physical illnesses.
Another of the legislation’s goals is to train more mental health professionals and help first responders deal with mental health crises.
The university dedicated the David Ralston Center for Behavioral Health and Developmental Developmental Disabilities in December 2024, also housed in FACS.
The new center, which will prepare future professionals for careers in the behavioral health fields, aligns with the master’s program’s goals of creating a pipeline of providers to provide a community-based system of care.
“We are so excited to add to the behavioral health offerings at the University of Georgia and to take an important step to improving the well-being of Georgians, particularly in the area of mental and relational health, in keeping with Speaker Ralston’s legacy,” FACS Dean Anisa Zvonkovic said. “We look forward to welcoming our first class of master’s students and rolling out the ways the Ralston Center is moving toward interprofessional collaborations and pathways to improving training in behavioral health across the state and publicizing pathways that folks can pursue to work in the behavioral health field.”