Associate or Full Professor/Director Position in Marriage and Family Therapy

Description

Overview:

The Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) program is a Master’s degree program that provides an integrated course of study grounded in relational/systemic-social constructionist theories and practices. Primary objectives include the preparation of culturally proficient MFTs, the fulfillment of Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) standards, and the qualification of students for state MFT licensure eligibility. Supported by our community-based clinical training facility located in the most diversely populated area of San Diego, the program is committed to preparing students to work with the issues of urban families and to serve the community. The program emphasizes personal growth, linguistic diversity, clinical preparation, foundational research skills, and social responsibility.

Directorship:

The SDSU Marriage and Family Therapy COAMFTE accredited master’s program seeks a director and colleague to support the heightened demand for training cultural and linguistic competent mental health workers who aptly respond to the current global and complex socio-political times. Considering that the demographics of students in the MFT program are often characterized by a strong majority of people of color (e.g., 92% in 2023), culturally and linguistically diverse (e.g., we have had up to 14 different linguistic representations in a single cohort), it is of utmost importance that the new leader of the program brings research activity and competence working with and mentoring multilingual students of color.

The development and dissemination of accessible and culturally/linguistically responsive treatments and clinical treatments must be prioritized to meet the demand for mental health services. We seek a director with strong clinical research experience who can contribute toward finding solutions to better integrate evidence-based practices with cultural and linguistic relevance into real-world clinical settings (i.e., our department’s Center for Community Counseling and Engagement). Having a faculty member with a successful track record of seeking and receiving external grant funding is preferred.

Having a director with associate or full professor status with clinical, teaching, and research expertise in culturally and linguistically diverse practices will bring skills and expertise compatible with mentoring, directorship, and leadership within the MFT program. We seek a colleague with research/grant activities working with minoritized individuals, couples, children, and families who can serve in the CSP department and community.

The new director should have expertise in social constructionist and/or systemic/relational perspectives and practices. As well as expertise that aligns with our practice-based, anti-racist, social justice, and decolonial perspectives. The director should address existing gaps in expertise in the program, including but not limited to: a) sociopolitical and culturally responsive biopsychosocial clinical work that contextualizes the interconnections between biology, emotion, behavior, and mind; b) sociopolitical analysis of language justice in teaching, supervision and curriculum development in critically important languages in Southern California (Spanish, Horn of Africa languages, Arabic, Vietnamese, South East Asian Languages)

This position aligns with SDSU's strategic goals: a) increase the research productivity and funding of the institution, and b) movement toward classification as an HSI R1 institution.

The director will be responsible for interfacing with COAMFTE, our accrediting body, and ensuring we are up to date with the latest COAMFTE standards of MFT education. Furthermore, the program director would work closely with the CCCE leadership to support the development of a research training structure at CCCE, which includes attempting to secure funding to further develop the research infrastructure of the clinic. Currently, the CSP department is interested in developing CCCE as a unique and innovative research, community engagement, and clinical multilingual training center that addresses the current gap in anti-racist, decolonial, social justice, and language justice methodologies in clinical research in the MFT field and mental health care system. The MFT director will work closely with this initiative. The director will also provide structural support to current developments in the MFT program on specialized multilingual training.

The appointment is for a 12 - month associate professor or professor with a salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. The successful candidate may be granted tenure at their start date. The minimum salary for this position is based on the current CSU salary schedule for Associate / Professor for a 10 - month academic year and may be revised based on contract collective bargaining.