SFBPRAK Practical Training in Family Therapy Course description

Students attend lectures and workshops in family therapeutic approaches and participate in guided practice placement. The course runs over six semesters with a total of 300 hours of practice placement. The course draws on a combination of lectures, workshops and change work among families under supervision of experienced family therapists in relevant, approved practice placements. Students practice family therapeutic approaches and work throughout the course to integrate own therapeutic development with theory, research based knowledge and experiences from the practice field. 

Police documentation

Students are required to provide police documentation at the start of the course, cf. Regulation regarding admission to higher studies, §6-1 & §6-2.

Students must have passed courses SFB5110 Issues of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and SFB4100 Basics in Systemic Perspectives, before starting practical training.

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to have achieved the following knowledge, skills and competences:

Knowledge

Students gain

• advanced knowledge and overview of the family therapy field and key family therapeutic methods

• in-depth understanding of what works in therapy, including evidence-based practice

Skills

Students can

• apply relevant theories and methodologies in therapeutic work 

• participate in family work, including working in different therapeutic positions (viz. main therapist, co-therapist and reflective therapist)

• handle complex therapeutic conditions   

Competences

Students are capable of

• working in a change-oriented manner by applying different key family therapy perspectives in health and welfare services, including consultation, guidance and teaching

• working interdisciplinary and intersectionally 

• addressing user participation in family work

• reflecting on ethical issues and own therapeutic positioning

The course leans on different learning approaches, with a combination of lectures, workshops, group work and clinical training. The practical training runs from the second semester and through the four following semesters. 75 hours per semester, with a total of 300 hours.  

The practical therapy training consists of immersion in different aspects of therapeutic work under the tutelage of experienced family therapists in approved clinical settings. An individual midway meeting between the supervisor and student is carried out each semester.

Each placement setting organizes practice training according to a common plan of progress.

The practical training component must be approved before students can register for the final exam.   

The practical training placement must be approved before students register for the final exam. OsloMet is responsible for the practical training placement and approval of relevant places. Approval of placement must be given before commencement of clinical training.  

Attendance in lectures and workshops is compulsory, with minimum 80 % participation . If absence exceeds 20 %, but less than 30 %, students can compensate by submitting an additional coursework requirement. The maximum absence limit is 30 % per academic year. Students whose absence exceeds 30 %, may not compensate by submitting coursework requirement and may not continue to the next year of the program, nor register for the final exam. 

The university is responsible for the final assessment of the student according to the Act Relating to Universities and University Colleges. It is also referred to the Regulations on studies and exams at OsloMet - the metropolitan university Chapter 8. Guided practice. Number of attempts.

Course work requirements

Second semester:  Students submit a written assignment of 3 pages (+/- 10 per cent) in preparation for practice. The required coursework must be approved before students undertake clinical training. It is possible to resubmit the coursework once if the assignment is not approved.

Fifth semester: Students submit a practical training report of 8 pages (+/- 10 per cent) with reflections over learning outcomes relating to therapeutic development. Work on the report should be done throughout the clinical training placement, and the report should form the basis for individual midway meetings with the clinical training supervisor.

The clinical training report must be approved by the clinical training supervisor and signed by both the clinical training supervisor and the student. The clinical training report must be approved before the student's clinical training period is approved. 

Sixth semester: For the final exam, students' provide an edited video recording on a memory stick. Students individually present a 15 min. video recording of one or max two family therapy sessions. In the clip, students are expected to role-play the main therapist, and rely on friends, co-workers etc to act roles like co-therapist and family-members. The clip must not depict a real-life therapy session.

In qualification for the final exam, students submit the following coursework requirements by the stipulated deadline:

• a written presentation of the role-play video recording. This presentation must not exceed one A4 page with single line spacing.

• a verbatim transcript of the dialogue in the clip.

• a genogram (family tree). Drawn on a separate sheet, the genogram must provide information about at least three generations.

Students cannot register for the exam before these coursework requirements are approved.

The course concludes with an hour long oral exam. The exam is based on the written coursework requirements, the video recording and the syllabus from the three academic years. The oral exam is graded by one internal and one external examiner. 

Guidelines for the video presentation

Students present a video recording from their clinical work, about 15 minutes duration. The recording must be from the last year of the program. The purpose of this form of exam is to provide the student the opportunity to demonstrate:

• excellent skills in clinical intervention

• ability to relate theory and practice

• professional (theoretical and clinical) development during the program.

It is important that students demonstrate an ability to apply academic thinking in practice. Furthermore, students must be able to reflect over what occurs in "the clinical moment" and link this to the treatment process.

Course requirements accepted prior to the exam should preferable be used for the same exam, but in cases where examination is postponed, a revised version may be submitted. If ethically required and approved in advance.  

Own notes.

Pass/Fail.

One examiner from OsloMet and one external.