Systems Approach to family therapy is designed to provide an overview of the fundamentals of family and marital therapy. The course will be taught within a therapeutic perspective so that the material will be tied to the actual practice of therapy. Wherever possible, examples, case studies and vignettes will be employed in order to amplify the family systems approach to therapy.

In addition, the course explores theories and skills required in contemporary community mental health settings, including recovery-oriented treatment for severe mental illness, disaster and trauma response, services for victims of abuse and the homeless, foster care, case management, client advocacy, in-home and in-school services, bilingual client services, collaborating with other professionals, medical family therapy, and local community service resources. The course also provides a practical overview of public and private systems of care and opportunities to meet with the severely mentally ill and their families.