MA/MS Best MFT/MSW Programs in California

[MelodyAve]

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Hello all,

I'm curious to hear the experiences of graduates on this forum. I am going back to school with the intent of pursuing a MSW or more likely, MFT in Southern California with the desire to eventually open a private practice, maybe pursue doctorate studies later. Here are some schools I have in mind, brought to me by word of mouth (I currently work in treatment), or by my research:

Pepperdine (MFT)
SDSU (MFT)
USD (MFT)
LMU (MFT)
USC (MSW)
UCLA (MSW)
Pacifica (MFT)

Do you have any other suggestions? Opinions on these? Important things to consider? How important is COAMFTE accreditation? I look forward to hearing your thoughts, as more seasoned people in this world than myself. Thank you!

 

[PsyDMED]

I am an alumnus of Pepperdine's MFT program and I really enjoyed my experience there (I actually will continue my education there for my PSYD). Some things I really liked about was Pepperdine was: they had an evening track, so it is possible to work and go to school; there are multiple campuses (West LA, Encino, Irvine); there were also opportunities available for me to make connections and get research and clinical experiences to be able to apply to doctoral programs. Overall Pepperdine is a good school, and I do recommend it 🙂

The other schools you listed: SDSU USD USC UCLA. I don't know too many details about these schools' MFT programs; however, I'm sure their programs are good considering these schools are some of the top schools. I know LMU's MFT program specializes in Art Therapy and Pacifica specializes in Depth Psychology. I'm not sure if that is something you are interested in.

And from what I hear COAMFTE accreditation is not that important. Most of the big name schools do not have this.

 

[CA2NYC]

Hello all,

I'm curious to hear the experiences of graduates on this forum. I am going back to school with the intent of pursuing a MSW or more likely, MFT in Southern California with the desire to eventually open a private practice, maybe pursue doctorate studies later. Here are some schools I have in mind, brought to me by word of mouth (I currently work in treatment), or by my research:

Pepperdine (MFT)
SDSU (MFT)
USD (MFT)
LMU (MFT)
USC (MSW)
UCLA (MSW)
Pacifica (MFT)

Do you have any other suggestions? Opinions on these? Important things to consider? How important is COAMFTE accreditation? I look forward to hearing your thoughts, as more seasoned people in this world than myself. Thank you!

I run the clinic side at Sentio and went through Sentio training as a trainee before that. I see new trainees come through every term. The variable that predicts whether a CA MFT grad can do therapy on day one is not prestige or cost; it is how much structured deliberate practice was in the curriculum.

A lower-cost program with three hours of weekly recorded skills practice will produce a more competent clinician than an expensive prestige program with none. The most expensive CA MFT programs are not the most rigorously trained, and the cheapest are not the weakest. Ranking on price or reputation tier is uncorrelated with clinical outcomes. Ranking on hours of structured, video-recorded skills practice per week is the metric that tracks.

Ask each program for that number directly. Also ask whether practicum is 100% guaranteed in writing, what the average class size is, and whether you can sit in on a class before you apply. Programs that answer those four cleanly are the ones worth your application time, regardless of where they sit on a price or reputation chart.

Further reading on what program transparency actually looks like: Program Transparency in MFT Education | What to Ask | Sentio University

 

[PsyDr]

The MA forum is the appropriate location for this discussion

 

[R. Matey]

This kinda reminds of the advice to maybe ask an inspector about your roof rather than the guy who sells roof replacements.