Education and Training in Family Psychology

The professional development of a couple/family psychologist can follow various trajectories. While some people in our specialty get their start with coursework or more concentrated family systems training in graduate school, others may not begin this training until their internship or postdoctoral year. Still more clinicians may find themselves unexpectedly working more and more with couples and families because their cases demand increasing attention to contextual and relational factors. To ensure their professional competence in this important work, these practitioners seek specialized post-graduate training in couple and family psychology (CFP) through certification programs or intensive continuing education workshops. All of these training activities contribute to eligibility for American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) board certification in CFP.

A goal of Div. 43 (the Society of Couple and Family Psychology) is to support educational activities at all levels of CFP training. The Society’s Training and Education Committee seeks to promote quality CFP education by working in conjunction with the Family Specialty Council of APA and the American Board of Couple and Family Psychology (ABCFP), which is a member board of the ABPP.

The Society is committed to facilitating the training of couple/family psychologists and hopes to provide useful resources for students and educators at all educational stages. This webpage is intended to be a dynamic resource, so we appreciate new contributions and suggestions for additional education/training information, updates, syllabi and other materials, references, links, etc. Please send these suggestions to the current vice-president of education.

Training in couple and family psychology takes place at the graduate, internship, postdoctoral and post-graduate stages. Students and professionals interested in obtaining training in couple and family psychology can search the directory of programs specific to the stage of training they are interested in.

The teaching of couples and family therapy and psychology can take place at the undergraduate and graduate levels and include both theoretical concepts and practical application.