The practicum at the Family Center of NIU consists of 500 hours of live supervised clinical experience with a variety of clients. In the program's first year, students serve as part of the Family Center team. By the time spring arrives, students have their own caseloads, which they maintain for over a year. Students typically begin this intership in the fall of their second year, and continue working in the community until graduation. This course enables students to develop an understanding of the research process and the methods appropriate for conducting research.
Students learn to write and evaluate research proposals and reports.
This course provides a vital understanding of family life in all its forms, essential for the family therapist. Effective prevention and intervention strategies, and the social and legal context of abuse, are also discussed. An analysis of the adjustments, crisis, possible problems and ways of strengthening the atypical family. Specific atypical families are identified and discussed in relation to family theory, education, and intervention. An analysis of normative, developmental, and ecological changes across the life span.