Adrian Hickmon , Ph.D. Lew Moore , Ph.D. Vann Rackley, Ph.D. Asst. Prof Clinical Dir. & ChairmanofMFF Asst. Prof Me!Prprogramrnore thanjust marriage andfamily therapy \ When Ken McMahan entered the Marriage and Family Therapy master's degree program, he expected an emphasis o n marriage and family counseling but was surprised by the broad subject material that students cover to prepare them to counsel. "The program covers everythi ng: sexual abuse, physical abuse, anxiety and depression, substance abuse, domest ic violence, anything you can think o f. They trai n us to do a ll kinds of counseling. No matter where 1 go or wha t 1do, 1will have some kind of experience," McMahan said. Seco nd -ye a r st ud ents like McMahan work in the MIT cl inic where ind ividuals and families come when they need help. The students are always unde r supervision by the program's cl inical faculty to ensure quality counseling for the clients and to enable the professors to give the MIT students advice and suggestions about counseling techniques. Harding's goa l is to provide MIT graduates with good training that prepares them for various psychotherapeuticsettings, to serve as counseling ministers in congregat ions or to work as counselors in community mental health agencies or pri vate menta l health pra c ti ces. "Th e professors don't teach us to te ll a client he is depressed or just to give him some medicine and say. 'Come back later.' They show us how to figu re Ollt what makes their situation make sense . We don't just help them with the ir problem; we he lp them deal with the individual , famil y and envi ronmental aspect s of the problem," McMahan said. After completing the first year, which is mostly classroom work and observation, students begin clinic rotations. Dorcas House, a Christianbased ba tte red women 's shelter in Little Rock, is o ne p lace where students often work. "On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 1spend most of my day at the Dorcas House . We do individua l and group therapy and case management , which is he lping the women get their GED's or find a place to live after they leave the shelter," he said. Besides his work at the Dorcas House, McMahan had many othe r responsibilities. He spent one day a week counseling chi ldren at the Searcy Alternat ive Sc hoo l. On Thursdays ,McMahan attended classes in the morning and saw clients in the afternoon. "Most of my evenings are spent in supervision, receiving advice from my professors. 1also do a lot of reading, reviewing for upcoming cases, researching for papers and work ing on case notes. 1always have somethin g 1 cou ld be dOill g ," McMaha n said. McMahan said he appreciated the spiritua l aspect of the MIT program. "I can't imagine being in a program without that. Ir is so important to me," he sa id. Even though the program was time consuming, McMahan said he felt that it was rewarding work. He plans to go into youth and fam ily ministry afte r completing the MIT p rogram. "I may end lip do ing something bes ides youth and family ministry, but 1 know that wherever I go, it is God 's plan fo r me to be there," he said. - Amanda Jones Dr. Adrian Hickmon shares his know/edge ofcounseling with MFT students. First-year students participated mostly in classroom work and observation. Photo by Kristi Burns. Academics 71 t&i
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