Program Overview

Denver Family Institute, established in 1982, is the oldest couples and family therapy training program in Colorado. From its inception, the program has focused on developing therapists adept at providing strength-based, systemic therapy to individuals, couples and families. This is done through a unique combination of academic, experiential coursework and supervision.

Our recent alumni survey of graduates of DFI confirms our belief that the coursework, supervision, mentoring and collegial support provide excellent preparation for success as a couples and family therapist.

To download the full student brochure, click here.

Coursework

We currently offer 12 core courses that will continue to evolve as the field of marriage and family therapy evolve. Additional courses are available through independent study to allow students to fill in gaps in coursework necessary for licensure as a marriage and family therapist. We plan to offer more courses as we continue to develop our programming in systemic/relational therapies.

First Year Classes

Offered on Wednesday evenings from 5 to 9 p.m.

To learn more about our instructors, go to our Meet the Faculty page.

Integrated Family Studies Intensive I (2 credit hours): Theoretical foundations of family therapy and their application. Students build on any previous family therapy training by learning to assess families from core family therapy models and develop interventions from those views. Instructor: Jim Thomas, LMFT

Applied Ethics (2 credit hours): Risk management, professional development, self care and working with complex ethical issues commonly faced in a variety of clinical settings. Builds upon and goes beyond graduate school ethics coursework. Includes a guest lecture by Denis Lane, Esq., attorney specializing in mental health practice legalities and ethics. Instructor: Tonna Pallas, LCSW

Integrated Family Studies Intensive II (2 credit hours): Continuation of intensive I, a highly interactional, experiential class. Learn to assess families using FACES IV and the Circumplex model, a heavily researched, validated family assessment tool, feminist approaches to assessment and intervention and narrative therapy. Instructor: Jim Thomas, LMFT

Family Therapy Assessment, Engagement and Treatment Planning (2 credit hours): The central importance of joining skills and relationship building in working with individuals, couples and families. Using first sessions for effective assessment, goal setting/contracting with clients and treatment planning systemically. Instructor: Michael Lopez-Jensen, LCSW

Couples I (2 credit hours): Introduction to the complexity of couples counseling, theoretical foundations in Bowenian theory and differentiation. Increasing therapist differentiation and ability to deal with and be in conflict, avoiding triangulation. Instructor: Barbara Stratton, LMFT

Strategies and Techniques in Family Therapy (2 credit hours): Stretching in the use of family therapy theories, clinician’s use of self, getting “unstuck” in difficult cases. Instructor: Colleen Attoma-Mathews, LCSW

Second Year Classes

Offered on Monday evenings from 5 to 9 p.m.

Multi-Problem Families (2 credit hours): Treating families with high-risk youth and other challenges, expanding family system to include working systemically from a strength-based perspective at multiple levels within the child’s system: parents, siblings, peers, extended family, social services, probation, schools, courts, etc. Emphasis is on maintaining therapeutic maneuverability and effectiveness using the whole “family” of the child or adolescent. Instructor: Dave Blair, LCSW

Couples II (2 quarter credit hours): Fundamental clinical skills in couples therapy, including utilizing the leadership role of the therapist to create change possibilities for couples. Students learn basic competencies needed to engage in the complexity of couples therapy including dealing with triangulation; these skills are then practiced in class. Instructor: Steve Litt, LCSW

Applied Cultural Competence (2 quarter credit hours): Working with “differences” effectively is the emphasis of this class. Going beyond typical graduate coursework regarding cultural differences, this class invites students to look at their own process of dealing with differences. The client’s experience of treatment provided by people different from themselves is emphasized. The class teaches a process for students to utilize when they encounter cultural and other issues of disenfranchisement and oppression in their practices. Instructor: Melody Brown, MA, LMFT, Ph.D. Candidate

Couples and Sex Therapy (2 quarter credit hours): This course teaches students to see how sexual issues occur in most couples seeking therapy and how to integrate marital and sexual therapy in their work. Instructor: Marne Wine, LPC

Special Populations (2 quarter credit hours): Treatment of special populations from a systemic perspective. This course builds on the multi-problem family course. Students learn ways to work within the DSM framework while maintaining a systemic/relational perspective. Instructor: Russell Urrutia, LCSW

Theoretical Integrity (2 quarter credit hours): Pulling coursework together as a capstone to the program experience, students integrate various models learned and practiced in courses and clinical work. Students must demonstrate the ability to develop systemic hypotheses on which they do their clinical work on cases. Instructor: Robert Kelsall, LCSW

Supervision

The program also includes individual and group supervision, which meets COAMFTE supervision requirements. Live supervision and viewing videotapes of students' work is a hallmark of the program. All supervisors are approved supervisors or approved supervisors-in-training, AAMFT. We only utilize experienced, strong clinicians to provide supervision at DFI.

Clinical Experience

Clinical experience with families, couples and individuals from diverse backgrounds matching our definition of diversity in our diversity statement.

Collegial Support/Relationships

DFI students provide each other with collegial support in classes, supervision and through peer observation of sessions. The DFI community provides one of the extra benefits of the DFI experience.