Independent Study

DFI offers independent study courses for current students and interested applicants to facilitate meeting licensing requirements or round out a professional's training background.

DFI’s commitment to “Excellence, Integrity and Service” requires us to provide independent study courses that meet or exceed our standards for face-to-face classroom education. For this reason, we work actively with students to design courses that will meet their academic needs and our standards.

We can develop individualized coursework with students for topics such as:

• Attachment and Human Development
• Cultural Identity Development and Disruption
• GLBT Identity Development: Problems and Possibilities
• Human Sexuality Across the Lifespan
• Play Therapy Foundations
• Play Therapy Advanced
• Play Therapy Special Issues
• Family Therapy Foundations
• Other courses available or can be developed

Independent study courses may be completed in single Standard Didactic Unit increments. The Executive Director must pre-approve all independent study work at DFI. All independent study work must be of a quality nature with visible demonstration of competencies developed. DFI does not want to provide nominal, “sign-off” types of courses that do not fit our operating values and mission. We do want to work with clinicians to help them fill in the gaps or individualize their learning experience.

Distance Learning

DFI offers distance-learning options based on our core curriculum. Students missing a class watch a tape of the class and complete additional coursework. On rare occasions, students might miss more than one class. Instructors will communicate with the student via e-mail regarding their observations and questions regarding the videotape of the class to add to the quality of the experience.

DFI is open to considering distance learning in other ways and has plans to improve our internet website capabilities to make alternative training experiences feasible.

Individual Classes

Students interested in an individual class or classes to complete licensing requirements, out of specific interests or other reasons may take individual classes at DFI.

Couples Track

We offer our three couples-therapy courses to clinicians with systems training wishing to strengthen their ability to work with the complex issues and triangulation that couples work entails.

Thank you for your interest in DFI. Please spread the word about our clinic and training program. Your support, involvement and referrals make all the difference.