Student impairment and remediation in accredited marriage and family therapy programs

This research addresses the extent of student impairment in Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) accredited marriage and family therapy programs, indicators of impairment used by program directors, faculty time devoted to impaired students, and the frequency of student dismissal. The data come from a survey of 44 COAMFTE program directors that was conducted during the spring of 2001, as well as responses to an open-ended items asking for a description of "the most troublesome student" to come to the attention of the respondent. The authors discuss the findings with respect to similar studies in counseling psychology and the larger literature on clinical training. Finally, the authors offer suggestions for future research.