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Autumn 2002 | Volume 25, Number 4 | Campus | |
| Marriage
and Family Therapy Program Receives National Accreditation THE MARRIAGE AND Family Therapy (MFT) Department at Seattle Pacific University recently received a boost in its efforts to teach holistic care. Last summer, the marriage and family therapy master of science degree at SPU was granted six years of national accreditation. It’s a rare honor; the only other accredited MFT program in Washington state is at Pacific Lutheran University. “We want to congratulate the faculty and staff who deliver this fine program and worked hard on the accreditation process,” says Les Steele, vice president for academic affairs. In particular, he cites the work of department professors, including Claudia Grauf-Grounds, chair of marriage and family therapy. Within the standard MFT curriculum is the option to incorporate a certificate in a fairly new holistic field called medical family therapy (MDFT). Grauf-Grounds helped develop the MDFT certificate program at SPU with Tina Schermer Sellers, now director of MDFT. Grauf-Grounds is excited about the prospects of taking a holistic view of a person’s health, exploring emotional, spiritual and physical issues. “Belief, spirituality and health go together,” she says. “MDFT opens up the idea that medical issues have all these components.” Research shows, for instance, that patients with heart failure often deal with depression as well. “In MDFT, we don’t try to uncover which came first, the physical or the emotional ailment,” she says. “We deal with what’s going on now. It’s systemically oriented. Everything contributes to the problem — and the solution.” If an individual enters a medical center seeming depressed, says Grauf- Grounds, a health care provider trained in MDFT will not just advocate medication. Instead, the provider will interview the client, trying to uncover various contributing factors, such as relationship issues or traumatic experiences. The provider might then choose to refer the client either to a counselor or a pastor for emotional and spiritual help. A client’s physical and mental health often improves with “the support of a community of faith, “ she observes. |
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 From the President The purpose of the Campaign for Seattle Pacific is bigger than ourselves. "We are really investing in a venture of change and hope," says President Philip Eaton. Meet the Alumni Board President
Reconciliation in South
Africa Friendly Competition My Response |
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