March 28, 2003

Contact:
Jennifer Meriam, Director (954) 262-5355
Mike Laderman, Associate Director, (954) 262-5354
Mara Kiffin, Coordinator, (954) 262-5350

SHSS Expands Graduate Certificate in Family Systems Health Care

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Nova Southeastern University's Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences has expanded the Graduate Certificate, formerly known as Medical Family Therapy, to a Graduate Certificate in Family Systems Health Care.

The Graduate Certificate in Family Systems Health Care program, which will be under the direction of Tommie V. Boyd, Ph.D., offers students the fundamentals of the application of systemic family theories and applications in health care settings. It focuses on the relationships between psychosocial medicine and biomedicine in the treatment and prevention of illness and disease. This program prepares professionals to offer systemic thinking in a variety of settings, including private practices, hospitals, community clinics, primary care/specialists' offices, health care and managed care agencies and organizations.

Specific areas of study include adjustment patterns of patients and their families to chronic and acute illnesses; models of integration and collaboration among medical systems and other health care professionals; the role of the family health care provider in the continuum of medical services; the politics and economics of health care; understanding human systems in health care; and brief interventions and systemic assessments useful in the treatment and care of patients, their families, and interactions within the health care milieu.

The Graduate Certificate in Family Systems Health Care consists of eight courses (24 credits), which include biopsychosocial and systemic theories, relationship skills, professional issues, and health care systems. The program is offered in an online format, and some courses may also be available in a residential format. This flexible format allows mid?career working adults, and those unable to attend on-campus programs, to study in a creative, rigorous, and structured fashion.

The Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at NSU offers interdisciplinary programs in conflict analysis and resolution, family therapy, peace studies, college student personnel administration, health care conflict resolution, family systems health care, family studies, and joint programs with the Criminal Justice Institute and the Shepard Broad Law Center. SHSS is also a home of the two academic journals: "Peace and Conflict Studies," and "The Qualitative Report." For more information, visit SHSS online at http://shss.nova.edu/ or call (954) 262-3000.