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DMFT 5340 – Grant Writing and Funding Opportunities
This course provides students with knowledge of how to assess, identify, and write grants
to acquire funding opportunities in agency and treatment facilities. Offered winter term.
DMFT 5410 - Quantitative Research I
This course covers fundamental concepts and practices in quantitative research method
by introducing measurement and statistics, questionnaire development, and
experimental and quasi-experimental research designs for the study of human sciences.
Exemplary studies from family therapy literature are included. Prerequisite: DMFT 5007
or equivalent. Offered summer term.
DMFT 6110 – Systems Application in the Family Life Cycle of Aging
This course will provide a focus on the major concepts of systems thinking as applied to
the family life cycle of aging. The class will focus on foundational concepts of systemic
theories associated with work of Gregory Bateson, Humberto Maturana, and Heinz von
Foester. Students will have an opportunity to explore interactional theories informed by
cybernetics, language, and natural systems metaphors in the framework of the aging
process. This course will provide not only an opportunity to learn about systemic
theories, but also a possibility to reflect on applications of such theoretical concepts while
examining the process of aging and family interactions involving older adults. Offered
winter term.
DMFT 6120 – Relationships in Aging
Multi-dimensional in nature, aging invites diverse health care professionals to work
together to examine its various aspects. This course will offer students an opportunity to
reflect on diverse relationships among older adults themselves, senior health care
consumers and their health care providers, and among various health care professionals
who are taking care of the aging population. The role modification in the American
household, romantic relationships in later life, and the societal outlook on the process of
aging are just a few topics addressed in this class. Students will also examine current
needs and requirement of the working environment with older adults, including the
subject of integrative primary care and a necessity of a multidisciplinary teamwork.
Offered winter term.
DMFT 6130 – Caregiving in the Family
Caregiving constitutes a challenging experience for the whole family. This course will
provide an opportunity to examine diverse characteristics of the caregivers, emotional
and physical issues associated with caregiving, and existing resources implemented to
support families and caretakers. In addition, students will have an opportunity to
examine the notions of well-being and quality of life as applied to those providing and
receiving care. While reflecting on the caregiving process, students will use concepts
from such theoretical frameworks as constructivism, social constructionism, and general
systems theory to investigate diverse perceptions and ideas about caregiving. Providing
theoretical guidelines, this class will also give students a possibility to acquire attuned
therapeutic skills to provide assistance to caregivers and their families. Offered summer
term.
DMFT 6140 – Grief and Loss in Aging
Loss has multiple faces, especially when growing older. The experiences of loss are
uniquely tinted by our cultural framework, spiritual beliefs, family traditions, and
individual values. This course offers students an opportunity to examine different types of
losses in later life, paying particular attention to the concepts of anticipatory and
disenfranchised grief. Students explore how loss is perceived among older adults from
