Couple and Family Therapy Clinic

The MSU Couple and Family Therapy Clinic conducts in-person service only. Please note the following:

If you are interested in learning more about our services, please call us at 517-432-2272, reach out via email at CFTC@msu.edu, or fill out the new client survey using this link. If no one is able to answer the phone, feel free to leave a voicemail so the administrative team members can call you back.

The MSU Couple and Family Therapy Clinic serves clients from the Greater Lansing area. We provide services to couples, families, and individuals on a sliding fee scale ($20-$80 per session, depending on annual household income and size), and services are provided by graduate students under the supervision of faculty in the MSU Couple and Family Therapy program. Supervisors are fully licensed Marriage and Family Therapists and Approved Supervisors per the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy guidelines.

 

How do we approach therapy?

The MSU CFTC is operated by the Couple and Family Therapy specialization of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University. The MSU CFTC operates to:

1. Support the health, function and well-being of persons and families in this community;
2. Facilitate the instruction of students specializing in Couple and Family Therapy (CFT), and
3. Provide the best therapy possible to persons who seek individual, couple, and family therapy from a family systems perspective.

The goal of therapy is to improve some aspect of your life or decrease difficult emotional symptoms you may be experiencing. Research and experience indicate that the inclusion of partners and family members in treatment yields greater results than when only one member is seen in therapy. Your therapist will work with you on establishing the most appropriate treatment group, e.g., couple, family, or individual combination that will best support your goals.

Therapy is a learning process to help you better understand yourself, others, and the interactions between yourself and others. We would be happy to support you in this process.

 

Clinic Faculty

Kendal Holtrop, PhD, Associate Professor. Clinical Fellow and Approved Supervisor, AAMFT. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Expertise in parenting and parenting intervention research. Articles published in Family Process, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Prevention Science, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, among others. Principal Investigator on grants from the National Institutes of Health and Michigan Health Endowment Fund.  I enjoy helping students advance their clinical skills and am especially passionate about balancing a strong theoretical understanding of family therapy with knowledge of evidence-based practice. I have been an AAMFT Approved Supervisor since 2015.
Andrea Wittenborn, Ph.D., Professor. Clinical Fellow and Approved Supervisor, AAMFT. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Expertise in depression and couple relationships. Articles published in Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Psychological Medicine, Translational Behavioral Medicine, PLoS One, and others. Principle Investigator on grants from the National Institutes of Health, foundations, and intramural programs. Recipient of awards for research and mentoring, including the AAMFT Outstanding Research Publication Award. I have been an AAMFT Approved Supervisor since 2008. I specialize in emotionally focused couple therapy, an evidence-based practice for relationship distress. I incorporate technology such as video feedback into supervision to improve learning outcomes.
Temple M. Odom, PhD, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor. Graduate Michigan State University Couple and Family Therapy program Spring 2007.  Clinical Fellow, Approved Supervisor. Teaches Family & Child Policy and the Doctoral Supervision course.  Provides ongoing supervision in the Couple and Family Therapy Clinic.  Areas of clinical expertise - adoption, foster care, blended family issues, complex family issues, supervision. In clinical supervision, I like to use a strengths-based approach with students.  I like to highlight the skills they bring to the therapeutic process and challenge them to lean in to learning new skills that will strengthen their work with clients.  It is a very collaborative process with students setting goals and looking for progress not perfection.
Adrian J. Blow, PhD, Professor.  Adrian is an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. He is a graduate of the family therapy program at Purdue University. He is trained in a number of evidenced based couple and family therapy models. He does research on trauma in couples and families. He has clinical expertise in a number of areas including eating disorders, couple therapy, family therapy, and infidelity in committed relationships, to name a few.
Lekie Dwanyen, PhD, Assistant Professor. Joined the Couple and Family Therapy program and Department of Human Development and Family Studies in fall 2020. Dr. Dwanyen is invested in systemic family therapy to reduce mental health disparities and specializes in working with individuals, couples, and families affected by repeated trauma exposure (e.g., war and political violence, family violence). She embraces teaching and supervising in the Couple and Family Therapy program as a collaborative, student-centered, and critically conscious process. She is a member of the U.S. based Narrative Exposure Therapy training team.
Chi-Fang Tseng, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Research interests in mental health disparities and culturally adapted interventions for marginalized populations. I have received formal training of Emotionally Focused Therapy and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP). Additionally, I am licensed as a counseling psychologist in Taiwan. My approach to supervision incorporates intersectionality and social justice lens, along with collaborative approaches. I am fluent in both Mandarin and English.
Erica A. Mitchell, PhD, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor. I am an Assistant Professor, and serve as the Clinic Director and a clinical supervisor. I have received formal training in various evidence-based therapy models and interventions including Emotionally Focused Therapy, the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP), and the Relationship Checkup. I am committed to providing clinical supervision and training informed by evidence-based practice. My approach to supervision is therapist-centered and collaborative.

 

How can we help?

We strive to maintain:

• A safe environment that recognizes and honors different backgrounds, all kinds of families, and different life experiences.
• Complete confidentiality in our records, within the limits of Michigan law.
• A pleasant, supportive atmosphere throughout the Clinic.
• The highest quality therapy services.

The Couple and Family Therapy Clinic does not discriminate or refuse services to anyone on the basis of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, physical disability, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

 

How do I make an appointment?

All inquiries are treated confidentially. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment or learning more about the services, you can reach the clinic at 517-432-2272 or email CFTC@msu.edu.

 

Will anyone know that we are coming to therapy?

All information provided by you during therapy sessions is legally confidential to persons or agencies outside of therapy. Such information can only be shared with your written permission. Information provided during therapy sessions will be available to the treatment team, including other therapists at the Clinic, Clinic assistants, and Clinical supervisors.

There are certain situations in which your therapist is legally bound to reveal information obtained during therapy to other persons or agencies without your permission. These situations are as follows:

1. If your therapist believes that you are in imminent danger to yourself.
2. If you threaten grave bodily harm or death to another person or directly endanger the life of another.
3. If your therapist suspects abuse or neglect of any child or elderly individual.
4. If your therapist is ordered to release information by a court of law.
5. If you pose a threat to national security.