UNLV MFT Program Interviews
As a former psychology major, I can tell you that a marriage and family therapy (MFT) program is a great alternative to clinical psychology if you are interested in using the practical knowledge that you acquired when earning your bachelor’s degree. When applying to the UNLV MFT program, it is important to remember that your personhood, i.e. how you carry yourself and act around the evaluators, is just as important as your GRE score, GPA and experience.
The UNLV Marriage and Family Therapy Department’s application process includes the submission of a full application package (i.e., formal application, transcripts, etc.) and a formal interview. Viable candidates will be invited to “Interview Day” at UNLV; however, phone and Skype interviews are offered for those who can’t attend in person. I would highly recommend attending the full interview day; it gives faculty to really get to know you and your personality.
Interview Day is divided up into three sections: individual, group, and roleplay. The individual section is comprised of a traditional interview between the interviewee and two of the faculty members. This is where knowing your clinical and research interests are important, as you can use them to connect with the people interviewing you. From my perspective, this is an opportunity to impress faculty members and win them to your side.
The group section is interesting, as it is comprised of a group of interviewees sitting with two faculty members and having a conversation. While this is still an interview, the focus shifts from questions about the program to getting to know each interviewee as a person. In my opinion, the purpose of this portion of the interview is to see if you can maintain a presence with a large group. Later on, I describe some key things to remember during this section of the interview.
The roleplay tends to be the most difficult portion of the interview process, as it’s the one that most people aren’t prepared for. During the roleplay, you will be asked to take the position of a therapist for about 10 minutes. The actors in the roleplay are current graduate students in the program, so this is an opportunity to show off some of your natural clinical skills and win over some of the graduate students.
Below I list a few key things to keep in mind throughout the whole interview process, including the roleplay section of the interview:
1. Remember SBSF. SBSF stands for Step-Back-Step-Forward. It is a reminder to critically appraise situations for the best moment for you to speak and add your input. This is essential for the group portion of the interview. You don’t want to fade into the background, but you also don’t want to dominate the space. I recommend thinking of one or two unique things about yourself to share that will stay in the minds of the faculty. For example, I shared a story of how I was attacked by a raccoon as a kid. It’s a long story, so I won’t write it down, but it did stand out and set me apart from everyone else.
2. Interaction is key. The way you interact during the roleplay and interview is important. The roleplay is meant to test the way you react under pressure. That means the way you carry yourself in uncomfortable and stressful situations will be watched and scored. My recommendation is to stay open, engaged, and try to control any anxiety that you may have. This will allow you to interact normally with others.
3. Be yourself! Or at least the edited version of yourself. What I mean by this is do what is natural for your professional self. If you are someone who shakes hands when first meeting someone, then do it. If you aren’t, then don’t. The point is to set yourself up to be as comfortable as possible. If you are overly anxious or nervous it will show and will negatively affect your performance in the interview. Since the goal of the roleplay is to see if you can sit in a room and hold a conversation with strangers without making them feel awkward or uncomfortable, it is important that you do things that come naturally to you instead of trying to act like what you believe a therapist is and does.
4. Don’t make any assumptions. The UNLV MFT roleplays are staffed by volunteers from the first and second year students, so there may not be enough variety of volunteers to match every role. This means that sometimes men will roleplay as women or vice-versa and that volunteers may be playing children or elderly members of a family. The best practice is to ask about names, ages, and roles in the family at the beginning of the roleplay.
5. Talk with current graduate students. The current graduate students are one of the best resources to use when learning about a program. Moreover, getting to know the people who will be in the roleplays may help settle some of your nerves. It will also give the graduate students an opportunity to get to know you. This will be helpful because the UNLV MFT program incorporates the opinions of the interview day volunteers into their selection process by soliciting their feedback.
Final Thoughts: Interviewees rarely get a chance to “turn off” and recharge before the next portion of the interview begins. This can be exhausting if you are nervous about the process and anxious about how you are doing. Moreover, being anxious can get in the way of showcasing your natural abilities. To combat anxiety, try to remember that the interviewers WANT you to succeed. You were offered an interview because they believe you have the skills and background to succeed in the program and to benefit the profession. They want you to be the best candidate possible so they can end the search, since Interview Day is a long day for them too. In addition to having a good attitude, try to set yourself up for success as much as possible: get a good night’s sleep, eat breakfast, and dress yourself in something that is professional yet comfortable.
If you aren’t selected to join the program, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you aren’t qualified. It may mean that you just don’t fit within the cohort culture that they are looking to build that year. You might fit in better the next year or with the cohort being formed at a different university. The Interview Day process is designed to assess your fit with the program, and you will benefit from a good fit as much as the program does.
Michael Curtis is a second-year student in Marriage and Family Therapy program at UNLV. After graduating from the program in Dec. 2017, his goal is to continue on to a MFT Ph.D. program and work as a faculty member at a research-intensive university. His primary research and clinical interests include how individuals within the adult industry maintain functional relationships, as well as the experiences of LGB minorities within psychotherapy. He is very focused on examining the the development of gender and sexual identity, and how they can be impacted by the inclusion of psychotherapy. Michael worked as a research assistant with the Interactive Measurement Group from 2013-2015, where he served as the Website Coordinator, a New Member Trainer, and the Double Entry Team Leader. Michael’s time in Dr. Barchard’s lab taught him a lot of valuable skills, but the greatest thing he learned was how to build a professional network.