Family therapists help couples and families resolve conflicts and learn how to communicate efficiently. They are responsible for treating marital problems and underlying issues that create problematic family dynamics. They conduct therapy sessions and mediate between spouses and family members towards a better understanding of each other.
Working in this position, you might have one-on-one or group sessions with your clients. You will deal with mental and psychological disorders, substance abuse and addiction, emotional and behavioral problems on a daily basis. It will be your job to assess your clients' situation and come up with efficient treatment plans to improve their relationships, self-esteem, and general well-being.
You must be licensed to practice this profession, and a degree in psychology or counseling is also a regular expectation of people filling this role. You must be an excellent communicator and listener, treat your patients with compassion, and have the ability to help them understand themselves and their world better, without judgment. If you succeed, you can earn a comfortable living with annual salaries averaging around $38,000.
Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists help people manage and overcome mental and emotional disorders and problems with their family and other relationships. They listen to clients and ask questions to help the clients understand their problems and develop strategies to improve their lives.
Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists are typically required to have a master’s degree and a license to practice.
EducationTo become a mental health counselor or a marriage and family therapist, applicants typically need a master’s degree in psychology, clinical mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, or a related mental health field. A bachelor’s degree in most fields is acceptable to enter a master’s program.
Counseling programs prepare students to recognize symptoms of mental and emotional disorders and to use effective counseling strategies. Marriage and family therapy programs teach students about how marriages, families, and relationships function and how these relationships can affect mental and emotional disorders.
Many employers prefer to hire counselors who have graduated from programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs.
TrainingCandidates gain hands-on experience through postdegree supervised clinical work, sometimes referred to as an internship or residency. In training, they learn to provide family therapy, group therapy, psychotherapy, and other therapeutic interventions, under the supervision of a licensed counselor.
LicensesAll states require mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists to be licensed in the state in which they practice. Licensure requires a master’s degree and 2,000 to 4,000 hours of postdegree supervised clinical experience, sometimes referred to as an internship or residency. In addition, counselors and therapists must pass a state-recognized exam and complete annual continuing education classes.
Contact information for state boards regulating mental health counselors is available through the National Board for Certified Counselors.
Contact and licensing information for marriage and family therapists is available through the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards.
Important QualitiesCompassion. Counselors and therapists often work with people who are dealing with stressful and difficult situations, so they must be compassionate and empathize with their clients.
Interpersonal skills. Being able to work with different types of people is essential for counselors and therapists. They spend most of their time working directly with clients and other professionals and must be able to encourage good relationships.
Listening skills. Good listening skills are essential for mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists, both of whom need to give their full attention to their clients to understand their problems, values, and goals.
Organizational skills. Good organizational skills are especially important for counselors and therapists in private practice, who must keep track of payments and work with insurance companies.
Speaking skills. Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists need to be able to communicate with clients effectively. They must express ideas and information in a way that clients can understand easily.
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In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of Therapist you might progress to a role such as Case Manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title Director Of Case Management.
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Build a professional family therapist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your family therapist resume.
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At Zippia, we went through countless Family Therapist resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Family Therapist Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Family Therapist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Family Therapist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
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The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 11.8% of Family Therapists listed Treatment Plans on their resume, but soft skills such as Listening skills and Speaking skills are important as well.
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Family Therapist. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Family Therapists make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $62,301. Whereas in New York and Rhode Island, they would average $52,588 and $51,994, respectively. While Family Therapists would only make an average of $51,357 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Alaska
$62,301
Avg. Salary
2. New York
$52,588
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
$51,357
Avg. Salary