How to hire a family therapist

How to hire a family therapist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step family therapist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a family therapist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new family therapist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a family therapist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The family therapist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a family therapist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a family therapist that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of family therapist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Family Therapist	Description	Hourly rate
   Family Therapist	Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists help people manage and overcome mental and emotional disorders and problems with 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.	$17-32
   Substance Abuse Counselor	Substance abuse counselors act as a support system for people with drug and alcohol problems and other behavioral issues. They help the patients control their behavior until they achieve a full recovery... Show more	$12-32
   Intensive In-Home Counselor	An Intensive In-Home Counselor conducts individual counseling sessions for parents and deals with delicate issues like sexual addiction. They also prepare progress reports for clients.	$19-31

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Social Work
   • Patients
   • Rehabilitation
   • Community Resources
   • Mental Health Issues
   • Group Therapy
   • Child Abuse
   • Mental Health
   • Foster Care
   • FFT
   • Clinical Supervision
   • Family Systems
   • Individual Therapy
   • Therapeutic Interventions

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Complete documentation to medicaid standards.
   • Create maximum billable Medicaid hours and submitting necessary paperwork for Medicaid billing.
   • Apply behavioral analysis instruction for a student with autism concentrating on communication, socialization, self-help skills and community skills.
   • Receive and process referrals from DCF and community-base case managers for individuals suspect as substance abusers.

   More family therapist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the family therapist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A family therapist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a family therapist in Arkansas may be lower than in Oregon, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level family therapist. Additionally, a family therapist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average family therapist salary

   $50,774yearly

   $24.41 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level family therapist salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average family therapist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$65,152	$31
   2	Oregon	$64,357	$31
   3	Minnesota	$64,065	$31
   4	Massachusetts	$59,378	$29
   5	Colorado	$57,029	$27
   6	Maryland	$56,266	$27
   7	North Dakota	$55,996	$27
   8	Illinois	$55,588	$27
   9	Iowa	$55,582	$27
   10	Pennsylvania	$53,963	$26
   11	California	$53,488	$26
   12	Maine	$52,720	$25
   13	Washington	$51,885	$25
   14	Wisconsin	$51,258	$25
   15	Delaware	$50,758	$24
   16	Virginia	$50,084	$24
   17	Texas	$47,589	$23
   18	Arizona	$46,354	$22
   19	North Carolina	$43,206	$21
   20	Missouri	$40,957	$20

   Average family therapist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Dignity Health	$66,884	$32.16	57
   2	East Alabama Health	$65,626	$31.55	11
   3	Cook Children's Medical Center	$64,501	$31.01	8
   4	Providence Health & Services	$63,163	$30.37	115
   5	Delaware Guidance Services	$62,830	$30.21	19
   6	Sutter Health	$61,129	$29.39	76
   7	Suncoast Center	$60,734	$29.20	11
   8	Heartland Home Health Inc.	$60,190	$28.94	3
   9	Polaris	$60,159	$28.92
   10	Southwest Key Programs	$60,144	$28.92
   11	Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation Inc.	$58,660	$28.20	51
   12	Acadia Healthcare	$58,331	$28.04	369
   13	Salt Lake County	$58,101	$27.93	5
   14	University of California	$57,884	$27.83	37
   15	Novant Health	$57,662	$27.72	67
   16	American Medical Association	$56,681	$27.25	13
   17	Delaware State Government	$56,080	$26.96	9
   18	Leidos	$55,984	$26.92	144
   19	Broward County Public Schools	$55,851	$26.85	1
   20	Griffiths Corporation	$54,858	$26.37	1

4. Writing a family therapist job description

   A family therapist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a family therapist job description:

   Family therapist job description example

   ***Must be vaccinated for COVID-19

   THIS POSITION IS ELIGIBLE FOR A $4,000.00 STAY BONUS FOR 1 YEAR OF SERVICE

   **This position will follow a school calendar schedule and has the option to be off during the summer.

   Our Company: Community Mental Health Center, Inc. is a provider of comprehensive mental health services, offering inpatient, outpatient, home-based, school, and community-based programs to individuals and families in Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Ripley and Switzerland counties in Southeastern Indiana. CMHC offers a full continuum of care to individuals and families of all ages. CMHC follows the recovery model which emphasizes and supports each individual's potential for recovery. Recovery is seen as a personal journey that utilizes supportive relationships, empowerment, social inclusion, and coping skills.

   Position Responsibilities: The Therapist will provide assessment, therapy, consultation, skills training, care coordination, and case management services, to youth ages 0-26 and their families enrolled in an Intensive Family Services Program. This service is offered mostly in a school setting but could take place in other settings, such as home, community, or clinic.

   Qualifications: Master’s degree that is license eligible in social work or related discipline is required with two years’ experience preferred. Must have relevant credentials to qualify for clinical privileges as either a supervisee or independent practitioner for general privileges and specialized privileges as required by the program to which the position is assigned.

   Why You Should Apply?

   • Excellent Health Benefits
   • Profit Sharing Plan (401k)
   • Tuition Reimbursement
   • PTO Plan
   • Paid Holidays (8 days)
   • Flexible Scheduling
   • Work/Life Balance
   • Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
   • Reimbursement of License and exam

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right family therapist for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your family therapist job on Zippia to find and recruit family therapist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit family therapists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new family therapist

   Once you've found the family therapist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new family therapist first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a family therapist?