What does a family therapist do?
A Family Therapist works with couples and families to help ameliorate marital and family issues. They can work in hospitals, treatment programs, government agencies, health organizations, and private practices.
Family therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real family therapist resumes:
- 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.
Family therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Family Therapists are proficient in Social Work, Patients, and Rehabilitation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Speaking skills, and Compassion.
We break down the percentage of Family Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 27%
Maintain constructive and mutually beneficial relationships with state social workers and other mental health professionals.
- Patients, 6%
Enable patients to function effectively in professional environments by initiating specialized counseling approaches, strategies, and techniques.
- Rehabilitation, 4%
Co-coordinated family therapy program for adolescents in therapeutic community (TC)/residential drug rehabilitation facility.
- Community Resources, 4%
Conduct intensive individual and family based therapy in a home setting for children and adolescent families referred by multiple community resources
- Mental Health Issues, 4%
Conduct individual, family and group therapy for a variety of clients dealing with a variety of mental health issues.
- Group Therapy, 3%
Focus treatment using Structural Family, and Attachment-based Family Therapy while providing individual, family and group therapy.
"social work," "patients," and "rehabilitation" are among the most common skills that family therapists use at work. You can find even more family therapist responsibilities below, including:
Listening skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a family therapist to have is listening skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "marriage and family therapists need to give their full attention to their clients to understand their problems, values, and goals." Family therapists often use listening skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "communicated with social workers weekly and other professionals as needed. "
Speaking skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling family therapist duties is speaking skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "marriage and family therapists need to be able to communicate with clients effectively." According to a family therapist resume, here's how family therapists can utilize speaking skills in their job responsibilities: "completed biopsychosocial assessments for predominantly spanish-speaking clients for the outpatient department. "
Compassion. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of family therapists is compassion. This skill is critical to many everyday family therapist duties, as "marriage and family therapists often work with people who are dealing with stressful and difficult situations, so they must be compassionate and empathize with their clients." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provided compassionate individual therapy to adults with anxiety and mood disorders. "
Organizational skills. A big part of what family therapists do relies on "organizational skills." You can see how essential it is to family therapist responsibilities because "marriage and family therapists in private practice must keep track of payments and work with insurance companies." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical family therapist tasks: "participate in on-going mental health and organizational trainings to improve client care and professional development. "
Interpersonal skills. A commonly-found skill in family therapist job descriptions, "interpersonal skills" is essential to what family therapists do. Family therapist responsibilities rely on this skill because "marriage and family therapists work with different types of people." You can also see how family therapist duties rely on interpersonal skills in this resume example: "facilitated group therapy and psycho-educational classes based in dbt, emotional regulation, interpersonal skills, and depression. "
The three companies that hire the most family therapists are:
- Cook Children's Medical Center27 family therapists jobs
- Pediatric Partners, now a member of the Sevita family19 family therapists jobs
- National Mentor Holdings Inc.
16 family therapists jobs
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Compare different family therapists
Family therapist vs. 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. The mental health counselors aid patients to overcome their chemical dependencies and become self-sufficient individuals. Part of their duty includes meeting clients to evaluate their health and substance issues while creating goals and treatment plans. They teach clients coping mechanisms, refer them to support groups, and engage them in group therapy sessions. Once the patient is stable, they help them re-establish their careers and give updates and reports of progress to the courts. Requirements for the job include a master's degree in counseling and social work.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, family therapist responsibilities require skills like "group therapy," "child abuse," "mental health," and "foster care." Meanwhile a typical substance abuse counselor has skills in areas such as "substance abuse treatment," "excellent interpersonal," "criminal justice," and "individual sessions." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Substance abuse counselors really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $41,273. Comparatively, family therapists tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $50,267.On average, substance abuse counselors reach lower levels of education than family therapists. Substance abuse counselors are 22.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Family therapist vs. 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, family therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "social work," "patients," "rehabilitation," and "child abuse." Meanwhile, an intensive in-home counselor has duties that require skills in areas such as "intensive in-home," "medication management," "treatment strategies," and "direct clinical services." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Intensives in-home counselor may earn a higher salary than family therapists, but intensives in-home counselor earn the most pay in the utilities industry with an average salary of $56,398. On the other hand, family therapists receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $50,267.intensives in-home counselor earn lower levels of education than family therapists in general. They're 23.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for family therapists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Cheryl Stenmark Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director, Industrial/Organizational Psychology Masters Program, Angelo State University
Family therapist vs. Mental health professional
The duties of a mental health professional will revolve around observing the behavior of patients. They are responsible for knowing their medical history, conducting consultations and assessments, diagnosing conditions, devising particular treatments and prescribing medication, and providing emotional support to patients. Furthermore, a mental health professional must coordinate with families and other mental health experts to monitor patients' behavior and develop care plans to help them in their road to recovery.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from family therapist resumes include skills like "group therapy," "child abuse," "fft," and "family systems," whereas a mental health professional is more likely to list skills in "cpr," "excellent interpersonal," "taking care," and "mental health treatment. "
Mental health professionals make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $49,393. On the other hand, family therapists are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $50,267.Most mental health professionals achieve a lower degree level compared to family therapists. For example, they're 13.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Family therapist vs. Alcohol and drug counselor
A drug & alcohol counselor treats addicts in either one-on-one or group settings. They help by educating and developing possible treatment plans for patients to support them in coping with their addictive personalities. A drug and alcohol counselor will evaluate to determine the progress has been successfully made towards recovery. They help patients better understand and overcome their addictions. Counselors help through offering support, rehabilitation, and guidance by using various techniques. Drug & alcohol counselors seek to help an addict find the source of their addiction.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between family therapists and alcohol and drug counselors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a family therapist might have more use for skills like "group therapy," "child abuse," "mental health," and "foster care." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of alcohol and drug counselors require skills like "substance abuse treatment," "treatment services," "asam," and "drug abuse. "
The professional industry tends to pay the highest salaries for alcohol and drug counselors, with average annual pay of $44,333. Comparatively, the highest family therapist annual salary comes from the health care industry.In general, alcohol and drug counselors hold lower degree levels compared to family therapists. Alcohol and drug counselors are 24.7% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of family therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
