Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a marriage and family therapist and a mental health counselor. Additionally, a marriage and family therapist has an average salary of $57,856, which is higher than the $49,471 average annual salary of a mental health counselor.
The top three skills for a marriage and family therapist include social work, patients and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a mental health counselor are social work, patients, and crisis intervention.
| Marriage And Family Therapist | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $57,856 | $49,471 |
| Hourly rate | $27.82 | $23.78 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 114,361 | 110,752 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 2 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Marriage and family therapists are health professionals who are licensed to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders of married couples and families. These therapists are required to treat patients with issues such as child and adolescent behavioral problems, depression and anxiety, and marital conflicts. They must observe the interaction of people within units while evaluating and resolving their issues with relationships. Marriage and family therapists must also guide their clients to go through transitional crises such as divorce or death.
A mental health counselor is responsible for helping patients deal with their emotional and mental disorders by developing treatment plans and conducting regular counseling to track the patient's progress and condition. Mental health counselors encourage active communication from their patients, provide coping strategies for triggering situations, seek advice from other health care professionals, and guide patients on doing other activities that would help them relax. A mental health counselor must have excellent knowledge of the mental health disciplines to assist patients in their healthy lifestyle development.
Marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Marriage And Family Therapist | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Average salary | $57,856 | $49,471 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $80,000 | Between $34,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bensalem, PA | Longview, WA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Washington |
| Best paying company | Henderson Behavioral Health | Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a marriage and family therapist and a mental health counselor in terms of educational background:
| Marriage And Family Therapist | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between marriage and family therapists' and mental health counselors' demographics:
| Marriage And Family Therapist | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7% | Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.6% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 15% |