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Marriage and family therapist vs psychologist

The differences between marriage and family therapists and psychologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a psychologist has an average salary of $97,803, which is higher than the $57,856 average annual salary of a marriage and family therapist.

The top three skills for a marriage and family therapist include social work, patients and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a psychologist are patients, crisis intervention, and rehabilitation.

Marriage and family therapist vs psychologist overview

Marriage And Family TherapistPsychologist
Yearly salary$57,856$97,803
Hourly rate$27.82$47.02
Growth rate14%6%
Number of jobs114,36112,516
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4147
Years of experience4-

What does a marriage and family therapist do?

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.

What does a psychologist do?

Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.

Marriage and family therapist vs psychologist salary

Marriage and family therapists and psychologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Marriage And Family TherapistPsychologist
Average salary$57,856$97,803
Salary rangeBetween $41,000 And $80,000Between $68,000 And $139,000
Highest paying CityBensalem, PASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying statePennsylvaniaCalifornia
Best paying companyHenderson Behavioral HealthSierra Corporation
Best paying industryGovernmentHealth Care

Differences between marriage and family therapist and psychologist education

There are a few differences between a marriage and family therapist and a psychologist in terms of educational background:

Marriage And Family TherapistPsychologist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachNorthwestern University

Marriage and family therapist vs psychologist demographics

Here are the differences between marriage and family therapists' and psychologists' demographics:

Marriage And Family TherapistPsychologist
Average age4147
Gender ratioMale, 24.3% Female, 75.7%Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
Race ratioBlack 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, 5.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 4.2% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%20%

Differences between marriage and family therapist and psychologist duties and responsibilities

Marriage and family therapist example responsibilities.

  • Conduct play therapy with elementary age students to help manage anxiety, divorce, ADHD, etc.
  • Develop effective treatment plans and implement evidence-base strategies to assist patients in alleviating psychological symptoms and achieving goals.
  • Train in EMDR, DBT, work with divorce issues, PTSD, deployment/reunification, anxiety, and depression issues.
  • Counsele patients experiencing common mental health problems including emotional and physical abuse, family issues, relationship problems and parenting problems.
  • Attend weekly DBT team meetings and supervision including mindfulness activities and focus on DBT principles.
  • Administer outcome measures to track baseline symptoms, such as the YOQ, CBCL, UCLA PTSD assessment tools.
  • Show more

Psychologist example responsibilities.

  • Supervise mental health staff, including the overseeing of the provision of mental health services in a correctional facility.
  • Provide EMDR therapy for clients with trauma and anxiety.
  • Perform tests to diagnose autism in children or tests for the detection of autism at an early age.
  • Provide supervision and mentoring for APA Pre-Doctoral interns.
  • Supervise clinical activities of doctoral level psychology interns in APA accredit internship program.
  • Evaluate veterans for psychological disorders that may have resulted secondary to their military service for compensation purposes.
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Marriage and family therapist vs psychologist skills

Common marriage and family therapist skills
  • Social Work, 36%
  • Patients, 9%
  • Crisis Intervention, 6%
  • Substance Abuse, 5%
  • Mental Illness, 4%
  • Mental Health, 3%
Common psychologist skills
  • Patients, 18%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • Mental Illness, 5%
  • Clinical Supervision, 5%
  • APA, 4%

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