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.
Marriage and family therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real marriage and family therapist resumes:
- 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.
- Co-Le multiple psychotherapy groups for military couples and individuals dealing with PTSD as a result of combat and military exposure.
- Provide training for federal and public organizations regarding the psychological aspects of veterans having experience combat or military sexual trauma.
- Consult with teachers, principles, therapist, and other adjunct professionals, and attend IEP meetings.
- Collaborate with school psychologists, special education teachers, and IEP team to develop a better therapeutic understanding of the student.
- Coordinate and provide court order services for DCFS families.
- Complete extensive treatment plans and Medicaid documentation.
- Train in EMDR & cognitive-behavioral therapy.
- Complete all state-requir paperwork for a Medicaid fund program.
- Conduct MST assessment including review of referral information, maintain the confidentiality of all consumer care information including protect health information.
Marriage and family therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 36% of Marriage And Family Therapists are proficient in Social Work, Patients, and Crisis Intervention. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Speaking skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Marriage And Family Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 36%
Consult with other therapists, supervisors and social workers on children and adolescents with personal and academic difficulties to implement solutions.
- Patients, 9%
Counseled patients experiencing common mental health problems including emotional and physical abuse, family issues, relationship problems and parenting problems.
- Crisis Intervention, 6%
Conduct individual, family and group therapy sessions in accordance with agency and accrediting bodies and provide crisis intervention when necessary.
- Substance Abuse, 5%
Contract services for individuals and family groups with individuals in substance abuse recovery with dual diagnosis, co-morbidity.
- Mental Illness, 4%
Conducted individual therapy sessions with clients' with severe mental illness utilizing techniques from Cognitive Behavioral and Dialectical Behavioral Therapies
- Mental Health, 3%
Work collaboratively with behavior management provider, clinical supervisor, psychologist and psychiatrist for the mental health improvement of the client.
Most marriage and family therapists use their skills in "social work," "patients," and "crisis intervention" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential marriage and family therapist responsibilities here:
Listening skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a marriage and 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." Marriage and family therapists often use listening skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "communicated and coordinated care with psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses to establish the most stable mental health condition for the client. "
Speaking skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling marriage and 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 marriage and family therapist resume, here's how marriage and family therapists can utilize speaking skills in their job responsibilities: "diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders within the framework of marriage and family systems for the latino spanish-speaking population. "
Organizational skills. marriage and family therapists are also known for organizational skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to marriage and family therapist responsibilities, because "marriage and family therapists in private practice must keep track of payments and work with insurance companies." A marriage and family therapist resume example shows how organizational skills is used in the workplace: "utilized organizational skills to monitor and adapt, as necessary, the daily activities of the child with autism. "
Compassion. For certain marriage and family therapist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "compassion." The day-to-day duties of a marriage and family therapist rely on this skill, 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." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what marriage and family therapists do: "provide compassionate, strengths-based short-term and long-term individual therapy at a sliding-scale mental health clinic in the tenderloin. "
Interpersonal skills. Another crucial skill for a marriage and family therapist to carry out their responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." A big part of what marriage and family therapists relies on this skill, since "marriage and family therapists work with different types of people." How this skill relates to marriage and family therapist duties can be seen in an example from a marriage and family therapist resume snippet: "provide individual therapy in an out-patient setting to adults and adolescent with a variety of presenting problems to improve interpersonal relationships. "
The three companies that hire the most marriage and family therapists are:
- Thriveworks184 marriage and family therapists jobs
- Gotham33 marriage and family therapists jobs
- AlphaVista Services23 marriage and family therapists jobs
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Compare different marriage and family therapists
Marriage and family therapist vs. Addictions counselor
An Addictions Counselor helps patients overcome personal addiction problems, such as dependence on drugs, alcohol, and other substances. They evaluate the condition of their client through examining, asking questions, and recommending the proper treatment options.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a marriage and family therapist are more likely to require skills like "substance abuse," "mental illness," "mental health," and "mft." On the other hand, a job as an addictions counselor requires skills like "substance abuse treatment," "rehabilitation," "patient care," and "treatment services." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Addictions counselors really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $47,326. Comparatively, marriage and family therapists tend to make the most money in the government industry with an average salary of $60,978.addictions counselors tend to reach lower levels of education than marriage and family therapists. In fact, addictions counselors are 9.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Marriage and family therapist vs. Clinical counselor
A Clinical Counselor interviews clients to assess their mental health and behavioral problems. They examine issues such as substance abuse, depression, stress, aging and self-image.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real marriage and family therapist resumes. While marriage and family therapist responsibilities can utilize skills like "substance abuse," "mft," "family systems," and "individual psychotherapy," clinical counselors use skills like "foster care," "independent living," "social service agencies," and "program documentation."
Clinical counselors may earn a lower salary than marriage and family therapists, but clinical counselors earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $53,306. On the other hand, marriage and family therapists receive higher pay in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $60,978.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Clinical counselors tend to reach similar levels of education than marriage and family therapists. In fact, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for marriage and family therapists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Cheryl Stenmark Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director, Industrial/Organizational Psychology Masters Program, Angelo State University
Marriage and family therapist vs. Mental health counselor
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.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from marriage and family therapist resumes include skills like "substance abuse," "mental illness," "mft," and "child abuse," whereas a mental health counselor is more likely to list skills in "patient care," "rehabilitation," "cpr," and "family therapy. "
Mental health counselors make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $52,181. On the other hand, marriage and family therapists are paid the highest salary in the government industry, with average annual pay of $60,978.Most mental health counselors achieve a lower degree level compared to marriage and family therapists. For example, they're 6.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Marriage and family therapist vs. Clinician
A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.
Types of marriage and family therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
