Marriage & Family Counseling

Become a Marriage & Family Counselor

Marriage and family counselors assist families dealing with personal crises and navigating relationship stresses. They bring a levelheaded outside perspective to personal problems, and present a calm voice of reason in situations of emotional conflict. If you believe in the importance of family and are interested helping people manage the emotional, behavioral and other issues that complicate family life today, you might consider a career in marriage and family counseling.

Marriage and Family Counseling in a Nutshell

Marriage and family therapists (MFTs) assist people who are having difficulty in their familial or personal relationships. They help clients through the step-by-step process of expressing tension in a relationship and working through problems to a healthy solution. In the process, marriage and family counselors also improve their clients' communication skills and emotional well-being.

Using their psychological training to assess troubled relationships, marriage and family counselors evaluate and treat emotional and mental disorders, behavioral problems, and other relationship issues. They believe in the value of marriage and family, and focus treatment not just on individuals, but the entire family system.

Education Requirements for Marriage and Family Counselors

Becoming a fully accredited marriage and family counselor requires the following educational steps:

• Acquiring a bachelor's degree in psychology gets you started; this degree qualifies you to work as a counseling aid or social service worker.
• Most states require a two-year master's degree in counseling or marriage counseling to gain certification.
• Finally, you'll need a state or national counseling license and about two years' worth of supervised clinical experience.

The good news is that many graduate programs include internship hours and licensing preparation as part of your study, so you'll be well on your way to achieving your goals by the time you earn your marriage and family counseling degree.

Day in the Life of a Marriage and Family Counselor

Most marriage and family counselors work in a private or small group practice where they meet couples and families in quiet office settings. Some also find work in larger health care facilities and social service organizations where their specialized expertise is needed. Marriage and family counselors often work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends, to accommodate couples' schedules and family crises.

Because counseling work can be emotionally demanding, counselors need to have good mental and emotional stamina. While marriage and family counselors get to experience the joy of relationship breakthroughs and emotional healing, they must also witness other people's setbacks or slow progress. For this reason, counselors must have effective ways of coping with their own stress, and must be careful not to internalize the anxiety of their clients.

Although marriage and family counseling is challenging, most counselors agree that steering people out of personal crisis adds an enormous amount of fulfillment to the profession.

Job Growth for Marriage and Family Counselors

According to the US Department of Labor, overall employment of counselors is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2014. As people grow more comfortable seeking professional help for relationship difficulties, the skills of a marriage and family counselor will be in higher demand. Plus, job openings for counselors are expected to exceed the number of incoming counselors over the coming years, so work opportunities should be abundant.

Get Your Marriage & Family Counseling
Degree Today!