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Marriage and Family Therapists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems. Apply psychotherapeutic and family systems theories and techniques in the delivery of services to individuals, couples, and families for the purpose of treating such diagnosed nervous and mental disorders.

Related: Child, Family, & School Social Workers Clinical & Counseling Psychologists Healthcare Social Workers Mental Health & Substance Abuse Social Workers Mental Health Counselors

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Collect information about clients, using techniques such as testing, interviewing, discussion, or observation.
Determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, or legal aid.
Gather information from doctors, schools, social workers, juvenile counselors, law enforcement personnel, and others to make recommendations to courts for resolution of child custody or visitation disputes.
Supervise other counselors, social service staff, and assistants.
Follow up on results of counseling programs and clients' adjustments to determine effectiveness of programs.
Provide public education and consultation to other professionals or groups regarding counseling services, issues, and methods.
Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner.
Confer with other counselors, doctors, and professionals to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services.
Gather information from doctors, schools, social workers, juvenile counselors, law enforcement personnel, and others to make recommendations to courts for resolution of child custody or visitation disputes.
Follow up on results of counseling programs and clients' adjustments to determine effectiveness of programs.
Collect information about clients, using techniques such as testing, interviewing, discussion, or observation.
Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations.
Confer with clients to develop plans for posttreatment activities.
Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors.
Write evaluations of parents and children for use by courts deciding divorce and custody cases, testifying in court if necessary.
Provide public education and consultation to other professionals or groups regarding counseling services, issues, and methods.
Provide instructions to clients on how to obtain help with legal, financial, and other personal issues.
Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues.
Determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, or legal aid.
Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties.
Provide public education and consultation to other professionals or groups regarding counseling services, issues, and methods.

Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.

Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.

History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Education

Master's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Internship/residency

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

59660/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

28.68/hr

Currently Employed

650

Yearly Projected Openings

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Concern for Others
Integrity
Self Control
Dependability
Stress Tolerance
Social Orientation

Building blocks
Desktop computers
Doll houses
Dolls
Laser printers
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
Photocopiers
Special purpose telephones
Stuffed animals or puppets
Videoconferencing systems

Accounting software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Internet browser software
Medical software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Video conferencing software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

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