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Marriage and Family Therapists

	Median Wage (USD, 2024)	Projected Job Openings (2024-2034)	Projected Growth (2024-2034)
National Statistics	$63780	7700	12.6%
State Statistics	-	-	-
City Statistics	-	-	-

Statistics

National

State

City

State

City

$63780

Median Wage (USD, 2024)

7700

Projected Job Openings (2024-2034)

12.6%

Projected Growth (2024-2034)

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.

Experience Requirements Overview

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: Master's Degree

Related Work Experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years

On-Site or In-Plant Training: Up to and including 1 month

On-the-Job Training: None or short demonstration

Detailed Work Activities

Develop treatment plans for patients or clients.
Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.
Counsel clients regarding interpersonal issues.
Teach life skills or strategies to clients or their families.
Maintain client records.
Collect information about clients.
Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
Evaluate characteristics of individuals to determine needs or eligibility.
Refer clients to community or social service programs.
Confer with clients to discuss treatment plans or progress.
Monitor clients to evaluate treatment progress.
Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling or educational programs.
Help clients get needed services or resources.
Present social services program information to the public.
Lead classes or community events.
Advise others on social or educational issues.
Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
Write reports or evaluations.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

Tasks

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

Work Styles

Innovation

A tendency to be inventive, to be imaginative, and to adopt new perspectives on ways to accomplish work.

Innovation

Achievement Orientation

Intellectual Curiosity

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Initiative

Adaptability

Self-Confidence

Perseverance

Leadership Orientation

Humility

Sincerity

Empathy

Cooperation

Optimism

Social Orientation

Cautiousness

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Integrity

Stress Tolerance

Self-Control

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 30.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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