How to Become a Marriage and Family Counselor

Marriages and families can exist circuitous and delicate structures that present a host of rewards and challenges. According to the American Psychological Association, xl%-50% of marriages end in divorce, and subsequent marriages face an even higher divorce rate. Fortunately, marriage and family therapists have the expertise to strengthen relationships and better the mental health of individuals who struggle with challenges in their marriages and families.

Marriage and family therapists are in the unique position of making an indelible difference in the lives of their clients, which tin be professionally fulfilling and rewarding. Individuals who accept an interest in pursuing a master's degree in counseling and are curious about how to become a matrimony and family therapist tin benefit from exploring common bug that ascend in marriages, the specifics of what matrimony and family therapists practice, and the steps involved in entering the profession.

Acme Reasons for Divorce

Exploring the peak reasons for divorce can requite prospective marriage and family therapists an introduction to the problems with which they could be working. Wedlock and family therapists help clients work through these bug, either to help strengthen marriages or to aid marriages end amicably.

In 2020, online divorce website It's Over Easy analyzed multiple surveys regarding divorce and identified these peak reasons for divorce:

• Abuse (for example, domestic violence or verbal, physical or emotional abuse)
• Booze or substance abuse and habit
• Communication issues
• Disharmonize, arguing or irretrievable failure of the relationship
• Differing values or morals
• Altitude or lack of physical intimacy
• Adultery
• Bereft commitment
• Lack of romantic intimacy and dear
• Lack of shared interests or incompatibility
• Marrying too young
• Unequal carrying of the weight in the wedlock

Common Marital Stressors

For individuals looking into how to become a union and family unit therapist, it as well can be informative to develop an agreement of other common issues that can strain a marriage. For example:

• Loss of a loved one. Grieving the loss of a child or other close family unit member tin can put significant stress on a marriage. As the American Clan for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) has noted, strong relationships can survive and fifty-fifty get stronger after the loss of a child, just relationships that are already relatively weak may suffer impairment that could be mitigated through therapy.
• Financial distress. Fiscal distress tin can have devastating effects on marriages and family unit relationships. Co-ordinate to the AAMFT, financial distress likewise can trigger issues such every bit anxiety, depression, and alcohol and drug corruption.
• The empty nest. Divorce Magazine has cited the furnishings of children growing upwardly and moving out as a stressor that tin can trigger divorce. With children no longer in the home, the long-term fail of a marriage may become more apparent, and the partners in a wedlock may experience differently about their new home surround.

Wedlock Milestones and the Emergence of Gray Divorce

Certain milestones in marriage place couples at higher risk of divorce. For instance:

• Fatherly, a parenting website, ranks the first 2 years of matrimony as milestones at which the risk of divorce is high. The initial years of a spousal relationship can be peculiarly challenging, and prenuptial agreements commonly become effective later on i twelvemonth of union.
• Fatherly besides ranks years five through eight of marriage as milestones at which the adventure of divorce is loftier. In those years, in detail, marriage satisfaction rates can starting time to decline.
• Every bit mentioned to a higher place, the bespeak at which children go out the nest is a milestone at which marriages tin can deteriorate.

An increase in "gray divorce" (divorce among long-married couples in their 50s or 60s) also has become credible in contempo years. Kiplinger mag cites a reduction in the stigma of divorce, longer life expectancy and the postponement of divorce until children are grown as some of the reasons behind this trend.

Marriage and Family Therapist Job Clarification

Individuals who are interested in how to get matrimony and family therapists should become familiar with the typical marriage and family unit therapist job description.

Services That Wedlock and Family Therapists Provide

While focusing on relationships, marriage and family therapists:

• Diagnose and treat disorders, emotional and mental, that exist within families, couples and marriages
• Provide psychotherapy
• Provide grouping, family and couples therapy

According to the AAMFT, the therapy that marriage and family therapists provide is typically solution-focused and based on specific goals. The therapy is usually short-term (well-nigh 12 sessions).

Disorders and Bug That Marriage and Family unit Therapists Care for

Union and family therapists are trained to treat a wide diverseness of disorders and bug that tin can bear upon relationships. The AAMFT lists these examples:

• Adolescent drug abuse
• Alcoholism
• Anxiety
• Kid-parent problems
• Dementia
• Low
• Private psychological problems
• Marital distress
• Obesity

Where Wedlock and Family Therapists Practice

Marriage and family unit therapists tin provide their services in a variety of settings. The U.Due south. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists mental wellness centers, hospitals, substance abuse treatment centers, individual practices and employee assistance programs as examples.

Matrimony and Family unit Therapists' Salary and Job Prospects

According to the BLS, the median annual salary of marriage and family therapists in 2020 was $51,340. The employment outlook for the profession is bright: The BLS projected 22% growth in jobs for marriage and family therapists from 2019 to 2029, which significantly exceeds the iv% average projected growth for all occupations.

Steps to Go a Marriage and Family Therapist

Individuals who become marriage and family therapists typically follow these steps:

• Earn a bachelor'due south degree. Most types of available'south degrees are usually acceptable, but bachelor's degrees in psychology or a related field can be helpful.
• Earn a master'south or doctoral degree. The graduate degree should be in spousal relationship and family therapy, counseling, psychology or a related field.
• Obtain required supervised clinical feel. The required number of hours varies by land, just it'south generally in the range of 2,000 to 4,000 hours (or about one to 2 years).
• Obtain state licensure. To obtain licensure, the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board notes that virtually states require candidates to pass the Marriage and Family unit Therapist National Examination. Additional state licensure requirements can vary, so condign familiar with the specific requirements of the relevant land's licensing lath is important.

Working Toward a Career in Wedlock and Family Therapy

Knowing how to get a wedlock and family therapist is the start step on the journeying to a fulfilling career that tin can permit you to make pregnant improvements in people's lives. Individuals who are interested in the profession can explore Wake Forest University's online Chief of Arts in Counseling program to larn how the program can gear up them on a form to pursue their goals. Begin your journey to a rewarding career today.

Recommended Readings

How to Go a Family Counselor

How Family unit Counselors Teach Communication Skills

Why Become a Family unit Marriage Counselor?

Sources:

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Almost Union and Family Therapists

American Association for Matrimony and Family unit Therapy, Fiscal Distress & the Family

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Grieving the Loss of a Child

American Association for Matrimony and Family Therapy, Union and Family unit Therapist: The Family-Friendly Mental Health Professionals

American Psychological Association, Marriage & Divorce

Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board, State Licensure Comparing

Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board, Your National Exam Roadmap

CNN.com, "The 'Gray Divorce' Trend: As the Gates Split Shows, More than Older Couples Are Getting Divorced. Here's Why"

DivorceMag.com, "How Empty Nest Syndrome Can Lead to Divorce"

Fatherly, "A Year-by-Year Guide to Your Risk of Divorce"

It's Over Like shooting fish in a barrel, "Causes of Divorce: 13 of the Most Common Reasons"

Kiplinger, "'Grayness Divorce' Rates Are Exploding Due to This Perfect Tempest"

Psychology Today, "Why Exercise People Divorce?"

U.S. Agency of Labor Statistics, Union and Family Therapists

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Source: https://counseling.online.wfu.edu/blog/how-to-become-a-marriage-and-family-therapist/

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