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Marriage and Family Therapists Occupation Detailed Description

Marriage and Family Therapists career

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Marriage and Family Therapists

The main tasks and work activities of Marriage and Family Therapists are to 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. In general, for the Marriage and Family Therapists, active Listening, social Perceptiveness, speaking, reading Comprehension and other 17 skills are required.
Marriage and Family Therapists Job Description
EducationMost 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).
Related ExperienceExtensive 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.
Job TrainingEmployees 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.
ExampleThese occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include pharmacists, lawyers, astronomers, biologists, clergy, neurologists, and veterinarians.
The following chart shows the education/training levels for Marriage and Family Therapists jobs.
Less than a High School Diploma
0.00%
High School Diploma (or the equivalent)
0.00%
Post-Secondary Certificate
0.00%
Some College Courses
0.00%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
2.05%
Bachelor's Degree and Above
97.95%

Tasks and Work Activities of Marriage and Family Therapists

  • Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors.
  • Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties.
  • Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner.
  • Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations.
  • 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.
  • Confer with clients to develop plans for posttreatment activities.
  • Follow up on results of counseling programs and clients' adjustments to determine effectiveness of programs.
  • Provide instructions to clients on how to obtain help with legal, financial, and other personal issues.
  • 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.
  • Provide public education and consultation to other professionals or groups regarding counseling services, issues, and methods.
  • Supervise other counselors, social service staff, and assistants.
  • Provide family counseling and treatment services to inmates participating in substance abuse programs.
  • Write evaluations of parents and children for use by courts deciding divorce and custody cases, testifying in court if necessary.
  • Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues.
  • Confer with other counselors, doctors, and professionals to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services.
  • Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Documenting/Recording InformationEntering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Assisting and Caring for OthersProviding personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with OthersHandling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
  • Updating and Using Relevant KnowledgeKeeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkDeveloping specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Interacting With ComputersUsing computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • 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.
  • Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
  • Collect information about clients.
  • Refer clients to community or social service programs.
  • Evaluate characteristics of individuals to determine needs or eligibility.
  • Confer with clients to discuss treatment plans or progress.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling or educational programs.
  • Monitor clients to evaluate treatment progress.
  • Help clients get needed services or resources.
  • Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
  • Advise others on social or educational issues.
  • Lead classes or community events.
  • Present social services program information to the public.
  • Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
  • Counsel clients or patients with substance abuse issues.
  • Write reports or evaluations.
  • Develop treatment plans for patients or clients.

Skills and Abilities for Marriage and Family Therapists

  • Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
  • WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
  • Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
  • Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • Management of Personnel ResourcesMotivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Flexibility of ClosureThe ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Speed of ClosureThe ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Laser printerse.g. Computer laser printers
  • Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
  • Doll housese.g. Doll houses
  • Dollse.g. Dolls
  • Stuffed animals or puppetse.g. Hand puppets
  • Notebook computerse.g. Laptop computers
  • Special purpose telephonese.g. Multi-line telephone systems
  • Personal computerse.g. Personal computers
  • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizerse.g. Personal digital assistants PDA
  • Photocopierse.g. Photocopying equipment
  • Building blockse.g. Toy block sets
  • Videoconferencing systemse.g. Videoconferencing equipment
  • Therapy and CounselingKnowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  • PsychologyKnowledge 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.
  • Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge 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.
  • Sociology and AnthropologyKnowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
  • English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • ClericalKnowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
  • Law and GovernmentKnowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • Philosophy and TheologyKnowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.