5 Career Choices With A Family Therapist Degree

Five Careers You Can Pursue with a Marriage and Family Therapist Degree

A marriage and family therapist (MFT) helps develop skills vital to support people through stressful life changes and improving personal relations.

Although many MFT professionals practice privately, with a marriage and family therapy degree, you can also choose from many alternative careers. Hence, you can work in diverse environments and access exceptional opportunities to use your skills and experience in various situations.

Whether you wish to work directly with clients, perform research, or participate in shaping policy, the area of marriage and family therapy, with the right skills, you can opt to work in your desired area. Moreover, many MFT careers offer excellent growth opportunities. Thus, if you are planning to enroll in an MFT degree or have completed one, here are five jobs you can consider with a marriage and family therapist degree:

Marriage And Family Therapist Career Choices

Family Therapist Degree: Marriage and Family Counselor

Marriage and family counselors help families and couples deal with marital challenges and improve their relationships. These committed experts provide a secure environment for clients to explore and conquer problems, ultimately directing them towards more fulfilling and peaceful lives. They evaluate relationship dynamics and communication issues, set goals, and develop strategies to improve intimacy and conflict resolution.

Some aspects of being a family therapist include:

Providing counseling to individuals, couples, and families
Helping clients develop better communication skills and coping strategies
Addressing relationship challenges like divorce, infidelity, addiction, domestic violence
Assisting clients to work through life transitions, grief, mental health conditions, and other personal struggles

To become a licensed marriage and family counselor, you can pursue one of the COAMFTE accredited MFT programs online and study at your own pace. With curriculums emphasizing assessment, treatment, diagnosis, intervention, and clinical training, you can efficiently inspire healthy relationships between couples and families. Furthermore, with a flexible e-learning environment, you can earn a master’s degree while maintaining work and personal commitments.

Family Therapist Degree: Health Educator

The purpose of a health educator is to empower people to have happier, healthier, and more meaningful lives. They assess the requirements of their clients and create tailored educational programs to assist them. These programs aim to help clients improve their lives, diet, exercise, career, and family.

Additionally, health educators work closely with clients to negotiate issues and make wise judgments regarding their safety and well-being when experiencing physical or mental problems.

Health educators can work independently as freelancers or partner with organizations like schools, hospitals, or rehabilitation centers. Large organizations may create extensive educational programs for individuals or the public to improve community health and raise awareness of certain issues. These initiatives encourage improved health habits, offer useful information, and give people the power to decide for themselves what is best for their well-being.

Family Therapist Degree: Case Manager

The main responsibility of a case manager is to help patients and healthcare providers communicate clearly. They conduct thorough evaluations of patients to determine their requirements, after which they organize the help needed for mental, physical, emotional, and healthcare concerns.

Case managers are also vital in helping clients find and connect with resources such as food, housing, career prospects, or other fundamental needs. They also help customers fill out the necessary forms so they may use these services.

Ultimately, a case manager’s main goal is to provide clients with the resources and assistance they need to live healthy, stress-free, and independent lives.

Family Therapist Degree: Substance Abuse Counselor

A substance abuse counselor is crucial in helping those struggling with addiction by guiding them toward better options. They specialize in helping people overcome different addictions and provide services such as:

Conduct assessments to determine the severity of a client’s addiction and mental health needs and evaluate their medical, social, and family history.
Develop customized treatment plans for clients to establish short- and long-term goals for overcoming addiction. Help them make a plan to avoid relapses.
Provide one-on-one counseling and therapy sessions. Assist clients in identifying the underlying causes of their addiction and suggest tips to make healthy lifestyle changes by teaching coping mechanisms to avoid triggers and cravings.
Lead group counseling sessions that facilitate discussions on relapse prevention, healthier habits, and rebuilding relationships.

Substance abuse counseling can be a demanding yet rewarding career. With the proper education, training, and compassion, you can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those struggling with addiction.

Family Therapist Degree: Mental Health Therapist

Those with a marriage and family therapy degree can also work as mental health therapists. They can help people suffering from mental health issues and enable them to build healthy relationships with family or spouse. You can help people overcome obstacles in life and improve their mental well-being.

To support patients in improving their family dynamics and fostering better communication, mental health therapists use a variety of therapies, encouraging meaningful conversations that include:

Talk therapy: Engaging clients in discussions about their feelings, experiences, perceptions, and behaviors to increase insight and make positive changes.
Cognitive behavioral therapy: Helping clients identify negative thought patterns and behaviors and develop coping strategies to build healthier mindsets and habits.
Stress management: Teach clients techniques like deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness to better deal with stressful situations and reduce anxiety and worry.
Crisis intervention: Providing emergency psychological care to clients in crisis. It may involve de-escalating the situation, ensuring safety, and connecting clients with additional resources.

While the work can sometimes be emotionally taxing, the benefits of helping clients overcome difficulties and improve their well-being make this a worthwhile profession. With compassion and dedication, you can thrive as a mental health therapist.

Marriage and Family Therapist Degrees Goes Where You Do

An MFT degree provides abundant opportunities to pursue a rewarding career and help individuals and families build healthy relationships. The chance to positively impact people’s lives during distress and challenge is a privilege. So whether you become a case manager, substance abuse counselor, marriage and family counselor, health educator, etc., you can play a significant role in many people’s lives. However, besides your marriage and family therapy degree, some employment prospects might call for advanced education, certifications, or licenses. Learning about and comprehending the criteria for your selected field of specialization is crucial.