Marriage and Family Counseling

In the whirl of our fast-paced, modern society, many families across the country find it a struggle to communicate and maintain a solid connection with their loved ones. Faced with these difficulties, some families turn to therapists for help in coping with life's challenges.

If you like the idea of helping families work through their problems together, then marriage and family counseling may be a great career path for you.

Coursework and Experiential Requirements

Certification and licensure as a marriage and family counselor involves two primary types of coursework: academic studies and internship experience.

Academic Studies for Family Counseling

Students pursuing marriage and family counseling as a career will take classes that teach them how to counsel patients, how to assess counseling experiences and how to strengthen family bonds. Typical coursework may include:

adolescent psychology
counseling and psychotherapy theories
counseling techniques
group treatment strategies
human development and sexuality
marriage and family systems
substance abuse.

Internships For Family Counseling

Once students complete initial coursework, they may be required to also participate in an internship that can involve as many as 1,000 hours of supervised practice, with about a quarter of that time spent in direct contact with clients. This time usually counts as credits toward completion of the degree or program.

Skills Attained

Through classroom studies and applied instruction, marriage and family counseling students gain a variety of skills for assessing and treating families who seek help. Examples of these skills include:

basic counseling knowledge and competency: Students will thoroughly understand the concepts and characteristics related to human and family development and general treatment theories. These will form the basis for more specific assessment and treatment skills.
clinical experience: In completing the internship, students will round out their education with real-life experience. This not only helps them develop their sensitivity, but it also helps build their professionalism and learn how to interact with patients in a clinical setting.
marriage and family counseling theory: While each family is different, there are standard approaches that counselors rely on to form a basic structure for family treatment planning. Students will learn the dynamics of the family system and how to use their understanding of healthy relationships to diagnose and treat a family that may be experiencing difficulties.
mental health services: Sometimes family challenges stem from the struggles of just one member. Oftentimes, such struggles are related to mental health or substance abuse issues. Through their coursework, family counseling students will be able to identify mental or substance abuse issues and then recommend an appropriate course of treatment.
professional development: Counselors must first understand their goals and perceptions of life before they begin to help families focus on their own. Students of this program will understand how to use assessment tools on themselves and apply that information to grow and refine their strategies for counseling families.