Top Skills for This Career
BLS identifies these as the three highest-rated skills for this detailed occupation. TrustInEd adds the plain-language explanations so visitors understand what each skill means.
Working effectively with people by building relationships, understanding others, and responding appropriately.
Adjusting effectively when priorities, conditions, tools, or expectations change.
Identifying problems, considering possible solutions, and choosing appropriate actions.
How Do You Prepare for This Career?
BLS describes the typical preparation for this occupation. Requirements can vary by employer, state, licensing rules and individual circumstances.
How to Become One
How to Become a Marriage and Family Therapist Master's programs in marriage and family therapy prepare students to provide counseling to couples, individuals, and groups. Marriage and family therapists typically need a master’s degree to enter the occupation. Every state requires therapists to be licensed.
Education
To enter the occupation, marriage and family therapists need a master’s degree in psychology, marriage and family therapy, or a related mental health field from an accredited school. Admissions requirements vary by program. Applicants may need to have completed specific coursework, such as counseling and statistics, or to have a bachelor’s degree in psychology or a related field. Marriage and family therapy programs teach students about how marriages, families, and relationships function and how these relationships can affect mental and emotional health. Programs typically include a supervised practicum or internship where students gain experience working with clients.
Training
Candidates gain hands-on experience through postdegree supervised clinical work. During this training, they work under the supervision of a licensed counselor and learn to provide family therapy, group therapy, psychotherapy, and other therapeutic interventions directly to clients.
Licenses, Certifications & Registrations
All states require marriage and family therapists to be licensed. Licensure requires a master’s degree and completion of a state-specified number of hours of postdegree supervised clinical experience. In addition, therapists must pass a state-recognized exam and complete annual continuing education classes. Some states require passage of a jurisprudence exam. Information on state licensing board requirements is available from CareerOneStop.
Your Next Step
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Pay
the median annual wage for all workers was $50,980.
Job Outlook
Job Outlook Employment of marriage and family therapists is projected to grow 14 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 6,900 openings for marriage and family therapists are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. Employment Employment growth of marriage and family therapists is expected due to the increasing use of integrated care, which is the treatment of multiple issues at one time by a group of specialists. In providing integrated care, marriage and family therapists work with counselors such as substance abuse, behavior disorder, and mental health counselors to address clients' issues as a team. Marriage and Family Therapists Percent change in employment, projected 2025–35 Marriage and family therapists 14% Counselors, social workers, and other community and social service specialists 8% Total, all occupations 3% Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.
What They Do
What Marriage and Family Therapists Do
Marriage and family therapists diagnose and treat cognitive, behavioral, or similar disorders in the context of couples and other relationships.
Duties
Marriage and family therapists typically do the following:
- Assess clients to identify their emotional, behavioral, and psychological needs
- Ask questions that encourage clients to discuss their emotions and experiences
- Help clients process their reactions and adjust to difficult changes that relate to marriage and family dynamics, such as divorce
- Create a treatment plan that helps clients develop coping strategies and decision-making skills
- Refer clients to other specialists, resources, or services in the community
- Complete and maintain confidential files and records
Marriage and family therapists work with individuals, couples, and families. Even when treating individuals, therapists focus on family systems. They evaluate family relationships and development to understand how these affect clients’ mental health. Treatment often involves addressing issues, such as low self-esteem and addiction, that impact clients’ relationships.
Marriage and family therapists assess each client’s situation and determine the best type, or types, of technique for treatment. They use a variety of techniques and tools to treat clients. For example, a therapist may apply cognitive behavioral therapy to help the client understand harmful thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and how to replace them with positive ones.
Therapists also have administrative duties, including maintaining records to document client visits. Those working in private practice must market their business to prospective clients, and they may need to follow up with insurance companies and clients to get payment for their services.
Marriage and family therapists coordinate client treatment with other specialists, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers.
Work Environment
Work Environment
Marriage and family therapists held about 76,300 jobs in 2025. The largest employers of marriage and family therapists were as follows:
| Offices of other health practitioners | 33% |
| Individual and family services | 23 |
| Self-employed workers | 11 |
| Outpatient care centers | 10 |
| State government, excluding education and hospitals | 6 |
Marriage and family therapists work in a variety of settings. In addition to those shown in the table, which include mental health centers and substance abuse treatment centers, their work settings include schools and hospitals.
Some marriage and family therapists offer telehealth options, in which they meet with clients by phone, video, or other virtual method.
Work Schedules
Most marriage and family therapists work full time, but part-time work is common. Some therapists work evenings and weekends to accommodate their clients’ schedules.
Important Qualities
The following are examples of qualities that are important for these workers to perform their duties. For more information, visit the Employment Projections (EP) skills data page. Communication skills. Marriage and family therapists need to effectively convey ideas and listen to clients. Because they instruct clients on improving communication, it is important that they model effective communication themselves. Compassion. Marriage and family therapists often work with people who are dealing with stressful and difficult situations, so they must be able to empathize with their clients. Interpersonal skills. Marriage and family therapists must be able to work effectively with different types of people. They need to develop a rapport when working with clients to help them feel comfortable. Organizational skills. Marriage and family therapists need to maintain records of client interactions. Therapists in private practice also must keep track of payments and work with insurance companies.
More Information
More Information, Including Links to O*NET
Learn more about marriage and family therapists by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.
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Start with ED →Career data and occupational profile text are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections program. Education requirements are typical entry-level requirements and may vary by employer, state, occupation or individual circumstance. View the official BLS profile.