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Gabrielle Dolin

Career Report for EDP: Marriage Therapist

3/20/2017

Introduction

The career I have chosen both for this project and for my life is a marriage therapist. I

made this choice about a year ago and have selected my majors in college accordingly. This

career choice caught my eye because of my interest in psychology and a passion for helping

those going through hard times. In particular, the marriage aspect caught my eye, as to me the

way marriages and relationships work is fascinating.

Job Description

Marriage counselors and therapists work with couples to help improve their relationships

and work through problems in their life. They begin by interviewing the client to get an idea of

the problem and make a formal assessment, giving a suggested plan of action and therapy

program. They often work short-term, with a specific goal in mind to be achieved through the

therapy, and only work with a given client for an average of 12 sessions (AAMFT: About

Marriage and Family Therapists).

Career Path

The first step to reaching the top level career of a private marriage therapist would be an

internship, then moving to a junior marriage counselor. This would consist of working under an

experienced therapist, interviewing clients, making assessments and taking of a few cases here
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and there. Next would be becoming a fully licensed marriage counselor. Responsibilities would

now include a full case load, designing therapy programs, and attending professional

development courses or workshops. After many years at this level you may move onto an

agency manager with a reduced caseload, whose responsibilities include budgeting and staffing

an agency and coordinating outreach and community education programs. Lastly, you could a

achieve status as a private marriage counselor. This would require many years of experience with

a reputation of satisfied clients. (Bureau of Labor Statistics )

Education

For almost any position in the field of psychology it is required that you have at least a

masters in psychology, clinical mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, or a

related mental health field. The college I have chosen to attend is Eastern Michigan University.

Psychology is EMUs second most popular major after Education and is ranked #7 for

psychology schools in Michigan. (PSY Colleges). Another excellent choice for psychology

would be University of California Los Angeles, which is ranked #2 in the country after

Michigans own University of Michigan Ann Arbor. (PSY Colleges )

Working Conditions

Marriage counselors working under an agency can expect to work 40 hour weeks,

sometimes including evenings and weekends. Those in their own private practice are able to

choose their own hours, but should still offer evening times to accommodate their clients.

Although the job can be very rewarding, it can also be emotionally draining, and they must be

able to separate their home lives with work. It helps to have a positive attitude and lots of mental
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and emotional energy. They generally work in offices or counseling centers, but may offer

traveling to a clients home for sessions (Career Cruising ). A typical day would consist of asking

questions to assess what issues there may be and identify feelings and behaviors, counsel on

concerns, and encourage couples to use skills and strategies they have learned through

counseling for confronting their problems (OwlGuru).

Earnings

The median annual salary for marriage and family counselors was $48,600 as of May

2015 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The top 10 percent, however, were able to

make $68,790 that same year. Barbara LoFrisco, a licensed marriage and sex therapist who was

interviewed for jobshadow.com, says I started out charging $65 per session, because I was a

registered intern and not licensed yet. (JobShadow), while the Balance mentions that the hourly

earnings for the 2014 statistics were $23.10 (McKay).

Conclusion

Although to earn a distinguished standing in the counseling community requires years of

both college and experience, through my research I have found that it can be a quite rewarding

career. You are able to help people work through their problems and attempt to fix relationships

between couples, however hours and experiences may be physically and emotionally tiring. As

Barbara LoFrisco puts it Its hard work, long hours and can be overwhelming. And youll never be

rich. But you can be really, really happy and your life can have great meaning. (JobShadow).
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Works Cited
AAMFT: About Marriage and Family Therapists. 2002. 20 March 2017.
Bureau of Labor Statistics . Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family
Therapists. 17 December 2015. 20 March 2017.
Career Cruising . Marriage and Family Therapist. 2016. 21 March 2017.
JobShadow. Interview with a Marriage Counselor. May 2012. 22 March 2017.
McKay, Dawn Rosenberg. Job Facts About Marriage and Family Therapists. 6
September 2016. 22 March 2017.
OwlGuru. A Day In The Life of Marriage and Family Therapists. n.d. 21 March 2017.
PSY Colleges . Psychology Schools Offering Psychology Programs. 2015. 20 March
2017.
PSY Colleges. Eastern Michigan University - Psychology Ranking 2015. 2015. 20
March 2017.