Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists

Summary

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists help people manage or overcome mental and emotional disorders and problems with their family and relationships.

Quick Facts: Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists
2010 Median Pay	$39,710 per year $19.09 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Master’s degree
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	Internship/residency
Number of Jobs, 2010	156,300
Job Outlook, 2010-20	37% (Much faster than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	58,500

What Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists Do

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists help people manage or overcome mental and emotional disorders and problems with their family and relationships. They listen to clients and ask questions to help the clients understand their problems and develop strategies to improve their lives.

Work Environment

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists work in a variety of settings, such as private practice and mental health centers. Most work full time.

How to Become a Mental Health Counselor or Marriage and Family Therapist

All states require both mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists to have a master’s degree and a license to practice.

Pay

The median annual wage of mental health counselors was $38,150 in May 2010. The median annual wage of marriage and family therapists was $45,720 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of mental health counselors is expected to grow by 36 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average for all occupations. Employment of marriage and family therapists is expected to grow by 41 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected as the overall population grows and as insurance companies increasingly provide for reimbursement of counselors and marriage and family therapists as a less costly alternative to psychiatrists and psychologists.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists by contacting these additional resources.

What Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists Do About this section

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists encourage clients to discuss their emotions and experiences.

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists help people manage or overcome mental and emotional disorders and problems with their family and relationships. They listen to clients and ask questions to help the clients understand their problems and develop strategies to improve their lives.

Duties

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists typically do the following:

• Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, such as anxiety and depression
• Encourage clients to discuss their emotions and experiences
• Help clients process their reactions and adjust to changes in their life, such as divorce or layoffs
• Guide clients through the process of making decisions about their future
• Help clients develop strategies and skills to change their behavior or cope with difficult situations
• Coordinate treatment with other professionals, such as psychiatrists and social workers
• Refer clients to other resources or services in the community, such as support groups or inpatient treatment facilities

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists use a variety of techniques and tools to help their clients. Many apply cognitive behavioral therapy, a goal-oriented approach that helps clients understand harmful thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and replace them with positive, life-enhancing ones. Furthermore, cognitive behavioral therapy teaches clients to eliminate unwanted or damaging behaviors and replace them with more productive ones.

Some disorders can be overcome, but others need to be managed. In these cases, mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists help the client develop strategies and skills to minimize the effects of their disorders or illnesses.

Some mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists work in private practice. They must spend time marketing their practice to prospective clients and working with insurance companies and clients to get payment for their services.

Mental health counselors provide treatment to individuals, families, couples, and groups. Some work with specific populations, such as the elderly, college students, or children. Mental health counselors deal with a variety of issues, including anxiety, depression, grief, low self-esteem, stress, and suicidal impulses. They also help with mental and emotional health issues, and relationship problems. 

Marriage and family therapists work with individuals, couples, and families. Unlike other types of mental health professionals, they bring a family-centered perspective to treatment, even when treating individuals. They evaluate family roles and development to understand how clients’ families affect their mental health. They treat the clients’ relationships, not just the clients themselves. They address issues such as low self-esteem, stress, addiction and substance abuse.

Work Environment About this section

Many mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists work in private practice.

In 2010, mental health counselors held about 120,300 jobs, and marriage and family therapists held about 36,000 jobs.

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists work in variety of settings, such as mental health centers, substance abuse treatment centers, hospitals, and colleges. They also work in private practice and in employee assistance programs (EAPs), which are mental health programs that some employers provide to help employees deal with personal problems.

The following table shows the industries with the highest percentages of mental health counselors in 2010:

The following table shows the industries with the highest percentages of marriage and family therapists in 2010:

Dealing every day with the array of problems that clients bring may be stressful.

Work Schedules

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists generally work full time. Because counseling sessions are scheduled to accommodate clients who may have job or family responsibilities, some counselors and therapists work evenings and weekends.

How to Become a Mental Health Counselor or Marriage and Family Therapist About this section

Master’s programs in mental health counseling and marriage and family therapy prepare students to provide counseling to couples, individuals, and groups.

All states require both mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists to have a master’s degree and a license to practice.

Education

A master’s degree in counseling or marriage and family therapy is required. A bachelor’s degree in most fields is acceptable to enter a master’s-level program.

Counseling programs prepare students to recognize symptoms of mental and emotional disorders and to use effective counseling strategies. Marriage and family therapy programs teach students about how marriages, families, and relationships function and how they affect mental and emotional disorders. Both programs typically require a period of supervised experience, such as an internship.

Licenses

Mental health counselors must be licensed. Licensure requires a master’s degree and 2,000 to 4,000 hours of supervised clinical experience. In addition, counselors must pass a state-recognized exam and complete annual continuing education classes. Contact information for state regulating boards is available through the National Board for Certified Counselors.

Marriage and family therapists must be licensed. Licensure requires a master’s degree and 2 years of supervised clinical experience. Like counselors, marriage and family therapists must pass a state-recognized exam and complete annual continuing education classes. Contact information for state regulating boards is available through the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards.

Important Qualities

Compassion. Counselors and therapists often work with people who are dealing with stressful and difficult situations, so they must be compassionate and empathize with their clients.

Listening skills. Good listening skills are essential for mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists, both of whom need to give their full attention to their clients to understand their problems and values.

Organizational skills. Good organizational skills are especially important for counselors and therapists in private practice, who must keep track of payments and work with insurance companies.

People skills. Being able to work with different types of people is essential for counselors and therapists, who spend most of their time working directly with clients or other professionals and must be able to encourage good relationships.

Speaking skills. Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists need to be able to communicate with clients effectively. They must express ideas and information in a way that clients can easily understand.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of mental health counselors was $38,150 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,180, and the top 10 percent earned more than $63,630.

In May 2010, wages for mental health counselors in the industries employing the most mental health counselors were as follows:

The median annual wage of marriage and family therapists was $45,720 in May 2010. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,870, and the top 10 percent earned more than $72,280.

In May 2010, wages for marriage and family therapists in the industries employing the most marriage and family therapists were as follows:

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists generally work full time. Because counseling sessions are scheduled to accommodate clients who may have job or family responsibilities, some counselors and therapists work evenings and weekends.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists is expected to grow by 37 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average for all occupations. Employment of mental health counselors is expected to grow by 36 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average for all occupations. Employment of marriage and family therapists is expected to grow by 41 percent over the same period, much faster than the average for all occupations.

Insurance companies increasingly provide for reimbursement of counselors and marriage and family therapists as a less costly alternative to psychiatrists and psychologists. People seeking mental health treatment are more likely to see a mental health counselor or a marriage and family therapist over other providers.

Furthermore, more people are expected to seek treatment for problems with mental and emotional problems than in earlier decades. As the population grows, the number of individuals entering therapy is expected to increase as well. This trend will cause a continued demand for counselors in mental health centers, hospitals, and colleges.

From 2010 to 2020, employment growth of mental health counselors in industries employing the most mental health counselors is expected to be as follows:

From 2010 to 2020, employment growth for marriage and family therapists in industries employing the most marriage and family therapists is expected to be as follows:

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about mental health counselors, visit

American Mental Health Counselors Association

For more information about marriage and family therapists, visit

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

For general information about counseling and for information about counseling specialties, visit

American Counseling Association

For information about contacting state regulating boards, visit

National Board for Certified Counselors