Occupation
Marriage and family therapist
Marriage and family therapists treat relationship and family difficulties by working with the system rather than one person, often with several people in the room at once. Sessions involve managing conflict live, tracking patterns between family members, and holding neutrality when everyone wants an ally. Assessment, treatment planning, and clinical notes sit behind every session.
Also known as: Couples therapist · Family therapist · Systemic psychotherapist · Relationship counsellor
Occupation content
Part of Community, social and public services
What the work involves
- Assess relationship, family, and individual functioning and agree what therapy will target
- Run sessions with couples, families, or individuals using a systemic therapeutic model
- Manage conflict in the room and keep sessions safe and balanced between participants
- Record clinical notes, consent, and treatment plans for each case
- Screen for abuse, safeguarding, and risk issues and refer on where needed
- Take cases to clinical supervision and maintain professional development
How people commonly enter
- A master's or doctoral qualification in marriage and family therapy, systemic psychotherapy, or a closely related clinical field
- Accredited postgraduate training with supervised clinical hours through a recognised family therapy association
- Licensure or registration with the regulator where the therapist title is protected
- Transferring from counselling, clinical social work, or psychology into systemic training
Typical training: Postgraduate or professional degree
Licensing: Regulated in most jurisdictions — confirm the current requirement with the regulator in your province, state, or country.
Typical work context
Quiet focus · Public facing · High responsibility · Predictable routine · Remote capable
Related interests
Social (helping) · Investigative (analytical)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Community, social and public services.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- O*NET OnLine — occupation search: marriage and family therapist · United States
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- UK National Careers Service — Psychotherapist job profile · United Kingdom
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- Canada Job Bank — Career planning and occupation exploration (ESDC) · Canada
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Community, social and public services in Canada, not a figure for Marriage and family therapist. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Community, social and public services family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Community, social and public services: education pathways
Some roles in Community, social and public services may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Community, social and public services: licensing
Find jobs
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- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)