Career Field Analysis Paper
Marriage and Family Therapist
1. Introduction: This career involves diagnosing of emotional and mental disorders family and relationships among relatives or spouses. Marriage and family therapists usually have an office of their own, but spend a majority of their time meeting with various patients, being a socially-driven job. There is not much room for growth because the entry-level position is very similar to a seasoned therapist’s position; a counselor is expected to have all of the knowledge and skills necessary at the time of being hired.
2. Interests/Skills: According to O*NET, the Holland code for marriage and family therapists are most interested in the Social, Artistic, and Investigative. “Active listening, social perceptiveness, service oriented work-ethic, speaking and judgement and decision making” are all things skills needed for this career as stated by O*NET. Some major abilities needed for marriage and family therapy are “oral comprehension and expression, problem sensitivity, speech clarity and deductive reasoning” (O*NET).
3. Work Conditions:
Having a private office is usually required due to the confidentiality between therapists and their clients. “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” (bls). There is often stressful situations presented in this career as the therapist tries to diagnose their patient.
The purpose of this paper is to review my professional identity as a Marriage and Family Therapist and to reflect on my developing beliefs within my selection of the counseling profession. My professional identity is beginning to be developed throughout my education with Liberty University. I will address the Marriage and Family Therapist professional counselor role and how this position differs from social workers, clinical psychologists, and professional counselors. By reviewing the differences in counseling positions, I will be able to express the differences from my previous experiences with pastoral counseling, and outline what my
There are different reasons why the employment outlook for a marriage and family therapist is good. First, national legislature changes have forced insurance providers and health care organizations to expand services and increase coverage. These include the Affordable Care Act, the Mental Health Parity Act and the Addiction Equity Act.
A mental health counselor often helps their clients make positive choices and changes due to the decisions and insights they help facilitate. Many counselors work in hospitals with psychiatric patients or with mentally ill adults in continued day treatment programs. Some choose private practice or practice in counseling centers, government agencies, and corporations and youth homes. They usually work in pleasant and comfortable surroundings, working a standard workweek. Some counselors are available weekends or evenings for the convenience and needs of their clients. Mental health counselors are an extremely valuable part of the healthcare system.
I am Melinda, a firm believer in Jesus Christ, so I strive to live righteously. Originally, we are from New Orleans, Louisiana, we are survivors of the trauma of Hurricane Katrina, however, since then we have moved a few times, and now we are residents of Florida. My husband and I have five wonderful kids. We are grateful to God for them being grown and on their own, as a result, traveling has become our new hobby.
The Mental Health Counselor career provides you with the freedom to choose the dates, times, and lengths of observations and meetings. To accomplish this, you will need extra studies, and a state license(Learn.org). This will also be based on what kind of condition a patient is in, and the need of the patient. The working environment is normally indoors, with climate controlled atmosphere. It should usually have a thermostat. Sometimes you could even work inside of your home. causing a cozy and welcoming atmosphere for you and your
Capuzzi and Stauffer (2015) state that assessment of the needs of marriage and family therapy go beyond just the instruments, in fact “Snyder, Heyman, and Haynes (2005) noted that more individuals reported seeking treatment for marital problems than any other single type of problem, with a majority of individuals surveyed identifying significant periods of turmoil within their marriage. Given the numbers of individuals experiencing marital issues at some point or another within their relationship, as well as the number of individuals seeking couples therapy, couple and family therapists must be familiar with instruments that may be used to assess specific problems and the quality of the relationship” (p. 89). Myers says that he likes to help people, but really wants to be able to remain their pastor and will counsel briefly with people, but if the trouble they are having is more extensive from his assessment, then he will refer them to one of the highly qualified counselors of the
They may interact with psychiatrists who are medical doctors. They may have relationships with other counselors with whom the may collaborate, confer or refer to another counselor or professional as needed. Counselors may have a need to help a client get in touch with another type of service such as a social worker or rehabilitation facility. A counselor may give advice to another counselor if their opinion is sought out. If a counselor works within a facility as part of a team they may be interacting with any number of professionals involved within the care of a particular client. Being cognizant of what the role is as a counselor is constant. Counselors will establish boundaries depending on these roles (Remley & Herlihy, 2016). Counselors will also develop relationships with employers, supervisors and
I wanted to join the class because I am considering being a marriage and family therapist in the future. I definitely learned a lot from this class about the models and theories. I found structural family therapy the most interesting out of all the therapies. I also thought structural family therapy would be very beneficial in my job as a child protective service worker. Having an understanding of the family, their structure, and what problems there maybe is great for this job. Of course, most of my structural mapping is doing to deal with substance abuse in a subsystem. I am also a visual and hands on learner, and being able to see something physically works best for me.
Marriage and family therapists believe that the family patterns may affect an individual’s psychological and physical well being and therefore need to be part of therapy. During a therapy session even if only one person is being interviewed, the therapists focuses on a set of relationships that the person is embedded in. The entire family is involved in solving clients problems regardless of whether the issue in individual or family.
A marriage and family therapist may work in collaboration with other health care professionals, be involved in research, or use the family perspective to analyze public policies.
Graduates with a Marriage and Family Therapist are trained mental health professionals who have a family-oriented perspective and treatment approach.
It takes very special people to want to make a difference in people’s lives, to want to help them to be better. Some people seek to become counselors after overcoming a most important life challenge. The individuals that seek the profession of marriage and family therapy do not think of this work as a job or career, more typically a constellation of life experiences that demand explanation and a sense that others seek one out for assistance and emotional sustenance become driving forces leading one to counseling profession (An Invitation to Counseling Work).
Day, H. D., St. Clair, S., & Marshall, D. D. (1997). Do people who marry really have the same
therapy aims to improve family relations, and the family is encouraged to become a type of
My desire to complete a PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy stems from my compassion to try to help and guide those who have marital issues. Also I have a passion to help families who are facing familial difficulties. I am a firm believer in the saying “all healthy family have issues”. It is okay to have problems it is how you work through the problems as a family that will determine a family dynamic. This degree will help me in my social work endeavors because my concentration was clinical with a specialization in families and children. The doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy will give me an opportunity to further my knowledge and ability to help those who are in need. After I graduate I plan on taking the licensing exam for my LMFT license. I plan on using my degrees, social work, LMFT license and experience to start my own group practice. The research question I may want to answer for my dissertation is