Family Therapist

Family, marriage and other related counselors assist individuals and groups of clients to identify, understand and overcome personal problems and achieve personal objectives. They strive to help clients resolve interpersonal difficulties, develop effective and satisfactory relationships, and build meaningful support systems. Marriage and family counselors help individuals, couples, and families understand and improve relationships, resolve emotional issues left over from past relationships, and enhance persona; well-being. They help clients build their own strengths, resources, and resilience, and set out clear and realistic goals for the future. They also conduct crisis counseling sessions to help clients deal with suicidal impulses, divorce, job loss, grief and other life changes.

Average Hourly

$33.93

Range Hourly

$28.50 – $38.76

Average Yearly

$61,978.00

Range Yearly

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NOC Code

Family, Marriage and other related Counsellors (4153)

Alias Job Titles

Addictions counselor; Marriage and family counselor; Bereavement counselor; Family counselor; Registered clinical counselor; Rehabilitation counselor.

Qualifications Required

An undergraduate degree or college diploma in social science is required for certain areas of counseling.
Master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, social work, psychology, or a related discipline.
A few Canadian universities offer an accredited master’s degree in marriage and family therapy.
In Alberta, the majority of marriage and family counsellors must be registered with a professional college depending on their scope of work.

Job Demand

Medium.
Employment outlook is good to fair in most provinces. More information is available from here.

Growth opportunity

Advancement opportunities depend on the size of and nature of the employing organization.

Counsellors usually become specialized in a particular area through training and experience. Progression to social service management positions is possible with additional training and experience

Years’ Experience Required

On average, six years of post-secondary education is required to practice as a marriage and family counsellor.

Additionally, a minimum of two years of professional work experience in marriage and family therapy following receipt of a master’s or doctorate degree are required to attain the Registered Marriage and Family Therapist designation.

Training Options (if available)

Advisable to look at accredited universities under the The Canadian Association for Marriage and Family Therapy’s website when pursing professional degree

Professional Certificate/Diploma in Couple and Family Therapy - University of Calgary

MA in Marriage and Family Therapy - Trinity Western University

Personal Qualities

An individual’s overall capacity to learn the skills needed to perform job duties is based on his or her specific aptitudes for acquiring information and transforming it into action.

Desired qualities include a genuine interest in people; emotional maturity; sensitivity to ethnic and cultural issues, religion and spiritual belief; the ability to listen in a non-judgemental manner and demonstrate empathy for a client’s situation regardless of their background or issues; creativity to develop new programs or ways of doing things; strong decision making skills; the ability to keep information confidential; written and oral communication skills.

Notes/Other Information

Sources of information:
www.alis.alberta.ca
https://camft.ca/
https://immilist.com/

Potential employers /Workplaces

Health Care and Social Assistance Industry
Addiction treatment
Counseling and family therapy centres
Government or private social-service agencies
Health-care and rehabilitation clinics and hospital
Private practices

Steps towards capacity building to become competitive for this job

The path to becoming a registered Family therapist is rigorous. IMGs pathway may involve:
1. Candidates are encouraged to enter into a process of dialogue and reflection with the registration association which will enable them to identify the resources they bring to practice from diverse backgrounds and forms of training and experience, as well as the resources they may yet need to practice with autonomy and confidence, joining the ranks of those who promote excellence in the field.
2. To become an affiliate member of the Canadian Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (CAMFT), the candidate must have completed a Master’s degree or equivalent in another profession (e.g. nursing, medicine, occupational therapy) and wants to practice from a systemic perspective.
3. To become an associate member of CAMFT, the candidate must have completed a Master’s degree or equivalent and is practising as a Marriage and Family Therapist, or in a related profession and is working from a systemic perspective.
4. In general, graduates from programs accredited by CCPA’s Council on Accreditation of Counsellor Education Programs (CACEP) are eligible to be considered for fast-track certification procedures.