Marriage family therapists (MFT) are trained healthcare professionals that resolve emotion and psychological issues related to marriages, families, elderly and children. They usually work in private practices of their own or under a hospital. Their duties include assessing patients behavior and improving them with the aid of therapy models.
- Emotional stress or anxiety
- Child behavior problems
- Feelings of loneliness, isolation
- Depression
- Moodiness
- Sexual disturbances
- Unexplained fatigue
- Unusual eating patterns
- Unexplained injuries to family members
- Excessive alcohol or drug use
- Family conflict or tension
- Divorce or separating lifestyles
- Fear, anger or guilt
- Grief or emotional pain
There are many models of therapy such as group (a form of psychotherapy), cognitive-behavioral and psycho-analytical therapy.
Group therapy involves resolving psychological/emotional issues in a group setting while cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on specific behavior. For instance, one patient may come in one day and would like to erase their fear of spiders. Reinforcements techniques of conditioning would be used by the therapist on the patient to gradually reduce their fear. Psycho-analytical therapy is the most dominantly perceived view of psychology. You’ve probably seen it on mass media. The patient lays on a comfy couch while a psychologist/therapist with a note pad is scribbling down important details the patients shares. This was the therapy introduced by Sigmund Freud. Some psychologists/therapists still use this while other practitioners have moved to more modern approaches. There are may be many politics with each model of therapy but provide the therapist a great tool kit to facilitate behavior modification and improve lives.
What does it Take to Become a Marriage Family Therapist?
Before you even think of school ask yourself…
Do I enjoy working with others? Do I find joy in seeing others grow and control their lives? Am I patient and empathetic enough to listen to a client and aid them?
If you answered yes to all of the above questions then you may have a great future as an MFT.
