One of the fastest growing areas of the mental health field is that of marriage and family therapists. These mental health professionals are skilled in helping people to both manage and overcome problems in their marriage and family.
Marriage and family therapists listen to their clients, and ask pertinent questions to help them to have a better grasp of their personal problems, to develop new strategies to deal with the problems and to improve their lives.
This is a very popular career field, with a healthy 19% job growth rate expected by 2024, which is much faster than average. Generally, the field of mental health counselors is expected to grow by 20%. Both of these occupations are expected to grow quickly because more people have mental health counseling services covered in their insurance plans, and people also place a stronger emphasis on mental health in the 21st century than in the past.
How to Become a Marriage Family Therapist
You are required to have at least a master’s degree in this field and a license to practice. After you have earned your master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, you need to obtain your license to practice for your state. This generally requires a master’s degree with at least 2000 hours of supervised clinical experience.
Online Master’s in Family Therapy Degree Programs
For your master’s degree, we recommend that you examine the below marriage and family therapy degree programs, with no GRE required:
#1 Liberty University
Liberty University offers a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy that is highly regarded in the industry. It will give you a very strong understanding of marriage and family counseling principles so that you can earn your license as a therapist. The courses will provide you with an excellent background in group and individual counseling theories, as well as advanced clinical practice.
This program consists of 60 credit hours that may be completed in two or three years. You must attend five on campus intensive programs. Required coursework:
- Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling
- Multicultural Counseling
- Theories of Counseling
- Group Counseling
- Research and Program Evaluation
- Career Development
- Human Growth and Development
- Marriage and Family Counseling
More information:
- Campus: Online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
- Tuition: $565 per credit hour
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 36 months
- On Campus Requirements: Yes
- Programs Offered: Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
#2 Northcentral University
At Northcentral University, you can earn your Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy. You will have the opportunity to earn a tough and rigorous graduate degree in counseling and be able to continue with most of your regular work schedule.
This program has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education. It is focused on helping you to hone the skills that you will need to be an effective marriage and family therapist.
The classes in this three year, online program have been set up to follow the standards of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
The professors at this university are all holders of doctorates and they are all practicing in the field outside of the university at present.
For your supervised clinical work, you can complete all of your hours in your local area. Your academic supervisor will help you to find an appropriate clinical site to complete your internship.
More information:
- Campus: Online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education
- Tuition: $910 per credit hour
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 36 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
#3 Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University offers an online master in marriage and family therapy that will provide you with the expertise to serve in many types of counseling and therapy settings. This is a 60 credit hour program that provides you with relevant classes in marriage and family therapy online without a need to visit the campus.
You will be provided with the most practical and relevant training in couple and family therapy. You also have the option of focusing on medical family therapy, which is of great interest in the mental health field today.
All students must complete these core classes:
- BMFT 639 Family Theory
- BMFT 641 Family Therapy I
- BMFT 662 Family Life Cycle
- BMFT 601 Pre-Internship
- BMFT 643 Professional Ethics and the Law
In addition to several internship classes, all students must complete:
- BMFT 645 Systematic Diagnosis & Assessment
- BMFT 610 Couples Therapy
- BMFT 651 Sex Therapy
- BMFT 634 Addictive Disorders
- BMFT 663 Cultural Diversity in Family Therapy
- BMFT 615 Research Methods in Family Therapy
- BMFT 661 Family Therapy II
- BMFT 696 Theological Perspectives on Human Behavior
The entire program is 60 hours, and you must enroll in one seven week course per term, with each course counting as three credits.
More information:
- Campus: Online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Western Association of Colleges and Schools
- Tuition: $465 per credit hour
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 33 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
#4 Cal Southern University
Cal Southern University offers an online Master of Arts in Psychology with a concentration in marriage and family therapy. This program will provide you with an excellent foundation in this field, as you will learn about many vital psychotherapeutic techniques, and will become better attuned to the ethical and cultural issues that affect the field today.
The program consists of 62 credit hours, and it will teach you how to improve, restore and and/or maintain the mental health of people who are having problems in their marriage or within the family unit. You will develop the vital personal aspects that are needed to have an effective therapeutic practice, such as sensitivity, insightfulness, compassion and integrity.
Your required master’s classes include:
- MFT 86504 Ethical Issues in Marriage, Family and Child Therapy – 3 Credits
- MFT 86507 Human Sexuality – 1 Credits
- MFT 86510 Child & Adolescent Psychology – 3 Credits
- MFT 86510.1 Child Abuse Assessment and Reporting – 1 Credits
- MFT 86513 Psychological Tests and Measurements – 3 Credits
- MFT 86528 Psychology of Violence – 2 Credits
- MFT 86700 Psychopharmacology – 2 Credits
- MFT 86900 Research Methods and Statistics – 3 Credits
- PSY 86502 Counseling Theories and Strategies – 3 Credits
- PSY 86505 Theories of Human Development and Functioning – 3 Credits
- PSY 86506 Psychopathology – 3 Credits
More information:
- Campus: Online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Western Association of Colleges and Schools
- Tuition: $425 per credit hour
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 48 months
- On Campus Requirements: Yes
- Programs Offered: Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
#5 Capella University
If you want to help make a difference in marriages and families in your community, consider this Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy. This degree program will provide you with ample opportunities in the counseling world. The program includes mostly online classwork that also has a residency component that you will complete in your community.
You will learn how to integrate and apply research and theories in marriage and family therapy, and also will learn modern relational and systemic theories, as well as theories of family and individual development across the lifespan.
More information:
- Campus: Online
- Type: For-Profit
- Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
- Tuition: $497 per credit hour
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 36 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy
#6 Grand Canyon University
You can earn a Master of Science in Professional Counseling with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy at Grand Canyon University.
This program is designed to advance your skills and knowledge so that you can identify, assess and address vital marriage and family issues, which include:
- Communication problems
- Substance abuse
- Parent and child relationships
- Difficult family dynamics
- Couple’s issues
- Spousal and child abuse
- Crisis intervention
- Trauma counseling
Your courses include:
- UNV-502: Introduction to Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences
- PCN-505: Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethics
- PCN-500: Counseling Theories
- PCN-501: Introduction to Addictions and Substance Use Disorders
- PCN-520: Group Counseling Theory and Practice
- PCN-509: Social and Cultural Diversity Issues in Counseling
- PCN-527: Psychopharmacology and Addictions
- PCN-530: Human Sexuality, Aging, and Long-Term Care
- PCN-515: Counseling Skills in the Helping Relationships
- PCN-518: Human Growth and Development
More information:
- Campus: Online
- Type: For-Profit
- Accreditation: Western Association of Colleges and Schools
- Tuition: $500 per credit hour
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 36 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Program Offered: Master of Science in Professional Counseling
