About Marriage & Family Therapy

MFTs provide a variety of different services based on the needs and severity of an individual, couple or family’s situation.  These services include:

• Assessment and diagnosis of psychological and emotional disorders
• Individual, couples and family psychotherapy
• Group therapy
• Treatment planning
• Pre-marital Counseling
• Life Coaching

The most commonly addressed issues in therapy by MFTs include:

• Mood Issues (e.g.: Depression, Anxiety, Bi-polar)
• Childhood Behavioral and Developmental Disorders (e.g.: ADHD, Autism)
• Conduct Disorders
• Trauma-Related Issues
• Alcoholism and other Addictions
• Marital and Relational Problems
• Domestic Violence and Abuse
• Chronic Illness
• Cultural Issues (e.g.: gender, ethnicity, religion)

Marriage and family therapists provide services in a variety of sectors in the health care industry.  Nearly half of all MFTs assume work in private practice settings.  Therapists are starting to obtain employments in agencies and companies outside of the traditional healthcare sector.  The most common areas of employment include:

• Private Practice
• Community Mental Health Centers
• Inpatient facilities
• Hospital and Medical Centers
• Schools and Head Start Centers
• Social Service Agencies
• University clinics
• Courts and Prisons

Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) are professionals trained in psychotherapy and family systems, which independently diagnose and treat a variety of mental health, substance abuse and relational issues.  MFTs focus on understanding their clients’ symptoms and interactional patterns with their environment.  MFTs provide help to individuals, couples, families and groups with a variety of theoretical approaches. MFTs are one of the five core professionals in the mental health system, with distinct differences among each discipline.

• Clinical Social Workers are licensed mental health professionals trained to help people find solutions for many of life’s most difficult situations.  Additionally, Clinical Social Workers believe in drawing upon the strengths of the individual and are skilled at mobilizing family, friends, and community resources to help solve problems.
• Clinical Psychologists Clinical Psychologists are involved in research, teaching and supervision, program development and evaluation, consultation, public policy, professional practice, and other activities that promote psychological health in individuals, families, groups, and organizations. Professionals are trained to administer and interpret a number of tests and assessments that can help diagnose a condition or tell more about the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves.
• Psychiatrists are physicians (a medical doctor–either an MD or a DO) who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental, addictive, and emotional disorders. Psychiatrists are trained to work with a variety of mental health disorders and utilize a broad range of treatment modalities such as diagnostic tests, prescribing medications and psychotherapy for clients and families.
• Psychiatric Nurses are registered nurses who work with individuals, families, groups, and communities to assess mental health needs, develop diagnoses, and plan, implement, and evaluate nursing care.  Psychiatric nurses use a variety of interventions that promote and foster health, assess dysfunction, assist clients to regain or improve their coping abilities, and prevent further disability.

The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists notes that research indicates that marriage and family therapy is as effective, and in some cases more effective than standard and/or individual treatments for many mental health problems such as: adult schizophrenia, affective (mood) disorders, adult alcoholism and drug abuse, children’s conduct disorders, adolescent drug abuse, anorexia in young adult women, childhood autism, chronic physical illness in adults and children, and marital distress and conflict.

Marriage and family therapists regularly practice short-term therapy; 12 sessions on average. Nearly 65.6% of the cases are completed within 20 sessions, 87.9% within 50 sessions. Marital/couples therapy (11.5 sessions) and family therapy (9 sessions) both require less time than the average individuated treatment (13 sessions). About half of the treatment provided by marriage and family therapists is one-on-one with the other half divided between marital/couple and family therapy, or a combination of treatments.

There are specific requirements that the Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy has for prospective therapists obtaining licensure. The general requirements include:

• Complete a Masters or doctoral degree from a Marriage and Family Therapy program from a regionally accredited institution
• Have at least two years of post-masters supervision from an approved supervisor, with at least 200 hours of supervision.
• Complete 1,000 post-masters clinical contact hours (500 hours must be with couples or families)
• Complete 4,000 total professional hours (This may include not only client contact hours, but any work related to therapy such as progress notes, case consultations, phone calls, etc

For more information about specific licensing regulations and rules, you can visit the Minnesota Board of MFT website.

Typically, it takes 2-3 years to complete a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy.  The time of completion may differ based on curriculum of departments, length of one’s internship and other department requirements.  Usually, a student completes their clinical internship (or practicum) portion of their training in the final year of the program.

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