How to Become a Marriage Counselor

You might wonder how to become a marriage counselor without a degree, but there isn’t a way to do so. You need a degree to become a marriage counselor. 

Most counselors hold a master’s degree, with a bachelor’s being the absolute minimum for most entry-level positions. Your first step in your path in how to be a marriage counselor will take four years.

Popular areas of study for aspiring marriage counselors include psychology and social work. But, you can study any major when pursuing your bachelor’s, as you can specialize later in graduate school. The only caveat is that you’ll have to show evidence of taking some prerequisite courses, like psychotherapy and group therapy, often found in psychology major programs. 

Your next step in your marriage counselor education is to find a graduate program in marriage and daily therapy, or a related field, like mental health counseling. 

For best career prospects though, you should consider a school approved by the licensure board in their desired state of practice. This makes it easier to secure reputable roles and avoid problems down the line. 

Other accreditations that may improve career prospects include: 

• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
• Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
• Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education 

Your graduate school program in MFT will cover a wide range of topics, including:

• Couples therapy
• Ethics
• Research methods
• Human sexuality
• Trauma
• Systems theory
• Counseling theory
• Clinical interventions

A master’s program in mental health counseling might cover these topics:

• Psychological tests and assessments
• Crisis intervention
• Addiction disorders
• Counseling theories and techniques
• Data analysis

Masters programs take between two to three years to complete, often including clinical practice.

Clinical experience involves work experience under the guidance of a certified professional. A sneak peek into the professional side of your studies, clinical experience helps you achieve licensure. Most licenses require 3,000 hours of clinical experience, but the exact timeframe depends on your state of practice.

Once you complete your required clinical hours, it’s time to get licensed. Keep in mind that different states have different licensure laws, but here are the most common designations:

• Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT)
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
• Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (LAMT)
• Licensed Marriage and Family Counselor (LMFC)
• Certified Marriage and Family Therapist (CMFT)

For more specific information about different licenses, check out this resource from the American Counseling Association.

In order to pursue the career of being a competent marriage counselor, one must have an associate's degree in relevant courses and subjects like psychology, sociology, and other assorted curriculums. In order to pursue an associate's degree, one must fulfill the requirement of having a high school diploma or GED. the pursual of an associates degree would involve the following courses:

-psychology foundations

-personality theories

-human development

The pursual of a bachelor's degree would involve the prerequisite of having an associate's degree in relevant subjects. The earning of a bachelor's degree would involve a level of specialization that is integral for competent marriage counseling. In bachelor’s degree students study different areas related to marriage counseling like social psychology, sociology, interpersonal relationship, and cognitive psychology. Students have to complete an internship in the relevant field or a clinical practice to enroll in a master’s program. These courses would include:

-personality and intelligence

-social psychology

-brain and behavior

A master's degree is the minimum education needed to become a marriage counselor. Master's degree programs fully educate students in social science-related areas of marriage counseling, often offering courses in areas such as adolescent and family counseling, cultural diversity, couples therapy, family systems sociology and marriage counseling ethics.  Students often need to complete numerous credit hours of clinical research and internships to earn their degrees.

A doctorate degree is not required to work as a professional marriage counselor. A doctorate degree is most suitable for those who want to go in the field of academics. However, if a student pursues doctorate degree he will have many options and a better payment.