How to Become a Family Therapist in Washington

Family therapy is a field that often takes much school work and experience in order to get a license in but if you are a person who is interested in helping others with their issues in a clinical setting then this may be the job for you.  Family therapy is professionally known as marriage and family counseling and in Washington it takes a master’s degree as well as the passing of an exam that is recognized by the state in order to practice in this field.  In addition to this to be eligible to take this exam a potential therapist must go through at least 3000 hours of supervised clinical experience.   This may sound like a big challenge for many but the reward of becoming a part of this job field can be substantial.  As marriage and family counseling is on the rise as a job field in the US there is much to be had in terms of job stability with this position.  In addition to this the salary offered by many clinics can be substantial as well with the right training and experience.  In order to get the training and experience that you need to be successful it is important to follow a few steps of which the first is getting into an accredited university that offers a psychology degree program or a program related to this discipline.  Social work and sociology are two other degree programs that may be offered by a university near you that can help you to get into graduate school and then go on to work in the field.

When picking an undergraduate school to attend it may be important for you to choose between going to school online and going to a 4 year university in order to pursue your BA degree in psychology or a comparable discipline.  Many online universities now offer classes in the psychology discipline and some even offer master’s degree programs that deal with marriage and family counseling.  The online universities that offer these programs include Kaplan University and the University of Phoenix online.  It is just as important that you choose an accredited university online as it is when choosing an on campus one.  Accredited schools are necessary for you to be successful with getting into graduate school and in the work itself.  If a school that you are thinking about attending is not accredited then this can affect your options seriously so it is important to always keep this in mind when researching various schools both on and offline.  In addition to this it is important to choose a degree program relating to marriage and family counseling that you can be successful in throughout your college career.  Choosing a degree program that works for you in terms of the classes offered and whether or not it would be good to take in order to get into graduate school may be one of the most important decisions that you can make when it comes to pursuing this career path.

In addition to going through an undergraduate and graduate school program in order to get your master’s degree in the field, becoming a family therapist involves extensive experience after you graduate and before you can be certified to work in the field.  The supervised clinical trials that all marriage and family therapists must go through can be challenging but this portion of your training is necessary to prepare you for the job ahead.  The clinical trials that prepare workers in the field are necessary because of the hands on experience that you will get that will teach you what to do in various situations throughout your career.  During these trials you will work with an already licensed professional in a clinical setting and help to treat and diagnose people that come to the clinic with individual or family issues.  This will also prepare you for the exam that is the last step in your training before you become licensed but after you are a licensed professional there is always more to learn and different people to interact with so the learning never actually stops but will continue throughout your career and will continue to help you to grow in this field.