Becoming a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist in Georgia
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Marriage family therapists in Georgia are different than other mental health professionals as they bring a perspective of the whole family into the treatment process, even if they are treating an individual. The marriage family therapist will evaluate the family roles of their client’s in order to better understand how the family members are affecting their mental health. The marriage family therapist treats the relationships of their clients and not just the client themselves.
In the state of Georgia a person must meet several requirements before they can become licensed to practice family therapy in the state.
Educational Requirements for Marriage Family Therapists in Georgia
In terms of education a person must have earned a master’s degree in marriage family therapy. Other master’s degrees in a related subject such as social work, counseling, applied psychology, pastoral counseling, applied sociology, etc. may be accepted as well. If the applicant has completed a master’s degree in another related area they must have completed either three courses of clinical content or two courses of clinical content areas and an approved internship or practicum that includes a minimum of five hundred hours of direct clinical experience.
This coursework is in addition to the five courses that are also required including:
- Two courses of marriage family therapy
- Two courses in marriage family studies
- One course in marriage family therapy ethics.
Experience Requirements for Family Therapy License in Georgia
In order to apply for a marriage family therapy license in the state of Georgia the applicant must meet the experience requirements. This includes three years of documented post graduate experience. This includes a minimum of 2500 direct clinical experience hours.
One year of experience may include an approved practicum program either before or after receiving the master’s degree in marriage family therapy. This practicum must include a minimum of 500 hours of direct clinical contact experience in clinical social work, professional counselling, or marriage family therapy.
At least two years or 24 months of the experience must be in the practice of marriage family therapy. This must include 2000 hours of direct clinical experience. Applicants that do not work full time may accrue their experience hours over a time frame that is not less than three years but cannot be more than five years.
An applicant must have 200 hours of supervision that is concurrent with the documented experience. The supervision has to be provided by a professional counsellor, a marriage family therapist that is licensed in the state, a psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker.
At least 100 hours of the supervision that is provided must be by a supervisor that has been approved by the board or by the American Association for marriage family therapy. At least fifty of the hours must be individual supervision and no more than fifty of the hours can be group supervision. Up to 100 hours of the supervision requirement can be obtained during an approved practicum either before or after a master’s degree is obtained.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Career Outlook In Georgia
As of May 2010, the median wage for mental health counselors was $38,150. Individuals that specialize in marriage family therapy had an average median wage of $45,720 in May of 2010. There is no information provided about the number of marriage family therapists that work in the state of Georgia or their average yearly wage.
Over the next several years the job outlook for marriage family therapists is very good. In fact, the number of careers in the field of marriage family therapy is expected to increase by 41% from 2010 through 2020.
Research Additional Psychology Professional Licenses Granted by Georgia:
- Georgia Psychologist Licensing
- Georgia Counselor Licensing
- Georgia Social Work Licensing
- Learn More About The Career of an LMFT
Schools with MFT Degree Programs Accepting Students from Georgia
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