Becoming a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist in Connecticut

A marriage family therapist in Connecticut has several duties. The main goal of the family marriage therapist is to encourage their clients to discuss their experiences and emotions in order to help diagnose and treat any mental or emotional disorder. The professional marriage family therapist will help guide their clients through any changes in their life such as a layoff or divorce and help them make positive decisions about their future.

In order to become a licensed marriage family therapist in the state of Connecticut you will need to first obtain an under graduate and graduate degree. There are certain educational requirements as well as other requirements that must be met in order to become licensed to practice marriage and family therapy in the state.

Licensing Requirements for Marriage Family Therapists in Connecticut

The licensing requirements for marriage family therapists in the state include both education and experience. The first thing that an individual applying for licensure must do is complete a master’s degree or doctoral degree program and specialize in marriage family therapy. The program must be approved by the AAMFT.

During the program the applicant must successfully complete a supervised internship or practicum. The emphasis of the practicum or internship must be in marriage family therapy and the individual must be supervised by the program that is granting the degree or through a postgraduate training program that has been approved by the COAMFTE. The student must receive a minimum of 500 clinical hours that are in direct contact with clients during the internship or practicum and of the 500 hours 100 hours must be of clinical supervision.

The applicant must then complete at least on year of postgraduate work experience that is supervised. This work experience has to include at least 1000 hours of direct contact with the client and offer marriage family therapy services. The experience must also include 100 hours of supervision. Of these 100 hours of supervised experience at least half of the hours have to be individual supervision. The other have may be a combination of individual and group supervision.

Learn about an MFT degree in Connecticut.

A person that holds a license for marriage family therapy from another state may not be required to have the practicum or internship requirement and the work experience as long as the person can document that they have worked for at least five years in the field.

The final requirement for licensure is successful completion of an exam in marriage family therapy from the Association of Marriage and Family therapy regulatory boards. If a person is taking the exam in Connecticut the applicant must submit the fee and the application and arrange for it to be submitted. If the applicant attended an approved graduate degree program they will not need any further educational documentation in order to sit for the examination.

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Career Outlook In Connecticut

Overall, the job growth in all areas of mental health counseling is expected to be quite good. It is projected that the mental health therapy field will grow 22%. The job growth for marriage family therapists is expected to be about 14%. This is the projected growth rate for the ten year span of 2021 through 2031. As of May 2022 there were 430 licensed marriage family therapists in the state of Connecticut.

The average national salary for those working as marriage and family therapist is $63,300 while the average national salary for those working as mental health counselors in general is $56,230. These figures are from May of 2022. In the state of Connecticut the average salary as of 2022 was $68,010 for marriage family therapists.

Research Additional Psychology Professional Licenses Granted by Connecticut:

• Connecticut Psychologist Licensing
• Connecticut Counselor Licensing
• Connecticut Social Work Licensing
• Learn More About The Career of an LMFT

2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics job market trends and salary figures for marriage and family therapists and substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors are based on national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed August 2023.

Schools with MFT Degree Programs Accepting Students from Connecticut