Becoming a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist in Iowa

Families come in all shapes and sizes and as such the relationships between members sometimes become strained. A licensed marriage family therapist will be able to help couples and families through these difficult times by providing them with a set of skills to better handle the issues that may arise in the relationships.

In the state of Iowa there are certain requirements that an individual must meet in order to become licensed as a marriage family therapist in the state of Iowa.

Educational Requirements for Marriage Family Therapists in Iowa

Earning a bachelor’s degree is the first step towards becoming family therapists. Once you have earned your undergraduate degree you will then need to choose a college or university to earn your master’s degree or doctorate degree from. The program that you choose for family therapy must be approved by the state of Iowa.

During the graduate program an individual must complete at least nine credit hours in three specified areas. This includes any courses in theoretical foundations of family and marital systems, as well as courses in the area of assessment and treatment in marital and family therapy, and nine credit hours of any course dealing with human development. One of the human development courses must be in psychopathology.

Students must also complete at least three semester hours in ethics and professional studies and research.

While earning your master’s or doctorate you will need to complete an internship program. The required internship hours for licensing are 300.

Learn more about Iowa MFT degrees.

Additional Requirements for Marriage Family Therapists in Iowa

After completing your graduate degree you will then need to complete a minimum of two years working full time with clinical experience. When completing the clinical experience requirements you will need to be supervised by someone who has been approved by the state licensing board.

The supervised experience must include 100 hours of individual supervision of the clinical supervision and have half of the clinical supervision done in person. Once all of the requirements are met an individual may request an application for their marriage and family therapy license.

In order to become licensed in the state of Iowa a person will have to sit for the AMFTRB (Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board) examination of marriage and family therapy. If a person does not meet the required score for licensure they will be allowed to take the examination again. Anyone that is found to have not met the required education or clinical practice experience will not be allowed to sit for the examination.

The examination dates will be announced by the board. The schedule will establish the place and time as well as other relevant instructions and information about the examinations. There is a fee to take this examination and those that pay the fee and fail to show up for the exam will forfeit this fee.

After completing the examination the board will notify the individual about their results.

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Career Outlook In Iowa

In the next few years insurance companies are expected to start covering the cost of therapy for individuals. This will lead to an increase in the number of positions for marriage and family therapists that are available. The job growth rate in the field of family therapy is expected to be a lot higher than the rate of growth in all other career industries.

The number of family therapists in the state of Iowa in 2022 was 120. In Iowa marriage family therapists earned an average of $52,050 as of 2022. The national average for this field is $63,330. Those working for home healthcare agencies, local governments, and hospitals often have higher-than-average salaries.

Research Additional Psychology Professional Licenses Granted by Iowa:

• Iowa Psychologist Licensing
• Iowa Counselor Licensing
• Iowa 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 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 Iowa