Becoming a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist in New York

Marriage family therapists help individuals, couples, and families overcome emotional and mental disorders that may be disrupting their lives. The purpose of the marriage family therapist is to listen to their clients and come up with a plan to help improve their lives overall. This may include using different communication techniques and other therapeutic techniques to overcome the problems they may be having in their relationships.

In the state of New York one must meet certain education, examination, and experiment requirements in order to become licensed in the state as a marriage family therapist. The requirements are outlined below.

Educational Requirements for Marriage Family Therapists in New York

In order to become licensed as a marriage family therapist in the state of New York a person must attend and complete a master’s degree program that is registered in the state.

The program must include at least 45 credit hours and contain the following curriculum content that includes, but is not limited to the following content areas:

• Human development: at least three credit hours that includes child, family, and individual development.
• Marriage family therapy clinical knowledge: at least twelve credit hours and must include a course in psychotherapy.
• Marriage family therapy theoretical knowledge: six credit hours minimum
• Family law
• Research: minimum of three credit hours
• Professional ethics: at least three credit hours

A supervised practicum is also required. This must include at least 300 hours of client contact. The practicum must be a part of the master’s degree or doctoral degree program.

Learn more about New York MFT degrees.

Examination Requirements for Licensure

Each licensure candidate must pass an examination that is offered by an organization as determined by the department to be satisfactory in psychometric and administrative procedures to offer the examination. The department must determine that the examination tests marriage family therapy proficiency at the master’s degree level.

In order to be admitted to take the examination an individual must file an application, pay the fee, and present evidence that they have met all of the education requirements for licensure as a marriage family therapist. Applications for examination must be received at least three months prior to the examination date.

Experience Requirements for Family Therapy License in New York

The applicant must meet the experience requirement before becoming a licensed marriage family therapist in New York. There is 1500 clock hours required and all must be in direct contact with clients in a marriage family therapy setting.

The experience must be supervised by a supervisor that has been approved by the board. The supervisor must provide at least one hour per week or two hours every other week of individual supervision. During this time the supervisor will review the assessment and treatment of each of the clients that is under the applicant’s care.

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Career Outlook In New York

Any individual that is interested in working as a marriage family therapist will be pleased to learn that the job growth in the field is expected to be quite high. It is projected that the number of careers in marriage family therapy will increase by 14%. In the state of New York there were 1,260 licensed family therapists as of May 2022.

The average salary for those employed as a marriage family therapist in the state of New York was $61,570. The national mean wage for those working in this field was $63,300 as of May of 2022.

Research Additional Psychology Professional Licenses Granted by New York:

• New York Psychologist Licensing
• New York Counselor Licensing
• New York 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 New York