8/20/2013

What A Marriage And Family Therapist Does

By Essie Craft


It is actually very common to have families with a lot of deep rooted problems that cannot be solved just by sitting on the dining table and talking. Sometimes, there are problems that are so bad because of their nature that an objective third party may have to step in to help these families. Now this third party person is known as a marriage and family therapist and he would specialize in fixing problems in this type of area.

Of course if one would want to go into this sort of field, then it is very important that he would have to undergo formal education first. First of all, he would be needing a degree in psychology or any similar course. After that, he would be needing a masters degree also in that field and then he may proceed to take the exam so that he may receive his license to become an official counsellor.

The mental preparation of therapists is extremely important because they will be handling problems all day and some problems may be so bad that it may even break the heart of the therapist. That is why it is very important for him to have a very strong mind and personality in order to be able to take these things. If he does not, he will become too attached to the clients and will be involved in their problems as well.

Since they are known to be specialists in this field, then their approach is very different to those of the traditional practice. Usually, practitioners would believe that in order to fix external problems, one must first face the internal struggles first. Once the person as an individual is fixed, then everything will follow.

Although this method works to a certain extent, it is not always the case. That is why the specialists would take a look at families as a group and not focus on each single individual. Their job is to locate what the core of the problem is and nip it in the bud before going on to working on the problems of each single member.

The first part of solving the main problem is to find out what it is first because without having any clue to start, no one will know what treatment to provide. Now the tricky part of this process is that not all patients will open up right away. That is why they make use of written assessment tools like surveys or questionnaires.

As far as the treatment goes, there are a lot of possible ways to be able to help with the problem of the parties. Basically, the goal with the treatment is to make sure that all of the parties are going to communicate with each other. Journal writing, communication exercises, written exercises and other activities are some of the most commonly used methods.

So for those who are interested in becoming a marriage and family therapist, these are some of the things to do. Now there is one very important quality to have. One must never be judgmental or pushy otherwise the client will never open up.




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