A Wedding day has lots of promises with a happy and perfect life. But when you transition into it after some years, when communication between spouses stop, feelings of doubts and mistrust and hurt can have adverse effects on the spouses. So this is the time to reach out to a Marriage Counselor who will help you and guide you in finding out the real issues you are facing and how to solve the differences and judging if the marriage is salvageable.
Marriage Counseling is a fast emerging field in mental health in India and there is a lack of certified and educated professionals in this field. So a career in Marriage counselling therapy is satisfying and has a good salary package.
Who is a Marriage Counsellor?
Also called Marriage therapists, these professionals help engaged couples wanting advice or married couples who are facing some kind of issue in their lives that need to be resolved.
They work with couples extensively in group settings or individual basis. They are licensed mental health practitioners whose job is working closely with couples in improving their relationships. This counselling is a type of technique called Psychotherapy that helps couples to analyze and resolve their problems. They play an important role in determining whether the couples’ conflicts are reconcilable or not.
Issues Marriage counsellors deal with
The following are some of the issues that couples face in their lives and a marriage counsellor has to deal with:
- Anger
- Communication problems
- Conflict in blended families
- Dissatisfaction or unhappiness
- Divorce
- Domestic abuse
- Infidelity
- Jealousy
- Lack of love
- Loneliness
- Parenting differences
- Relationship distress
- Substance abuse
Responsibilities of Marriage Counsellors
The following are some of the responsibilities of Marriage Counselors.
- Encouraging their clients to share their emotions, fears and experiences.
- Helping couples process their emotional reactions and stressful and difficult changes in their life as disagreements and divorces.
- Guiding the clients to take proper decisions and actions for their happy and satisfied life.
- Using cognitive behavioural therapy for helping clients apply strategies and skills to alter their behaviour and cope with stressful and panic situations.
- If required, refer your clients to other resources or community services such as support groups for inpatient treatment facilities.
- Complete the confidential files and mandatory records along with their proper maintenance.
Educational requirements
- Completion of 10+2 in any stream from a recognized board.
- Bachelor degree in marriage counselling offered by several colleges or universities or a bachelor degree in a related fields like psychology or social work.
- Pursue a master degree that offers specializations in marriage and family therapy.
- To become a licensed marriage counsellor, you need to gain clinical experience of minimum of 2 years.
- Continuation of your education to be eligible for renewal of your license.
- Candidates can also pursue certificate courses in Marriage Counseling available in their states.
What do you learn in Marriage Counsellor degree?
The following are the different aspects of education that you learn in your Marriage Counselor degree.
- Counselling theory.
- Various counselling approaches.
- Specific areas of counselling modules.
- Group therapy techniques.
- Social and cultural issues.
- Mental health.
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Required Skills
A successful marriage counsellor has to possess the following skillset.
- Communicate effective with your clients and be mindful of what they are saying and interpret it correctly.
- Providing effective conflict resolution strategies.
- Adopting a family centre approach while listening to clients problems.
- An open mind not letting your personal views impact your counselling sessions.
- Good Listeners and relationship builders.
- Problem Solvers and culturally sensitive.
Workplace of Marriage counsellors
Marriage counsellors can get employed in the areas like:
- Family services
- Government
- Hospitals
- Outpatient mental health centres
- Schools
- Social service agencies
- Substance abuse centres.
Salary and Career Outlook
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, due to the specialization, marriage counsellors earn a yearly average of $87,700 that is more than the standard salary of a mental health counsellor. The highest salaries are reported by counsellors working in state and local government.
By 2028, the employment of marriage counsellors is expected to grow at a rate of 22%. This growth is expected due to the increasing usage of integrated care that is defined as the treatment of multiple problems by a group of specialists. In this field, marriage therapists are working with counsellors such as substance abuse or mental health counsellors and providing patient’s care as a team.
This is a great career path for individuals as relationships majorly impact mental health and vice versa. It is the best choice for people aspiring to work in a psychotherapeutic field that is results-driven.
– Samiya Firdous
