Friday, August 16, 2013

What A Marriage And Family Therapist Does

By Essie Craft


There are so many families and spouses today who have problems understanding each other because of the lack of proper communication and openness between the affected parties. Because of this kind of problem, there has been a demand for certain therapists who specialize in this type of field. A person who focuses on this aspect of psychology and counselling is known as a marriage and family therapist.

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.

When therapists in this field start out their work, they will be dealing with families that have a range of problems that are not easily fixed. Some of these problems would include constant fighting, affairs, financial conflicts, depression, and even more. Not only will they be dealing with problems regarding the spouse, but even with other units of the family as well like the siblings, parents, and children.

Usually, psychologists or therapists would be looking at the internal conflicts that would be brewing inside each of the clients. In other words, a traditional therapist would be looking at each individual and try to make them blend with each other. Their principle is that if one can become well internally, then the external will follow.

The specialists on the other hand, would approach the family as a collective unit. This would mean that he would be approaching them as a single entity and fix the problem at the core. What he would do is that he would focus on the main problem of the unit and then work from that part in order to make each individual more sensitive to the others.

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.

Once one has already assessed the main problem of the client, then the next step would be to go for the treatment. The main purpose here is to be able to get the parties to open up to each other and be willing to communicate. Now tools like journals, communication programs, or maybe even some short activities may be a very big help to the clients.

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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