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medical family therapy/therapist

A program that prepares individuals to work with patients and their families who are experiencing emotional, physical, relational and spiritual difficulties related to acute and chronic illnesses. Includes instruction in cultural context, ethics, family dynamics, family therapy, gender, human development, marriage counseling, psychopathology, research design and methods, sexuality, and systems thinking.

Types of Degrees medical family therapy/therapist Majors Are Earning

People majoring in medical family therapy/therapist may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Doctor’s Degree	6

What medical family therapy/therapist Majors Need to Know

Studies in medical family therapy/therapist emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that medical family therapy/therapist graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing medical family therapy/therapist emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Psychology — Importance 4.9 / 5; level 6.3 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 4.9 / 5; level 6.7 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a medical family therapy/therapist program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Service Orientation — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to medical family therapy/therapist careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, medical family therapy/therapist graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.7 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.5 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.0 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by medical family therapy/therapist professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Teams	Project management software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Google Meet	Video conferencing software	✓
Zoom	Video conferencing software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Synergistic Office Solutions SOS Case Manager	Medical software	—
Mdansby The PsychReport	Medical software	—
DocuTrac QuicDoc	Medical software	—
Netsmart Technologies Helper	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for medical family therapy/therapist graduates include:

• Licensed Clinical Therapist
• Child and Adolescent Therapist
• Behavioral Analyst
• Behavioral Health Clinician
• Military and Family Life Counselor
• Bilingual Clinician
• Family Counselor
• Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT)
• Behavioral Therapist
• Behavior Therapist
• Marriage Therapist
• Licensed Therapist
• Marriage and Family Counselor
• Relationship Counselor
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

What Can You Do With a medical family therapy/therapist Degree?

Graduates with a degree in medical family therapy/therapist commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Marriage and Family Therapists	-3.8%	$74,325	$63,783–$84,868

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to medical family therapy/therapist graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	74.8%
Bachelor’s degree	7.2%
First professional degree	6.8%
Post-master’s certificate	6.7%
Doctoral degree	2.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	1.1%
Post-doctoral training	0.9%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in medical family therapy/therapist?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 50% women and 50% men among medical family therapy/therapist graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	3	50.0%
Men	3	50.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of medical family therapy/therapist graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	5	83.3%
Black or African American	1	16.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do medical family therapy/therapist Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of medical family therapy/therapist graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$46,066
4 years	$46,824
5 years	$52,641

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $52,641 — roughly 14% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in medical family therapy/therapist Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, medical family therapy/therapist graduates earn a median of $46,824 four years after completion — roughly 23% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	33,946
Mental Health Counseling/Counselor	10,855
Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling	6,135
Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling	4,476
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions, Other	3,545
Clinical/Medical Social Work	3,296
Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician	2,601
Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling	2,298
Genetic Counseling/Counselor	378
Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling	187
Trauma Counseling	161
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy	5

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.