List of Schools that Offer Marriage Counseling Degree Programs

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If you are dreaming of becoming a marriage counselor, then you should consider a marriage counseling degree program. Before you start looking for a marriage counseling school, you should find out what a couple’s counselor actually does. Briefly, he or she is a licensed and trained specialist offering couples therapy. He or she will search for immediate and practical solutions to solve people’s problems through various sessions. The main task is to discover the causes behind the couple’s issues: drugs, finances, adultery, anger, sex, infertility or children. You must keep in mind that a marriage counselor is not a psychotherapist, as he or she offers only a finite number of therapy sessions.

Requirements for Becoming a Marriage Counselor

The first step you have to take is earning an undergraduate degree in sociology, social science, psychology or relationship and marriage counseling. You will learn about family systems and you will take courses in family therapy, psychology, counseling techniques and human development.

Once you have the undergraduate degree in your hands, you can move on to the next level: the graduate programs. You are now eligible to follow a Master of Social Work or a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Family and Marriage Counseling. Both programs last two years and they will provide the students with internships.

Now that you have obtained your degrees, you can get your license. You should know that you can’t work as a marriage therapist in the United States if you’re not licensed. The marriage counseling school alone is not enough. Every state has its own requirements for licensing, so you should explore them prior to the application process. You will also be required to pass an exam on Marriage and Family Therapy. Moreover, you need at least two years of supervised clinical experience in order to be accepted into the exam. In some of the states, you will have to renew your license every year through professional conferences, workshops and additional courses.

Finding a Good Marriage Counseling School

This can be a tough job, as there aren’t so many colleges and universities offering this type of program. If you really want to attend such school, then you should do your homework and thorough research. We can help you a bit by telling you that according to the site Findthebest.com, the top ten marriage counseling schools can be found at:

•Loyola Marymount University
•Chapman University
•The College of New Jersey
•Fordham University
•University of Miami
•New York University
•University of Florida
•University of Rochester
•University of Southern California
•Northwest University

Be careful and choose wisely, as it’s your future at stake. Choose accordingly to distance, location, reputation and the courses offered. Practice is always better than theory, so go for the school that provides more hands-on education. Also, decide where you want to work as a future marriage counselor and search for a school in that particular city or town or somewhere nearby, so you can get the feel of the community and get accustomed to the regulations of that state. In the end, make sure to choose what’s best for you.