The counseling profession is an admirable choice, regardless of which career you choose within it. Marriage and family counselors, popular counselors in the field, work with patients who need extra help dealing with problems relating to their personal relationships. They might work with couples on the brink of divorce, children dealing with the loss of a loved ones and kids facing serious health problems. These counselors are the ones responsible for ensuring that their patients develop good coping mechanisms and learn how to handle their stress.
Job and Career Opportunities for Marriage & Family Counselors
As you usually need a bachelor’s degree and a graduate degree to work in this field, you may want to find out where you can work after you graduate. While becoming a marriage and family counselor requires a great deal of work prior to enter the counseling profession, they are always in high demand, making it an excellent choice for aspiring therapists and counselors. Keep reading to learn more about where marriage and family counselors work and how career development along the way can open many doors.
Careers in Outpatient Centers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, outpatient centers employ more than 5,000 of these counselors and the average salary of those counselors is more than $50,000 a year. Outpatient centers are often created due to urban development. The term can refer to community health centers that accept all patients and private firms that only accept those with insurance. Public or community health centers often accept patients with financial problems and those who fall below the poverty line.
This means that you’ll deal with issues like gang violence, money struggles and other issues that you might not face in a private center. While the goal of urban development is to reduce these issues, outpatient centers with marriage and family counselors are a great way for people to find resources within their means. These marriage and family counselors are extremely necessary.
Careers in Medical Centers and Hospitals
Family counselors also work in medical centers and hospitals, especially in pediatric facilities. When a child enters a pediatric hospital, he or she may leave with a serious diagnosis of cancer or another medical condition. Counselors working in these facilities help children cope to terms with that diagnosis.
They can also offer assistance to the parents and siblings of that child as well as other loved ones. Counselors can also help families learn about programs that cover some of their medical bills, possible credit issues, and make arrangements for home nurses or other medical professionals who can visit the child at home.
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Careers in Government Agencies
Depending on the type of patients you want to work with, you might consider working for a government agency. The United States government, including many local government agencies, have a need for marriage and family counselors.
You might work in a local jail and offer classes designed to help prisoners make amends to their loved ones, or you might work a department that specializes in child abuse or elder abuse. Those counselors can work with patients in their offices or in the homes of their patients. They investigate claims of abuse and perform many of the same functions as a social worker.
Careers in Religious Institutions
Those with deep religious beliefs and convictions may prefer working for a religious institution like a local church. Some churches offer counseling and other services for both church members and those living in the surrounding community. You’ll help couples learn how to communicate with each other and work through any problems they share to tighter their relationship and prevent them from filing for divorce.
Counselors working in and for churches often need a deep understanding of the Bible and typically include passages from the Bible during counseling sessions.
A Fulfilling Profession and Career
As a counselor specializing in marriage and family, you help couples, their children and entire families come to terms with issues like a new medical diagnosis or the loss of a loved one. These counselors work in a variety of different fields and for different employers. Marriage and family counselors can work for the United States government, in religious institutions, in outpatient centers, in cities struggling with urban development, and in other medical facilities.
Regardless of where a student chooses to work after their schooling, they will be making a difference. As they continue to excel and grow in their counseling profession, so will their career development. For any hardworking marriage or family counselor, there are many opportunities for jobs.
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