How to Become a Marriage Counselor

Counselors are therapists that work with individuals within a family and the family as a whole. The marriage Counselor helps the families to sort through their daily trials and tribulations with dignity and respect. There are very simple steps to becoming a marriage counselor and they are as follows:

First of all, you have to make sure that you are interested in human behavior and have a strong desire to help others and improve their mental well being

Second, you need to choose a college or University that offers Counseling Degrees. You must first attend a four year college or University majoring in Liberal Arts, preferably counseling or Psychology, and then you must attend a Graduate school that offers a Marriage Counseling degree.

Third, the graduate school courses will contain courses in human sexuality, counseling theories, human growth, adolescent psychology, counseling theories, group therapy, marriage and family systems, principles and techniques in substance abuse, counseling, and theories of psychotherapy. You will also have electives that you will have to choose from. The graduate degree will usually take about 2-3 years to complete.

Fourth, once you get into the last year of your graduate degree you will have to complete a practical Supervised Internship where you will receive hands on experience as a marriage and family counselor, it usually last about half of your senior year.

Finally, once you have completed your last year of graduate school, you will then be eligible to take your licensing exam, you must check with your state to see what the specific licensing requirements are for that particular state.

Becoming a licensed counselor should be one of the most rewarding experiences that you will ever have, if you enjoy helping others and making sure that everyone is living a mentally healthy existence. The journey may seem long at first but if you made it through a four year college you can make it through the graduate school with a breeze because you know that when you are finished you can then be allowed to help so many people that desperately need your expertise.