How to hire marriage and family therapists
A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.
Job description template
Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.
[Job title] at [Company name] [City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range] About the role [Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.] What you will do • Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors. • Confer with other counselors, doctors, and professionals to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services. • Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties. • Determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, or legal aid. • Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues. • Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner. • Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations. • Supervise other counselors, social service staff, and assistants. What you bring • [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any] • [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Master's degree] • Strong active listening, speaking, reading comprehension, active learning, critical thinking and monitoring skills • Working knowledge of therapy and counseling, psychology, sociology and anthropology and customer and personal service • [Anything else you would really turn someone away for] Pay and benefits [Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $32.18 an hour ($66,940 a year). [Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.] How to apply [Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]
Interview questions for marriage and family therapists
Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.
- Tell me about a time you had to ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to confer with other counselors, doctors, and professionals to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, or legal aid. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
- Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
- Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
- Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?
Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.
What marriage and family therapists do
- Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors.
- Confer with other counselors, doctors, and professionals to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services.
- Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties.
- Determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, or legal aid.
- Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues.
- Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner.
- Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations.
- Supervise other counselors, social service staff, and assistants.
Skills that matter most
Education, experience and outlook for marriage and family therapists
- Typical education to start: Master's degree (BLS)
- Training on the job: Internship/residency (BLS)
- Job outlook: +13.5% over ten years, much faster than average · about 6,900 openings a year (BLS)
What to pay marriage and family therapists
Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:
| State | Median yearly pay |
|---|---|
| New Jersey | $92,150 |
| Oregon | $91,520 |
| Utah | $84,980 |
| Virginia | $79,900 |
| Minnesota | $72,470 |
| North Carolina | $48,100 |
| Tennessee | $46,700 |
| Texas | $46,300 |
See marriage and family therapists pay in every state
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Post this job on JAI Bot. Free to start: JAI Bot reads every applicant against your must-haves, shows the resume evidence behind each one, and helps you reply to everyone. People make every decision.
Post a job freePay by areaJob duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.