What is Marriage and Family Therapy?

Concordia University, Nebraska recently announced the launch of its new master’s program in marriage and family therapy. Students wishing to become eligible for licensure in this unique form of mental health care can enroll in this program after the completion of their bachelor’s degree and, in just 24 months, obtain the education and skills needed to succeed in the field. What students may not know, however, is what exactly the term “marriage and family therapy” entails – it is a broad, opportunity-rich, and growing career path for driven, caring and people-oriented students who want to serve God’s children and His world in a unique way.  

Although no specific undergraduate degree is required to seek a master’s in marriage and family therapy (MFT), most people who will enroll in a program like Concordia’s hold their bachelor’s in psychology, behavioral science/sociology, or social work. These academic majors will provide students with a solid foundation in the social sciences as they learn the basics of human relationships, social issues, psychological theories, and more.  

Kathleen von Kampen is the program’s director and a licensed MFT and mental health practitioner in the state of Nebraska. 

“[A master’s in MFT] is a great option for those considering ministry, counseling, or social work but would like to improve relationships of individuals, couples, families, and groups from a systems perspective,” she said.  

Despite their job title that may imply that marriage and family therapists only treat married couples and entire families, MFTs have surprising flexibility in choosing a population with which to work. Depending on their work environment, MFTs may interact with certain populations of their choosing more than others, including children, adolescents, incarcerated persons, families and couples.  

Concordia’s M.A. program in marriage and family will take students about two years to complete after their undergraduate studies. The degree requires between 62 and 64 credit hours, which take the form of eight-week online courses. 

“The marriage and family therapy program offers a master’s in two years that also prepares the student for licensure in their state,” von Kampen said. After graduation, students will be eligible for licensure as a marriage and family therapist – a job title that can lead them to work in several locations, including hospitals, schools, government, family or social services, outpatient mental health facilities, and even their own private practice! Marriage and family therapy itself is usually solution-focused with specific goals in mind.  

“Marriage and family therapy is unique in that it teaches the student how to work from a systems approach, which broadens the traditional focus on individuals in counseling to the nature and roles of individuals in relationships,” von Kampen said.   

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, MFTs typically earn around $57,000 per year. The career field is expected to grow faster than other occupations, with a projection of 15% growth from 2022-32 – so it may be a wonderful time to consider earning a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy! To practice as an MFT, one must gain practical experience (usually in a master’s degree program) as well as licensure, for which requirements vary by state.   

Marriage and family therapists are unique to other psychotherapists because they possess specific knowledge about the psychology of family systems and how one’s family structure can influence behavior, mental health, and other critical life aspects. They treat individual mental health struggles and interpersonal conflict while addressing these issues in the context of marriages, relationships, and family dynamics. 

“From a marriage and family therapist perspective...the answer to many of those challenges comes through the relationship challenges, at some level human dysfunction, that happen in a person’s primary relationships in their life,” said Kim Boyce, a licensed marriage and family therapist and Concordia’s COO.  

Boyce said that Concordia’s MFT master’s degree is special because it is one of only a handful of uniquely Christian graduate degree programs in the field.  

“This is a program where we are going to take, in particular, the Lutheran confessions and things like law and gospel, and...infuse that into the way that we deliver family systems theory, which is very humanistic,” he said.  

Boyce and von Kampen both added that Concordia’s program is unique because, unlike many similar master’s programs, it is a hybrid program that will offer students synchronous online class lectures, allowing them to interact with their professors and classmates in real-time.  

Students can begin enrolling in the program before the end of the academic year. When they begin, they will take classes in subjects like crisis and trauma, community mental health, research methodology, psychopharmacology, psychological assessment, and many more.  

Boyce summed up the goals of Concordia’s new program, saying that Christians considering a career path in marriage and family therapy should consider their career through a gospel-centered lens.  

“As we understand the family...we do that in the context of understanding that we live in a broken world, and...there is a peace separate from life’s circumstances,” he said.  

Interested in Concordia’s new marriage and family therapy graduate program? Learn more here.