How to Choose a Marriage and Family Counsellor or Therapist

How to choose a Marriage and Family Therapist

You will find a list of Registered Marriage and Family Therapists (RMFT’s) in British Columbia by clicking this link AAMFT.

All REGISTERED Marriage and Family Therapist are all clinical members of the British Columbia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (BCAMFT) and the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT). This includes a graduate degree focused on family therapy and two years of close clinical supervision by an approved and specially trained supervisor.

When you have identified one or more RMFT from the list who are accessible to you, call and interview them briefly over the phone. Some questions you may want to consider are:

What is your educational and training background?

All registered marriage and family therapists therapists on this list are qualified and experienced, but you may like to find out where they went to school, their specialty, or how long they have been doing this work.

Do you have experience treating the kind of problem I have?

Remember, not all therapists can treat all problems. Sometimes a therapist specializes in certain areas. If the therapist’s area of expertise is not the one you are looking for, ask for a referral to a therapist who can best help you. You will need to briefly indicate the problems you are experiencing (eg. marital difficulties, stress, anxiety at work etc). You should expect the therapist to ask you a bit about your problems to se if THEY are a good fit.

How much do you charge and what is your method of payment?

Fees typically range in B.C. $100.00 to $125.00 for those with an MA. Those with doctorate degrees (PhD’s) typically charge $160.00 to $175.00 per hour.

Would you be covered under my employment insurance policy or any other plan?

Some employers, typically the larger ones, have extended health benefits that cover some counselling. Read the fine print carefully. Sometimes MFTs are covered, sometimes they are not. A number of larger companies have employee assistance plans (EAP’s) that do cover MFTs. Again, check a carefully with your employer’s human resources or personnel department. Although the therapist may not know the answer off hand (as there are many policies and they keep changing) he/she should be able to guide you to find out the information you seek. As well, some employers or insurance companies will add a particular therapist or professional therapy designation to their list of those who are covered if employees make the request.

A number of MFT here in British Columbia are also Registered Psychologist (in addition to their MFT training). Their services are almost always covered by extended health care plans.

Also, remember that you may see a number of individuals advertising, especially on the web, who say they are marriage and family therapist or practice marriage counselling. Many of these are RCCs (Registered Clinical Counsellors) or CCC (Canadian Clinical Counsellors). Unless they are members of the British Columbia Association of Marriage and Family Therapist they are not registered family therapists. Often they will have had a course of two in family therapy, and maybe have practiced family therapy for a while. However, this is very different from a clinical member of AAMFT and BCAMFT who have completed specialized graduate programs in the field and have had a minimum of 1,200 hours of supervised clinical experience under the supervision of an approved and specially trained supervisor. (Some RCCs may have as little as 100 hours of supervised training, CCCs even less.) Ask, "Are you a clinical member of the British Columbia Association of Marriage and Family Therapists?" If couple or family issues are your problem, go to an expert.

Where are the sessions held and what is the length of time of a session?

After you have had a brief conversation based on the above questions you should have a “feel” for this therapist. If you feel fairly positive, proceed with booking an appointment. If you don’t feel comfortable for any reason, interview some one else.

Finally, the usual length of session is 50 to 60 minutes. Sometimes you can arrange a longer
session.

For more information on specialized Family and Couple Therapy in British Columbia you can click here and go to BCAMFT website.

For information about my website go to www.relatedminds.com