What is an MFCC? (Marriage, Family and Child Counsellor)

MFCCs or RMFTs are professional therapists/counsellors who are either licensed or registered with their state or provincial regulatory boards, or members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). Information about AAMFT can be found here: http://www.aamft.org

In most jurisdictions individuals trained and licensed/registered as RMFT's are the professional of choice for those seeking help with child behaviour or emotional issues such as depression, anxiety or anger management.

Here in BC the British Columbia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (BCAMFT) registers individuals who have meet the high standards of education and training used by the AAMFT and most jurisdictions for licensure or registration. The are usually referred to as "Marriage and Family Therapists" or MFTs. The AAMFT publishes their standards for training which includes a graduate degree focused on counselling within the family system (other groups call for a few counselling courses) and two years of supervised full time experience in the field.

RMFT's in British Columbia are trained to work with children, providing counselling / therapy for issues such as childhood anxiety, childhood depression, behaviour management issues, sibling issues, aggressive behaviour and anger management. In my own practice as both a Registered Psychologist and Registered Marriage and Family Therapist I have completed four years of supervised training in community clinics, private practice and hospital settings. Additionally I have worked with school districts throughout the United States and Canada as a behaviour specialist, providing teacher training, workshops and individual consultation on cases of severe behaviour problems.

Much of my time as a child and adolescent therapist is spend specifically working on issues of behaviour management in the home, aggression, depression and anxiety in children and teens.

Information on my practice as an RMFT can be found at my web site: www.relatedminds.com

In addition to working with children and teens generally I also provide consultation and counselling services as a member of ACT's approved behaviour interventionist program for children with Autism and Asperger's Disorder. Please visit my website for further information and to set up an appointment today.

My Vancouverautism blog often contains comments and information on child behaviour therapy that might interest you as a parent. It can be found at: http://autismvancouver.blogspot.ca/2014/07/using-visual-supports-positive-autism.html  A recent post on aggressive behaviour in children and teaching anger management skills can be found here: http://adhdvancouver.blogspot.ca/2014/07/oppositional-defiant-disorder-and-child.html  This post addresses the issue of Oppositional Defiant Disorder or ODD and parent focused training programs.

Please feel free to visit my web page and contact me directly if you are interested in setting up an appointment.

Marriage and Family Counselling | Burnaby | Vancouver | Coquitlam

Gottman based Couple and Family Therapy is available, along with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in my offices in Burnaby and Vancouver. Gottman Therapy is a structured approach to changing behaviour and communication style between members of a couple or family. I highly advices Dr. Gottman's recent books: "The Seven Principals for Maring Marriage Work," and "Why Marriages Succeed or Fail." Both of these books are available in book form or through Audible.com if you'd rather listen on your iPod, phone or other device.

CBT- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is another approach often used in my office, either by itself or in combination with Gottman techniques for couple therapy or counselling. Some patients have found Dr. Aaron Beck's "Love is Never Enough" to be very helpful. This book on couple's counselling/therapy comes from a much more behavioural point of view.

Finally, in my office I see a number of couples who have issues relating to Aspger's Disorder as a central concern. I have been working with young adults and adults with Aspeger's for over twenty years, first starting in California working with Michelle Garcia Winner. While there is a limited number of books for adults with Asperger's Disorder David Finch's book, "The Journal of Best Practices," which is a "memoir of marriage, Asperger's Syndrome and one man's quest to be a better husband" has been found to be very useful. I also spend a great deal of time working with couples with ADHD, OCD and related cognitive disorders, making use of my post graduate training in neuropsychology as well as marriage/couple and family therapy. In addition to being a registered and licensed psychologist I am additionally a registered marriage and family therapist and Fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and a Clinical Member of the British Columbia Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (Counsellors)/

For more information please visit my web page below, and feel free to call my office. Other sites which have information about my practice are also listed below.

Dr. Jim Roche
relatedminds (at) gmail.com

You can find me at any of the following pages:

http://psyris.com/drjimroche

http://www.relatedminds.com

http://www.actcommunity.ca/profiles/224/

http://www.psychologists.bc.ca/users/jimroche

www.therapistlocator.net/member?226046

Couples Therapy | Marriage Counselling | Burnaby | Vancouver

Dr. Jim Roche provides marriage and couple therapy / counselling in his offices in Burnaby and Vancouver. Dr. Roche is both a Registered Psychologist and Registered Marriage and Family Therapist, as well as a Clinical Member and Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. He has over 25 hers experience in the field working with couples and families in therapy.

Dr. Roche is trained in systemic therapy, as well as the Gottman Therapy Method. He provides therapy for those who feel stuck in their relationships, and want to learn and explore new skills and ways of communication.

Marriage and Couples Therapy can be used to address:
Problems with communication
Anger issues
Sexual difficulties
Conflicts about child rearing
Substance abuse
Infidelity
Divorce or separation issues

The Gottman Couples/Marriage Therapy method addresses several similar issues:
Increasing respect, affection and closeness between you
Learning techniques to break through and resolve conflicts when you feel stuck
Gaining a better understanding of who each of you are in the relationship
Learning how to keep conflict discussions calm
and How to maintain improvements in your relationships.

Couple or marriage therapy usually starts with two or three weekly sessions during which we assess the situation and determine mutual goals, and then weekly every other week sessions using skills and reviewing their use in the relationship.

Two books I highly recommend reading (or at least reviewing) before coming to therapy include, "Why Marriages Succeed or Fail," and "The Seven Principals for Making Marriage Work" by John Gottman.

For more information about setting up an appointment for marriage therapy or couples counselling please visit my website at: http://www.relatedminds.com/couple-family-therapy/  or www.relatedminds.com

Couple and Marriage Therapy in Vancouver | Burnaby

Dr. Jim Roche is a Registered Psychologist and Marriage and Family Therapist providing counselling and therapy to individuals, couples and families in Burnaby and Vancouver. Dr. Roche also provides parent education/training for parents dealing with behavioural problems, including those relating to ADHD and ASD or Aspeger's Disorder. He also specializes in working with adults and couples where one or both of the couple have ASD or Aspeger's Disorder. He has been working in the field for over 20 years.

For more information on Marriage, Couple and Family Therapy visit Dr. Roches web page at www.relatedminds.com or the web page for the British Columbia Association for Marriage and Family Therapists.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Couples?

( For information on marriage, family and couple therapy please visit the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapist Website: www.therapistlocator.net/member?226046 )

What kind of therapy works best for couples, for people with marriage difficulties or relationship issues? That's hard to say, the answer really is: "It depends." Most people seeking couple or marital therapy look for a general counsellor, but first and foremost it's really better to find someone specifically trained in couple, marriage and family therapy. While many counsellors and therapists claim they do "couples work" many don't have very limited training in the field. A Registered Marriage and Family Therapist (RMFT), unlike a "counsellor," has 2 years of supervised experience in the specific field of marriage and family therapy.  Either go with an RMFT or ask and expect significant education and supervised experience in couples work. 

Besides having a significant amount of supervised experience you also want to know what "kind" of therapy your therapist does. Some people say, "I do CBT - cognitive behavioural therapy - but their training consisted of only a weekend workshop or one course. If your therapist says, "I do CBT," ask how much supervision in CBT they received. A good CBT therapist should have many months of supervised experience just in CBT.

And is CBT a good method for marriage or relational problems? Sometimes, and sometimes not. It depends upon what is causing the issues you are having as a couple. Right now CBT - cognitive behavioural therapy, and ACT - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - are two of the most frequently used "methods" in the field of marriage and family therapy. Snother more recent therapy is Dr. John Gottman's approach - just called Gottman Couple Therapy. Again, most people doing Gottman Therapy should have some real training in this, and in spite of the fact you find people all over the internet offering Gottman Therapy, few have actual training in it. A therapist who offers Gottman Training should have at least completed parts 1 and 2 or the Gottman Training Program. Some therapist who are very interested in the Gottman technique complete a third level of training and submit to having some of their cases supervised. They complete an advanced training program and this can ultimately lead to certification in the Gottman Method.

Most therapy methods don't have route to certification, but it is a good idea for those who have little academic of therapeutic background. 

Another method you may hear about, especially from individuals who are trained traditionally in marriage and family therapy is "systemic" therapy. Systemic might mean a general approach to you as a couple thinking in terms of "systems" or a more specific therapy method called "Systemic." Thera are dozens of variation, Systematic Therapy, Bowen Family Therapy, Ackerman Therapy taught at the Ackerman Institute in New York. But in general, these are the most common forms of family therapy: CBT, ACT, Gottman, Systemic.

CBT is one of the more evidence based therapies, but some people are not familiar with it's use with couples. CBT, as the name suggests, is about what we think - our cognitions. CBT therapists believe that how we think about something leads to what we feel and that leads to how we act. Two different people can have two very different reactions to the same situation or event. The meaning we assign something affects how we feel and act in a situation. What we think is called a "script" or "automatic thought." We pick up these scripts over time and they can create real problems when we react to every situation by interpreting it in an irrational manner -we see situations in black and white, all or nothing -  projecting out how we think things will turn out - or assume what others mean based upon past experiences.

AnxietyBC has an excellent overview of CBT - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and I suggest you look at their web page to get some good examples that put this theory in to real life situations. 

Most people think of CBT as a therapy method for individuals, but it is not limited to individuals. I have combined CBT and Gottman techniques for years, especially when working on the relationship requires first and foremost getting both parties to speak the same language and move away from false assumptions.

You can find a number of books of couples issues and CBT on line, and at the website of the Albert Ellis Institute, where I did my advanced training in CBT - Albert Ellis was the first to use these terms but CBT was called Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy back then - REBT.  The other major figure in the field you are more likely to hear about is Dr. Aaron Beck. Dr. Ellis put his efforts into training therapists, and Dr. Beck put his early efforts into research proving the effectiveness of CBT.

As the AnxietyBC website states: "CBT is an evidence based psychological treatment proven to be effective through rigorous scientific research. This means that CBT is not based on what people think might work, but on what has been proven to work."

Research on CBT has shown it to be effective with a wide range of problems - depression, anxiety, chronic pain, disordered eating, low self esteem, anger management issues, . If your having trouble with your relationship these a very likely part of the issue, and often it is very difficult to deal with a couple's relational issues while anxiety, fear, anger and irrational thinking are in the way. So CBT makes an effective companion to other therapy techniques aimed at dealing with communication and feelings.

If you are interested in reading about CBT and marriage counselling or couple's therapy Dr. Aaron Beck has an excellent book called, " Love is Never Enough."  It has many insights, lots of great advice and exercises to help with a failing marriage of make a good relationship better.

For information about couples counselling, marriage or family therapy in my Burnaby office check out the information on my website: http://www.relatedminds.com or at http://www.relatedminds.com/couple-family-therapy/

Specific information on my training and certification in the field of couples counselling and marriage and family therapy can be found at the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapist website: www.therapistlocator.net/member?226046

Marriage and Couples Therapy in Burnaby and Coquitlam

Couple, Marriage and Relationship Counselling

I am often called to see couples who want therapy, and the call comes because they are looking for a psychologist to provide therapy for a couple - married or not - and their insurance provider will only pay a Registered Psychologist.  While I usually have time in my schedule in Burnaby for couples seeking counselling, when I don’t I urge them to look not on the BC psychology list, but on the BC Marriage and Family Therapist (RMFT) list because of the unique training and expertise that marriage and family therapists have. Luckily there are many good Registered Marriage and Family Therapists who are also Registered Psychologist, so their extended health care providers will pay for these services. Why do I point this out?

Here is how the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists put it (from the AAMFT website):

What are the qualifications to be a Marriage and Family Therapist?

Marriage and family therapy is a distinct professional discipline with graduate and post graduate programs. Three options are available for those interested in becoming a marriage and family therapist: master's degree (2-3 years), doctoral program (3-5 years), or post-graduate clinical training programs (3-4 years). This means that while a psychologist or “registered counsellor” may say they provide marriage and family therapy, usually they have taken one or two courses in the field and received little if any supervised experience. A Registered Marriage and Family Therapist has 2-5 years of coursework focused on relationships and family work - PLUS two years of supervised experience providing marriage and family therapy. That’s a big difference.

The US Federal government has designated marriage and family therapy as a core mental health profession along with psychiatry, psychology, social work and psychiatric nursing. Currently all 50 US states and most Candian Provinces support and regulate the profession by licensing marriage and family therapists.

The regulatory requirements in most states are substantially equivalent to the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists Clinical Membership standards. After graduation from an accredited program, a period - usually two years - of post-degree supervised clinical experience is necessary before licensure or certification. When the supervision period is completed, the therapist can take a state licensing exam, or the national examination for marriage and family therapists conducted by the AAMFT Regulatory Boards. This exam is used as a licensure requirement in most states.

Who are Marriage and Family Therapists?

Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) are mental health professionals trained in psychotherapy and family systems, and licensed to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders within the context of marriage, couples and family systems.

Marriage and family therapists are a highly experienced group of practitioners, with an average of 13 years of clinical practice in the field of marriage and family therapy. They evaluate and treat mental and emotional disorders, other health and behavioral problems, and address a wide array of relationship issues within the context of the family system. 

Marriage and Family Therapists broaden the traditional emphasis on the individual to attend to the nature and role of individuals in primary relationship networks such as marriage and the family.  MFTs take a holistic perspective to health care; they are concerned with the overall, long-term well-being of individuals and their families. 

MFTs have graduate training (a Master's or Doctoral degree) in marriage and family therapy and at least two years of clinical experience. Marriage and family therapists are recognized as a "core" mental health profession, along with psychiatry, psychology, social work and psychiatric nursing. 

Since 1970 there has been a 50-fold increase in the number of marriage and family therapists. At any given time they are treating over 1.8 million people 

A family's patterns of behavior influences the individual and therefore may need to be a part of the treatment plan. In marriage and family therapy, the unit of treatment isn't just the person - even if only a single person is interviewed - it is the set of relationships in which the person is imbedded. 

Marriage and family therapy is:

• brief

• solution-focused

• specific, with attainable therapeutic goals

• designed with the "end in mind."

Marriage and family therapists treat a wide range of serious clinical problems including: depression, marital problems, anxiety, individual psychological problems, and child-parent problems.

Research indicates that marriage and family therapy is as effective, and in some cases more effective than standard and/or individual treatments for many mental health problems such as: adult schizophrenia, affective (mood) disorders, adult alcoholism and drug abuse, children's conduct disorders, adolescent drug abuse, anorexia in young adult women, childhood autism, chronic physical illness in adults and children, and marital distress and conflict.

Marriage and family therapists regularly practice short-term therapy; 12 sessions on average. Nearly 65.6% of the cases are completed within 20 sessions, 87.9% within 50 sessions. Marital/couples therapy (11.5 sessions) and family therapy (9 sessions) both require less time than the average individuated treatment (13 sessions). About half of the treatment provided by marriage and family therapists is one-on-one with the other half divided between marital/couple and family therapy, or a combination of treatments.

Why use a Marriage and Family Therapist?

Research studies repeatedly demonstrate the effectiveness of marriage and family therapy in treating the full range of mental and emotional disorders and health problems. Adolescent drug abuse, depression, alcoholism, obesity and dementia in the elderly -- as well as marital distress and conflict -- are just some of the conditions Marriage and Family Therapists effectively treat.

Studies also show that clients are highly satisfied with services of Marriage and Family Therapists. Clients report marked improvement in work productivity, co-worker relationships, family relationships, partner relationships, emotional health, overall health, social life, and community involvement.

In a recent study, consumers report that marriage and family therapists are the mental health professionals they would most likely recommend to friends. Over 98 percent of clients of marriage and family therapists report therapy services as good or excellent.

After receiving treatment, almost 90% of clients report an improvement in their emotional health, and nearly two-thirds report an improvement in their overall physical health. A majority of clients report an improvement in their functioning at work, and over three-fourths of those receiving marital/couples or family therapy report an improvement in the couple relationship. When a child is the identified patient, parents report that their child's behavior improved in 73.7% of the cases, their ability to get along with other children significantly improved and there was improved performance in school. Marriage and family therapy's prominence in the mental health field has increased due to its brief, solution-focused treatment, its family-centered approach, and its demonstrated effectiveness. Marriage and family therapists are licensed in 46 states and are recognized by the federal government as members of a distinct mental health discipline.

Today more than 50,000 marriage and family therapists treat individuals, couples, and families nationwide. Membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) has grown from 237 members in 1960 to more than 23,000 in 1996. This growth is a result, in part, of renewed public awareness of the value of family life and concern about the increased stresses on families in a rapidly changing world. 

How can I find a Marriage and Family Therapist?

AAMFT Clinical Members meet stringent training and education requirements that qualify them for the independent practice of marriage and family therapy.  AAMFT requires Clinical Members to abide by the AAMFT Code of Ethics, the most stringent ethical code in the marriage and family therapy profession. This code delineates specific ethical behavior and guidelines for members to follow to ensure the ethical treatment of clients. Clinical Membership in the AAMFT signifies an MFT's dedication to his or her ongoing professional development. Each month, AAMFT Clinical Members receive important updates on current clinical and research developments in the field, as well as numerous opportunities throughout the year to attend professional development conferences.

Click here to find a Marriage and Family Therapist today!

For information on my own practice of Marriage and Family Therapy, providing counselling and therapy services to individuals with relationship issues, couples, married couples and entire families, check out my website at www.relatedminds.com or http://www.relatedminds.com/couple-family-therapy/

My offices are near Lougheed Town Centre and provide counselling services to individuals in Burnaby, Coquitlam, New Westminster and Maple Ridge. Please see my web page for details.

Marriage and Couple Therapy in Burnaby and Vancouver

Dr. Jim Roche provides marriage and couple therapy / counselling in his offices in Burnaby and Vancouver. Dr. Roche is both a registered psychologist and registered marriage and family therapist, as well as a clinical member and fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Dr. Roche is trained in systemic therapy, as well as the Gottman Therapy method. He provides therapy for those who feel stuck in their relationships, and want to learn and explore new skills and ways of communication.

Marriage and couples therapy can be used to address:

• Problems with communication
• Anger issues
• Sexual difficulties
• Conflicts about child rearing 
• Substance abuse
• Infidelity
• Divorce or separation issues

The Gottman Couples/Marriage Therapy method addresses several similar issues:

• Increasing respect, affection and closeness between you
• Learning techniques to break through and resolve conflicts when you feel stuck
• gaining a better understanding of who each of you are in the relationship
• Learning how to keep conflict discussions calm
• and How to maintain improvements in your relationships.

Couple or marriage therapy usually starts with two or three weekly sessions during which we assess the situation and determine mutual goals, and then weekly every other week sessions using skills and reviewing their use in the relationship.

Two books I highly recommend reading (or at least reviewing) before coming to therapy include, "Why Marriages Succeed or Fail," and "The Seven Principals for Making Marriage Work" by John Gottman.

For more information about setting up an appointment for marriage therapy or couples counselling please visit my website at: http://www.relatedminds.com/couple-family-therapy/