Marriage and Family Therapists

People in this career often have these skills:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

People in this career often do these activities:

• Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.
• Teach life skills or strategies to clients or their families.
• Develop treatment plans for patients or clients.
• Maintain client records.
• Counsel clients regarding interpersonal issues.

• Evaluate characteristics of individuals to determine needs or eligibility.
• Refer clients to community or social service programs.
• Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
• Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
• Collect information about clients.
• Diagnose medical conditions.
• Diagnose neural or psychological disorders.
• Confer with clients to discuss treatment plans or progress.
• Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
• Counsel clients or patients with substance abuse issues.
• Counsel family members of clients or patients.
• Counsel clients on mental health or personal achievement.
• Present social services program information to the public.
• Lead classes or community events.
• Advise others on social or educational issues.
• Monitor clients to evaluate treatment progress.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling or educational programs.
• Write reports or evaluations.
• Help clients get needed services or resources.

• Mental Health Counselors

• Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

• Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

• Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

• School Psychologists

• Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary

• Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors

• Child, Family, and School Social Workers