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Family Therapist Job Description

What does a Family Therapist do?

A Family Therapist is a professional who provides therapy and support to families or couples in order to improve their relationships and communication. They work to identify and address any issues or challenges facing the family or couple and help them to develop strategies and coping skills to manage them. A Family Therapist might work with families facing divorce or separation, those struggling with communication or behavioural issues, or those dealing with domestic or emotional abuse. They take a holistic approach to therapy, viewing the family or couple as a system that is interconnected and interdependent. The ultimate goal of a Family Therapist is to help families and couples improve their relationships, build stronger bonds, and foster healthier communication.

Our Family Therapist job description includes the Family Therapist responsibilities, duties, skills, education, qualifications, and experience.

Family Therapist Example


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If you need an example job description for a Family Therapist download the one below, alternatively we have many other Healthcare job description samples and a job description library with over 3000 job descriptions templates that you can download for free.

What does a Family Therapist do?

A Family Therapist is responsible for providing therapeutic support to families to help them overcome difficult issues and improve their relationships. The therapeutic support may include individual, couple and family counselling, group work, and parenting guidance. The Family Therapist is also responsible for providing assessment, treatment planning and referrals to other services. They must develop and support a therapeutic alliance with the family, ensuring that all members feel understood and respected. The Family Therapist must be able to establish a safe, non-judgemental environment that allows members to open up and explore their feelings and experiences. They must also be able to provide guidance on how to manage stress and develop healthier relationships.

Family Therapist Role Purpose

The purpose of a family therapist is to provide therapeutic support to families, couples and individuals in order to improve their relationships and communication skills, as well as to address any issues they may be experiencing. The family therapist helps individuals and families to identify and resolve conflicts and problems, while exploring their individual and collective values, beliefs and behaviours. They work to help families build and maintain healthy relationships based on understanding, respect and trust.

Family Therapist Role

A family therapist is a professional who helps families and individuals manage and resolve conflicts and issues within their family unit. They work with individuals and families to identify patterns of behaviour, communication and interaction between family members, and to provide strategies to create more positive and healthy relationships. Family therapists are trained to work with a variety of issues, including parenting and communication problems, mental health issues, substance abuse, marital issues and more.

Family Therapist Duties

  • Provide family therapy and counselling to individuals, couples and families
  • Develop and implement treatment plans tailored to the needs of each client
  • Carry out assessments to identify client needs and provide appropriate referrals
  • Keep accurate records of client progress and interventions
  • Support clients in the development of skills to manage their relationships and communication
  • Provide crisis intervention and support for families in distress
  • Advise and educate clients about community resources

Family Therapist Requirements

  • A postgraduate degree in a relevant subject, such as family therapy or counselling
  • Experience of working with families or couples either in a clinical or research setting
  • An understanding of the psychological and social dynamics of family life
  • Strong communication, interpersonal and problem-solving skills
  • Ability to work with people of different ages and backgrounds
  • A valid UK driving licence

Family Therapist Skills

  • Ability to empathise and build relationships with clients
  • Good communication and listening skills
  • Ability to facilitate group discussions
  • Knowledge of therapeutic approaches and techniques
  • Ability to assess and diagnose clients

Family Therapist Personal Traits

  • Empathy
  • Patience
  • Organizational Skills
  • Good Listening Skills
  • Ability to Build Rapport
  • Knowledge of Mental Health Issues

How to write a Family Therapist Job Advert

Use our job advert template to write a job advert for posting on job sites and job boards. Our job advertising templates are carefully created to help you reach your audience and beat the competition to the best talent.

A job description informs the reader about a job, whereas a job advert’s main objective is to sell the job opportunity to attract as many suitable applicants possible. A job advert maybe the first touch-point a candidate has with your company so it is important to create a great impression.

Job Advertisements should enticing, so considering using short, exciting language which get the reader’s attention.

How to write a Family Therapist Job Description

To write a job description, we recommend starting with a job description template from our job description library, which contains examples for 800+ positions and professions. Our job description examples include a job summary with duties and responsibilities and skills and requirements, which can be personalised for your job vacancy.

Job Description Advice - Guidance on How to Personalise a Family Therapist Job Specification

The hiring process and recruiting new employees to fill your key roles requires a degree of personalisation if you are to attract the best employees in a competitive employment market. The right person for a crucial role or more senior roles will likely have other employers targeting them. As your job description will be the first point of contact, you need to nail your pitch and provide the best possible service.

Job Description Tips - Help on formatting a Family Therapist Job Specification

When creating your bespoke description and advert, you should cover and promote these points:

Job title: This should accurately reflect the role and include keywords that top talent might be using to search for jobs.

Job duties: The day to day duties, such as administrative tasks, which vary depending on the company and inform the candidate if they can complete the role.

Technical skills: These are the hard skills required through training, such as proficiency with Microsoft Office.

Soft skills: These include the interpersonal skills and general abilities the right candidates will possess. For example, the competency to prioritise multiple tasks, handle customer queries and customer complaints, work alone, or build a good relationship with coworkers.

The company's culture: Highlighting your company culture and values ensures employees thrive and find outstanding job satisfaction. Candidates that are not the right fit won’t waste their time completing the application process, meaning you can focus on qualified individuals and hire in a more timely manner.

Career progression: Including the career path will entice candidates looking for career growth. 

Training and development programs: Smaller companies may need employees with previous experience or provide educational assistance over internal training offered by larger organisations with more significant resources. 

Employee benefits: Compensation and benefits often fail to appear in job ads and while you may want to hold your cards close to your chest, failing to include them is a mistake. Consider answering common questions, such as working hours and paid leave. Researching the average salary for the role in these early stages will ensure you don’t waste your interviewer’s and the candidate’s time.

Skill gaps: Your company may need to bring in new skills beyond those required to complete the key role and duties. Thinking on an organisational level can be beneficial when contemplating skills diversity.

Legal requirements: Ensure your job advert and description does not ask for inappropriate or discriminatory personal details, such as age, marital status, or religion.

How to Hire a Family Therapist

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