Getting started in your career

Qualifications you need to become a family therapist

Qualifying as a family therapist usually involves completing around 4 years of part-time postgraduate training at masters level. Many people complete this training alongside their existing job.

Some people complete the first 2 years of training in 1 year through the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP IAPT) programme. Others complete the first 2 years of training on AFSP-accredited clinical psychology doctorate courses.

Applicants usually have a professional background in health, social care or a related field, such as social work or mental health nursing. Some courses also consider applicants with significant relevant experience, even if they don’t have a traditional professional qualification.

You will need to be able to work therapeutically with families and couples in your workplace, rather than being constrained to working with individuals.

What the training involves

The training includes:

• Supervised clinical practice
• Academic study and research
• Personal and professional development
• Live supervision – This is when a group of 3 or 4 supervisees and a supervisor watch a trainee family and systemic psychotherapist’s work with a family through a screen in a different room. The aim is to support the psychotherapist leading the session. They may, for example, phone the practising psychotherapist to offer their advice or insight during the session.

Once you’ve finished your training, you’ll be eligible to be registered with the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), a professional body which holds a national register of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Only therapists who meet UKCP’s exacting standards and training requirements are on their register.

Visit our routes to training page for more information about the training.

Top tip
Consider joining a trade union when you begin your career. Unions, such as Unison or Unite the Union, can offer professional support, advice on employment rights and workplace representation.

Experience and skills

You will need:

• The ability to reflect on your own life, relationships and responses
• Communication and relationship skills to build trust with clients and facilitate conversations between people with different perspectives
• Analytical thinking to understand complex family dynamics
• Emotional resilience
• Ability to work with multidisciplinary teams and other professionals
• Relevant work experience supporting individuals, couples, families or communities
• Commitment to ongoing continuing professional development (CPD)

How your career might progress

Once qualified, most family therapists get a role working in the NHS, social care, or for a charity or a private organisation (such as a private care home or hospital). Some go straight into independent private practice.

In these roles, you would help clients build healthier relationships and explore how the systems around them – such as family, school or work – influence their mental health and wellbeing.

After gaining some experience, you might:

• Set up in independent private practice
• Train to become a systemic supervisor, leading other psychological professionals or multi-professional clinical teams
• Specialise in areas such as eating disorders or child and adolescent mental health
• Progress into a training role
• Lead a psychological therapy service
• Consider further research
• Write for publications
• Develop in systemic leadership and organisational consultancy