As Society Changes, So Must Couples Counseling
Couples counseling has been around for several decades, but it has evolved to be more inclusive and all-encompassing. Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is a Lasallian Catholic university that offers a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy program that prepares students to seek licensure and become licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT). Here, we explore how couples counseling has changed over time and what that means for our MFT program.
What Is Couples Counseling?
Couples counseling, or couples therapy, is a form of psychotherapy for people in relationships, although it can also involve meeting independently. The goal of couples counseling is to address relationship issues such as conflicts, infidelity, or previous trauma or baggage that cause problems in the current relationship. It aims to improve the couple’s relationship by helping them discuss issues, increase understanding, and resolve problems. Couples counseling often employs a range of techniques to meet the varying needs of different couples.
How Has Couples Counseling Changed?
Couples counseling or marriage counseling in the United States dates to the 1930s and began as a way to promote successful family lives. It traditionally focused on conventional understandings of family and heterosexual couples, with the man being the leader of the home and the woman often being a housewife.
Couples counseling in the past typically featured a therapist, who may or may not have specialized in counseling couples, independently meeting with both the husband and the wife to listen to their problems. The therapist would generally offer advice without using much therapeutic technique. In the past, couples counseling was often seen as a last resort for a failing or struggling marriage.
As feminism and different family types have gained more traction and influence, couples counseling is no longer focused solely on traditional marriage values. Today, many couples who seek counseling are not married, which makes the term marriage counseling outdated. Couples counseling is now provided by a licensed marriage and family therapist and is treated much like other forms of psychotherapy. The practice has evolved in many ways, including:
- Using a broader framework that incorporates modern values like feminism, multiculturalism, etc.
- Becoming more inclusive to non-heterosexual and unmarried couples, including members of the LGBTQ community
- Shifting away from blaming one party and moving toward a collaborative approach
- Using more evidence-based therapeutic techniques to help couples and individuals work through problems
- Working with couples together rather than independently, but also assigning individual work
- Offering virtual couples therapy rather than only in-person counseling
- Encompassing individual struggles and trauma in the context of relationships and their effects
- Using couples counseling as a preventative tool rather than a last resort
These are just some of the ways couples counseling has changed over the last few decades. The practice will continue to evolve as families and couples do and as new therapeutic techniques emerge.
The M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Saint Mary’s
If you’re interested in working as a couple’s counselor or marriage and family therapist, enrolling in the M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is a great place to start. This two-year program is offered at our Minneapolis campus with two start times per year. It prepares students to seek licensure with the Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy and become licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT).
This program teaches students how to practice marriage and family therapy ethically, compassionately, and effectively in a diverse world and evolving field. Students learn how to have an impact on their clients’ well-being and healing using prevention and intervention techniques. Our courses are taught by experienced practicing professionals dedicated to student success and up-to-date on the evolving nature of couples counseling and family therapy.
Students also get the opportunity to complete 300 hours of clinical work, which is required for graduation.
Completing this program and becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist can provide several benefits, including a bright job outlook. Employment in this field is growing faster than the average for all occupations. Salary is competitive, with the median annual wage for marriage and family therapists being $58,510, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And, of course, there is the rewarding satisfaction of helping others.
For more information about our MFT program, read through the admission requirements or schedule a campus visit.
Apply to the Marriage and Family Therapy Program Today
If you’re ready to pursue couples counseling as a career, take the next step and apply for the M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. All our academic programs are taught through a faith-based lens to develop compassionate and ethical leaders who are ready to improve their communities through their work after graduation. To learn more about our MFT program or how to apply, request more information today and speak with a counselor.
