A person interested in becoming a therapist should possess an urge to guide others in dealing with family issues, and saving troubled marriages from ending up in divorce. Most importantly, the marriage and family counselor should be able to inspire the person in need and make him/her confident about betterment of their troubled family life. The salary for these professionals depend upon factors such as educational qualifications and industry of their employment, such as general hospitals, local government, or state government. Marriage and family therapists are also termed as counselors providing counseling or guidance and rehabilitation to the people in society. The salary is decent and brings with it a feeling and satisfaction of saving troubled marriages and families. It is known that an individual's behavior pattern is influenced by the family's manner of conduct or demeanor. Hence, marriage and family therapy does not focus only on the individual who needs counseling, but also involves the members of family or the people in relationship with the person. They play a vital role in not only bonding the connection between the couples, but also in maintaining sound relationship and marriage counseling. During counseling, the dialog involves questions, counter questions, confessions, suggestions, and guidance, thus making an effort to strengthen the bond among family members. That is why marriage and family therapy has become an important specialty of psychology. Salary According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary varies according to the industry. It can be summarized as: Duties The job description involves counseling people employing family systems techniques and principles to address the issues related to the couple, and among members of a family. The conflicts between couples or family members are due to various reasons. They may be due to difference in opinion, expectations not getting fulfilled by their spouse, or, at times, due to social issues. These people go through emotional and mental trauma during this conflict. Here, a therapist plays a key role in molding a person's thought process related to marriage and family, so as to resolve the ongoing conflict. These counselors work to alter people's understanding about relationship and their conduct, and improve communication among couples and family members to pull these people out of this emotional crisis. Clients could be individuals, family members, or couples who face marital problems. They have to deal with range of issues including marital problems, depression, mood disorders, autism, juvenile delinquency, child-parent relationship issues, and other related mental disorders. They also have to deal with substance abuse, which is many times the cause triggering conflicts between couples, or between children and parents. In such cases, they have to bridge the communication gap between the family members, as lack of healthy dialog and communication leads to problems such as substance abuse. Developing interaction between individuals and family members, and making the client aware of his/her symptoms remains to be a challenging task for a marriage and family counselor. Educational Qualifications To become a licensed therapist, a person has to complete a master's degree coupled with 3,000 hours or 2 years of directed clinical work experience, or a doctoral degree. After completion of supervised work, a person has to pass a state-recognized test, or AAMFT (American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy) conducted national examination for marriage and family therapists, and has to adhere with ethical codes. This was about the job description, the educational qualifications, and the salary of therapist for marital discord and family problems.