Marriage and Family Therapist Resume Example & Writing Guide

As a trained mental health professional, an important part of your work is teaching communication skills and helping people get their needs met. Now it’s time to use your communication ability to get your own professional needs met. 

With Resume.io’s online resume builder, resume samples and templates, and the advice in this guide, you can create a resume that:

• Impresses recruiters and hiring managers
• Highlights each aspect of your work experience
• Focuses on each job for which you apply
• Puts your expertise in the forefront
• Looks as great as it reads.

Read on to land that dream job interview!

Resume summary example

Marriage and Family Therapists may specialize in many different areas of counseling psychology. Your summary is not the place for a full account of your history, rather - its highlights. Instead, think of your proudest moments, biggest successes in family therapy, and the qualities/skills/talents that make you a great counselor. If, however, you have extensive experience in one area, such as substance abuse, group therapy, or domestic violence therapy, do tout your specialized expertise! Your resume is not the place to be modest.

This section is the one place in your resume in which you can inject a bit of creativity. You have about 100-200 words to describe your professional experience and personality.  When joining a practice that provides counseling services, your therapy style and how you relate to other clinic staff will be of the utmost importance. You want the right fit for you, too, so make sure you depict yourself accurately here. 

See family therapist resume sample content below.  Then, if you need more inspiration, our medical category of resume samples can help. Look over the psychologist resume example or the psychotherapist resume sample. For a specialist bent, try the child psychologist resume example or the behavioral therapist resume sample.

Employment History Section

Even if you are looking for your first job since becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist, you will have work experience. Your practicum certainly counts! If you have a more extensive work history, use reverse chronological order to detail each position you have held.

Your employment history section should display the arc of your career. Review your career from your marriage and family therapist internship through where you are now. At each step, you learned new skills, took on new challenges, and faced new problems. You may have started out as a social worker or have a general clinical psychologist and then specialized in family therapy. Use each bullet item in your job descriptions to show this growth. 

Consider using the CAR method to guide you. Tell about a Challenge you face, the Action you took, and the positive Results you achieved. Be as detailed as possible whether you are discussing case management, a difficult client situation, or improvements you made to keeping progress notes. Use strong action verbs to add to the impression that you are a go-getter.

You will also need to take into account the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that most employers use to conduct an initial sorting of resumes. Try to use keywords and phrases (the job listing is your best guide here) from each job for which you apply and use both the full names as well as abbreviations (when appropriate). It’s vitally important to personalize your resume for every application.

If you feel there is something critical you can’t fit into your summary or employment history section, consider adding it to your cover letter.

CV education example

To earn your license, you have at least a master’s degree. You also have a bachelor’s degree, probably in a related field such as psychology or social work. List those degrees here. Include a major and minor if they are relevant, but otherwise, this is just a simple box to be ticked on your CV. Since you hold a degree higher than a Bachelor Degree, you may leave out your high school. 

In addition to your degrees, you have earned your license. Licensure requirements are different in each state, so make sure you are specific about where you hold a valid license. You can check licensing requirements through the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT). You may list certifications here, or create a separate section highlighting them and any professional groups in which you are an active member (if the list starts getting too expansive). 

Resume skills example

As a marriage and family therapist, you are trained to help patients find and achieve long-term solutions to difficult mental and emotional problems and disorders that impede successful relationships. You are expected to aid patients in resolving conflicts while learning to practice healthy behaviors. An ideal candidate possesses excellent communication skills, along with superior knowledge of different therapy methods and marriage and family counseling techniques.

Your skills section should be a blend of your soft (interpersonal and organizational) skills and hard skills (the specialized knowledge and abilities you need to be a great marriage and family therapist). Keeping the job listing in mind, create a list that highlights the skills necessary for the job and which will help distinguish you from other candidates. 

Try not to duplicate skills since space is at a premium on your resume. You should try to showcase crucial qualifications such as compassion, strong listening/analysis skills, and the ability to help patients communicate more effectively with spouses and family members. 

Resume layout and design: first impressions

Of equal importance to the content of your resume is your design. Hiring managers are not immune to basing judgements on first impressions, so make sure you give a professional and organized first impression. 

Our resume templates make it easy. We recommend one of our Professional designs to get you started. These templates can be personalized, but take the following tips into consideration:

• Leave plenty of blank space to maintain a clean, legible look
• Don’t overdo color; a well-place splash is just right
• Make sure your section headings, contact information, and job titles stand out
• Carefully proofread before hitting send; luckily - our resume editor has a powerful spell-checker feature already built in!

Key takeaways for a marriage and family counseling resume

1. Use your summary to highlight your best instead of trying to cram in your entire career.
2. Licensed therapists don't have to worry about work experience because your internship and externship count!
3. A blend of hard and soft skills make for the best skills sections.
4. With Resume.io's field-tested resumes, and these helpful tips on the creation of your resume, you will be well on your way to the next step in your career. Get started now!