Marriage & Family Counsellor
Community & Social
Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems. Apply psychotherapeutic and family systems theories and techniques in the delivery of services to individuals, couples, and families for the purpose of treating such diagnosed nervous and mental disorders.
What you'd do all day
The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.
- 1Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner.
- 2Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors.
- 3Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues.
- 4Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations.
- 5Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties.
- 6Collect information about clients, using techniques such as testing, interviewing, discussion, or observation.
- 7Confer with clients to develop plans for posttreatment activities.
- 8Confer with other counselors, doctors, and professionals to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services.
- 9Determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, or legal aid.
- 10Follow up on results of counseling programs and clients' adjustments to determine effectiveness of programs.
- 11Supervise other counselors, social service staff, and assistants.
- 12Provide instructions to clients on how to obtain help with legal, financial, and other personal issues.
- 13Provide public education and consultation to other professionals or groups regarding counseling services, issues, and methods.
- 14Gather information from doctors, schools, social workers, juvenile counselors, law enforcement personnel, and others to make recommendations to courts for resolution of child custody or visitation disputes.
- 15Write evaluations of parents and children for use by courts deciding divorce and custody cases, testifying in court if necessary.
Also known as
What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.
- LPC
- MFT
- LMFT
- Counselor
- Therapist
- Behavior Tech
- Play Therapist
- Group Counselor
- Family Counselor
- Family Therapist
How far is this from you?
Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.
1
Entry straight after SPM
2
SPM + sijil / short TVET course
3
Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)
4
Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)
Typical entry
Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route
Subjects that matter here
The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.
What you'd need to know
The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.
- Therapy and Counseling100%
BiologySports Science
- Psychology99%
- Customer and Personal Service80%
- Sociology and Anthropology78%
- English Language73%
English
- Administrative68%
Business
Tools you'd use
Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.
What the work feels like
Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.
- Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
- Contact with other peopleConstant contact
- Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
- Leading or coordinating othersNot at all
- Handling conflict situationsOften
- Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
- Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
- Noisy environmentOften
Where this job is heading
Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.
- Diagnose mental and emotional disorders in clients.
AI and demand for this job
A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.
Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)
This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.
Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work
Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job — and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.
Pay in Malaysia
We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.
Where to check:
- JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
- DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
- SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
Check what you may qualify for
Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.
How to get here
Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.
Related careers
If this interests you, these are worth a look too.
About this information
This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.
O*NET occupation: Marriage and Family Therapists
Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org