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SOC 21-1013
On this page, marriage and family therapists refers to O*NET 21-1013.00: workers who diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders involving cognitive, emotional, or behavioral issues within marriage and family systems, using psychotherapy and family systems theories and techniques with individuals, couples, and families.
Model impact index for three equally weighted representative core tasks; not a measured share of working time or a job-loss probability. floor((75+25+25)/3+0.5)=42; fermatmind-ai-impact-v1; 2026-10-18.
The core work of marriage and family therapists is to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders within family and relationship systems: use questioning and observation to help clients identify feelings and behaviors, collect testing, interview, and observation information, diagnose mental and emotional disorders, develop individualized treatment plans, provide psychotherapy and family systems techniques for individuals, couples, and families, maintain case files containing progress notes and recommendations, and determine whether to provide counseling themselves or refer to medical, psychiatric, legal assistance, or other professionals.
The following judgments concern marriage and family therapists' clinical and therapeutic practices. They do not predict hiring, licensing, qualification, or diagnostic outcomes, or replace clinical assessment.
Sample output and reflection: check whether safety and informed-consent boundaries were established first, observations were distinguished from assumptions, referral and supervision routes were stated, and documentation and confidentiality requirements were explained. Then ask yourself whether you can maintain neutrality and boundaries amid conflict and distress, identify risks beyond your competence or authorization and refer them, and willingly sustain clinical responsibility under supervision.
The fixed identity on this page corresponds to US ONet21-1013.00: assessing and treating mental / emotional disorders in marital and family systems and providing psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and families. Specific diagnostic, forensic assessment, and supervision tasks must remain within state licensing, competence, and task-specific authorization. US responsibilities do not automatically confer authority in China: psychological counselors in China may not provide psychotherapy or diagnose and treat mental disorders. Psychotherapy must take place in medical institutions; personnel specializing in psychotherapy may not diagnose mental disorders, prescribe medications, or provide surgical treatment.
Career direction comparison
The following compares marriage and family therapists with adjacent roles by actual service populations, core deliverables, and practice boundaries. Qualifications are not interchangeable based on titles.
| Career direction | Core work and output | Key differences | Best-fit choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | Clinical and counseling psychologists typically hold a psychology doctorate or corresponding authorization and provide psychological assessment and treatment. Marriage and family therapists take a family and relationship systems approach. Their practice scopes and licensing systems differ. | Hold psychological practice authorization and provide psychological assessment and treatment. | Compare if you prefer psychological assessment and psychotherapy. |
| School Psychologists | School psychologists assess learning and behavior and support students in school settings; marriage and family therapists provide treatment in clinical and family settings. Service populations and authorizations differ. |
AI impact on this career
Editorial task hypothesis: distinguish appointment management from generative AI, which may draft summaries of fictional material. No occupational adoption rates or job outcomes were obtained. Real session data requires checking confidentiality, consent, and organizational authorization, and people must still check records. AI does not independently diagnose, treat, or manage crises; cross-border practice requires checking the actual jurisdiction. AI Impact Score 42% is an editorial estimate. Model impact index for three equally weighted representative core tasks; not a measured share of working time or a job-loss probability. floor((75+25+25)/3+0.5)=42; fermatmind-ai-impact-v1; 2026-10-18.The three tasks, ratings and sources are listed in the FermatMind method source record on this page.
FermatMind AI Impact Score estimation method v1
FermatMind / 费马测试 · 2026-10-18
Editorial ratings use the existing occupational responsibilities and AI task analysis on this page. They are not adoption rates, measured effects, job-disappearance or personal-unemployment probabilities, or official scores from Stanford or another external institution. No measured time weights or future robot deployment are assumed.
Chinese mainland salary reference
Scope: National Bureau of Statistics 2025 average annual wages for health and social work employees are 146,266 yuan / year in urban non-private units and 75,631 yuan / year in urban private units; the nationwide total for urban non-private units is 129,441 yuan / year. All are industry measures, not this occupation's median or starting pay.
Category boundary: the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security publishes enterprise compensation survey information by occupation / position, which can be used to look up health and social work pay. This page did not obtain an entry matching O*NET 21-1013.00 exactly, so it is not used as a nationwide occupational median. Refer to competent authority publications for specifics.
Only average annual wages are published
Only average annual wages are published
U.S. salary reference
The 2025 US nationwide median wage for this occupation is 66,940 dollars annually and 32.18 dollars hourly; full percentiles appear in the table. Retain older employment of 77,800 in 2024 and 7,700 average annual openings in 2024—2034. Latest BLS figures of 76,300 employed in 2025, 14% growth in 2025—2035, and 6,900 average annual openings are listed separately, without combining them or treating them as private-practice fees / net income.
| Percentile | Annual reference | Hourly equivalent | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| P10 | $44,650 / year | $21.47 / hour | 2025 US nationwide percentiles for occupation 21-1013, not seniority, starting pay, or a conversion of individual working hours. |
| P25 |
Fit signals
To assess fit, consider whether you can maintain neutrality and boundaries in relationship and conflict situations, systematically collect information and develop reviewable treatment plans, identify risks beyond competence or authorization and refer promptly, accept feedback under supervision and protect confidentiality, and tolerate clinical pressure where errors have serious consequences. Tools such as RIASEC can only propose hypotheses and cannot replace real task experience.
Positive signals： Positive signals: listening and building trust, systematic assessment and documentation, risk recognition and referral, accepting supervision and feedback, and maintaining ethical and confidentiality boundaries.
Reasons for caution： Reasons for caution: difficulty maintaining neutrality and boundaries, making unverified judgments, unwillingness to accept supervision or disregard for confidentiality and ethics, or difficulty handling intense emotions and crisis pressure.
Trial activity： Trial activity: using entirely fictional family relationship and counseling records, rehearse assessment approaches, treatment directions, and referral and supervision points, and ask someone else to review them against the records.
Risks and boundaries
Handle risks by their triggers, consequences, controls, and escalation boundaries.
Based on O*NET 21-1013.00 tasks and work context and specific requirements concerning safety and crises, authorization boundaries, confidentiality and informed consent, supervision, and documentation. Check specific rules against employers, licensing, and applicable laws without extrapolating across scopes.
Typical scenario：Failure to recognize client or family safety and crisis risks.
Roles most affected：Clinical treatment roles
Possible consequence：May endanger safety.
How to reduce risk：Recognize risks and escalate or refer according to procedures.
Evidence：O*NET 21-1013.00 Tasks
Entry pathways
ONet's new-hire education responses report 87% master's degree, 10% post-master's certificate, and 3% doctorate, separate from JobZone5 group preparation. BLS says US MFTs typically require a master's and every state requires licensing. Degrees and supervised experience do not automatically grant independent practice rights.
Market signals
Retain older employment of 77,800 in 2024 and 7,700 projected average annual openings in 2024—2034. Latest figures are 76,300 employed in 2025, 14% growth in 2025—2035, and 6,900 average annual openings, not ten-year totals / net growth or individual hiring outcomes.
US nationwide · Display scope: Marriage and Family Therapists (21-1013.00)
The main industry on that page for 2024 is Health Care and Social Assistance. Employment and openings are statistical projections and must be interpreted separately from individual opportunities.
Employment size and change
Employment size, change, and job openings must be interpreted separately.
Does not establish：Occupational statistics cannot guarantee individual employment.
On this page, marriage and family therapists refers to O*NET 21-1013.00: workers who diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders involving cognitive, emotional, or behavioral issues within marriage and family systems, using psychotherapy and family systems theories and techniques with individuals, couples, and families. Tasks include helping clients identify feelings and behaviors, collecting information, diagnosing, developing treatment plans, maintaining case files, consulting and supervising, and providing court assessments in custody and visitation disputes. Work mainly takes place in offices and mental health organizations. This occupation is distinct from clinical and counseling psychologists, school psychologists, neuropsychologists, or substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors.
Choose a real task from this page for a small practice project or a conversation with someone in the field. Use the planning guides to set a date, an output and feedback questions before deciding whether to continue.
This is an entirely fictional educational family-relationship scenario check, not a personality diagnosis, hiring conclusion, or clinical assessment.
Entirely fictional task package: provide fictional family relationship and counseling records, including 1 relationship and symptom description, 1 set of family-interaction observation points, and 1 risk clue to assess. Within 60 minutes, write an assessment approach, proposed treatment directions, circumstances requiring referral or escalation, and documentation and supervision points. This is solely an educational exercise. Do not use real client, patient, or clinical data or make any diagnosis from it.
Check first: practice licensing and authorized scope, competence and supervision boundaries, informed consent and confidentiality requirements, client and family safety risks, referral and interdisciplinary collaboration routes, and documentation compliance requirements.
End-to-end work: establish safety and informed-consent boundaries, collect information and assess, develop diagnoses and treatment plans, treat and document progress, judge referral or escalation needs, consult and receive supervision, and assess outcomes. Do not begin treatment before safety or authorization conditions are confirmed. Refer any situation beyond competence or licensing scope.
| Dimension | Primary track | Comparison track |
|---|---|---|
| Complete workflow | From establishing boundaries to assessing outcomes | |
| Step one | Establish safety and informed-consent boundaries | |
| Step two | Collect information and assess | |
| Step three | Develop diagnoses and treatment plans | |
| Step four | Provide treatment and document progress | |
| Step five | Judge referral or escalation needs | |
| Step six | Consult, receive supervision, and assess outcomes |
Inputs: client and family relationship and symptom information, interview and observation records, psychological measurement and assessment tools, treatment theories and family systems frameworks, referral and interdisciplinary information, case files and informed consent, and supervision and ethical requirements.
Checkable outputs: assessment and diagnostic conclusions, individualized treatment plans, treatment and progress notes, case files and recommendations, referral and consultation records, assessment statements for courts, and supervision and consultation records.
Complete workflow: establish safety and informed-consent boundaries → collect information and assess → develop diagnoses and treatment plans → provide treatment and document progress → judge referral or escalation needs → consult and receive supervision → assess outcomes and adjust.
In the United States, this occupation typically requires a master's degree, and every state requires licensing to practice, according to BLS OOH. Do not diagnose or treat without authorization. This page does not judge individual eligibility.
Work subjects and AI boundaries for marriage and family therapists Editorial task hypothesis: distinguish appointment management from generative AI, which may draft summaries of fictional material. No occupational adoption rates or job outcomes were obtained. Real session data requires checking confidentiality, consent, and organizational authorization, and people must still check records. AI does not independently diagnose, treat, or manage crises; cross-border practice requires checking the actual jurisdiction.
| Assess and support students in school settings. |
| Compare if you prefer school settings. |
| Neuropsychologists | Neuropsychologists emphasize assessment of the nervous system and cognitive functioning; marriage and family therapists emphasize relationship systems and emotional and behavioral treatment. Assessment tools and authorizations differ. | Emphasize neurological and cognitive assessment. | Compare if you prefer neuropsychological assessment. |
|---|
| Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors emphasize addiction counseling and recovery support; marriage and family therapists emphasize family and relationship systems treatment. Addiction-related work requires collaboration or referral within licensing scope. | Emphasize addiction counseling and recovery. | Compare if you prefer addiction counseling. |
|---|
First use reviewable case records under supervision to validate assessment, treatment, and referral boundaries, then assess your direction. Do not assign a single ranking based on income or personality.
Next, turn the comparison into supervised clinical observation that can be stopped.
Describe only specific steps tools may assist; do not treat demonstrations as organizational adoption.
Check data sources, system reliability, and review responsibilities; this page has no occupation-specific adoption rate.
Without occupational job-outcome research, do not infer layoff timing, staffing changes, or hiring probability.
| Work area | Task | Current change | Human control point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Records and documentation | Organize case records and summaries | Editorial hypothesis: retrieval / drafting may receive assistance, but methods and permissions require validation. Ordinary appointment software does not demonstrate generative AI adoption. | Check record accuracy and confidentiality. |
| Materials and retrieval | Generate psychoeducational materials and retrieve information | May assist with drafting | Check clinical authority and confidentiality. Do not submit real sessions / cases to external AI without authorization. Qualified personnel must promptly assess and escalate suspected safety risks under organizational clinical procedures. |
| Diagnosis and treatment | Diagnose and provide treatment | No automated decisions | Licensed therapists are responsible. |
| Crises and risks | Recognize and manage crisis risks | Cannot replace responsibility-based judgment | Confirmed by licensed therapists and supervisors. |
Occupational sources describe actual tasks and subjects: assessment and diagnosis, treatment plans, case files, referrals, and consultations. Tool capabilities, organizational adoption, and job outcomes are recorded separately; wage or employment data is not used as AI evidence.
Editorial comparison: organizing records or drafting materials may receive assistance, but there is no adoption-sequencing research. Family members' accounts, clinical risks, and the therapeutic relationship cannot be replaced or omitted by automated summaries.
AI primarily changesMay assist with draft records; check original sessions, permissions, and omissions.
Human responsibility remainsAccuracy and confidentiality responsibility
AI primarily changesMay retrieve materials; not automated diagnosis / treatment / crisis management.
Human responsibility remainsApplicability and ethical judgment
Human control points: judge safety and crisis risks, develop diagnoses and treatment plans, treat within authorization and competence, maintain confidentiality and informed consent, receive supervision, and take responsibility for clinical consequences.
Confirm informed consent, authorization, and supervision arrangements.
Work only within licensing and competence.
Review diagnoses, plans, and records.
Promptly refer and report crises and matters beyond scope.
May endanger clients and family members.
Control: Recognize risks and escalate or refer according to procedures.
May violate licensing and legal requirements.
Control: Practice within authorization and refer.
May harm client rights and trust.
Control: Implement confidentiality and informed-consent requirements.
Practice assessment and documentation under supervision.
Retain treatment and supervision records.
Establish licensing, supervision, and confidentiality standards first.
Task exposure, adoption, and job outcomes measure different things and cannot establish a date for job cuts.
Source: O*NET 21-1013.00 TasksOriginal source ↗
Only task hypotheses are listed; no adoption-sequencing or job-outcome research was obtained. People must verify actual tasks and authorization.
Source: O*NET 21-1013.00 TasksOriginal source ↗
There is no occupational adoption-rate source, so this page provides no such figures.
Source: O*NET 21-1013.00 Marriage and Family Therapists (Summary)Original source ↗
First conduct an offline exercise using entirely fictional family relationship and counseling records. Write assessment approaches, treatment directions, and referral and supervision points without relying on unverified automated advice or making diagnoses from it.
Insufficient evidence: not separately listed
Exact occupational wages were not obtained. Health and social work unit averages provide only corresponding context, do not replace occupational medians, and do not cover individual business income.
| Role scope | Reference value | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Not separately tabulated | Hiring depends on the employer and position | National Bureau of Statistics wage statistics are organized by industry and registration type, not by education levels within this occupation. |
| Not separately tabulated | Hiring depends on the employer and position | National Bureau of Statistics wage statistics are organized by industry and registration type, not by education levels within this occupation. |
| Not separately tabulated | Hiring depends on the employer and position | National Bureau of Statistics wage statistics are organized by industry and registration type, not by education levels within this occupation. |
| Not separately tabulated | Hiring depends on the employer and position | National Bureau of Statistics wage statistics are organized by industry and registration type, not by education levels within this occupation. |
146,266 yuan / year
75,631 yuan / year
129,441 yuan / year
Insufficient evidence: no nationwide occupational median wage, reference period, or statistical scope was obtained for marriage and family therapists in mainland China. This page displays only an industry proxy labeled as such; neither proxy figures nor US figures fill the gap.
| $50,070 / year |
| $24.07 / hour |
| 2025 US nationwide percentiles for occupation 21-1013, not seniority, starting pay, or a conversion of individual working hours. |
| P50 (median) | $66,940 / year | $32.18 / hour | 2025 US nationwide percentiles for occupation 21-1013, not seniority, starting pay, or a conversion of individual working hours. |
|---|
| P75 | $93,840 / year | $45.12 / hour | 2025 US nationwide percentiles for occupation 21-1013, not seniority, starting pay, or a conversion of individual working hours. |
|---|
| P90 | $123,730 / year | $59.49 / hour | 2025 US nationwide percentiles for occupation 21-1013, not seniority, starting pay, or a conversion of individual working hours. |
|---|
Wages · Median：$66,940 / year (2025)；O*NET 21-1013.00 National Wages (BLS OEWS Display)
Wages · Hourly median：$32.18 / hour (2025)；O*NET 21-1013.00 National Wages (BLS OEWS Display)
Wages · Lowest 10%：$44,650 / year (P10, 2025)；O*NET 21-1013.00 National Wages (BLS OEWS Display)
Wages · P90 percentile：$123,730 / year (P90, 2025)；O*NET 21-1013.00 National Wages (BLS OEWS Display)
Wages · Statistical scope：Marriage and Family Therapists（21-1013.00）；O*NET 21-1013.00 National Wages (BLS OEWS Display)
Full 2025 annual / hourly wage percentiles for occupation 21-1013, not seniority, starting pay, or take-home income.
Employment count in 2024, not the number of vacancies being recruited for.
Latest 2025—2035 growth is 14%, with 6,900 average annual openings. Keep the older version separate; these do not represent individual hiring outcomes.
Listed as Health Care and Social Assistance under O*NET / BLS industry scope; does not equal income for all practitioners.
| Industry | Median annual wage (dollars / year) | How to interpret |
|---|---|---|
| State government, excluding education and hospitals | $92,150 / year | May 2025, US occupation 21-1013; not a promise of individual income. |
| Outpatient care centers | $75,560 / year | May 2025, US occupation 21-1013; not a promise of individual income. |
| Offices of other health practitioners | $64,430 / year | May 2025, US occupation 21-1013; not a promise of individual income. |
| Individual and family services | $61,060 / year | May 2025, US occupation 21-1013; not a promise of individual income. |
ONet87 master's / 10 post-master's certificate / 3 doctorate survey. Check US state licensing and post-graduation supervision separately; these do not confer practice rights in China.
Check accredited degrees, supervision / licensing status, and compliant deidentified deliverables; no comparison of the hiring weights of outcomes and certificates was obtained.
Strongly affected by health and social assistance organization distribution and state licensing systems; do not extrapolate across regions.
Check with work samples rather than replacing judgment with labels.
The O*NET interest code is SI (Social–Investigative), emphasizing helping others and researching human behavior. These labels describe activity preferences only and cannot determine competence or qualifications, much less replace licensing.
Do not use it this way: Hiring, qualifications, or performance cannot be inferred from this.
Start a career-interest trialCheck with work samples rather than replacing judgment with labels.
General personality measures such as the Big Five do not provide job evidence for this occupation and can only support self-reflection. Continue checking through real assessment, treatment, and supervision experiences.
Do not use it this way: Hiring, qualifications, or performance cannot be inferred from this.
Start a career-interest trialCheck with work samples rather than replacing judgment with labels.
Type-based tools such as MBTI and the Enneagram cannot determine competence or qualifications and can only support self-reflection.
Do not use it this way: Hiring, qualifications, or performance cannot be inferred from this.
Start a career-interest trialCheck with work samples rather than replacing judgment with labels.
Continue checking against real tasks, boundaries, and reviewable deliverables.
Do not use it this way: Hiring, qualifications, or performance cannot be inferred from this.
Start a career-interest trialCheck with work samples rather than replacing judgment with labels.
Continue checking against real tasks, boundaries, and reviewable deliverables.
Do not use it this way: Hiring, qualifications, or performance cannot be inferred from this.
Start a career-interest trialCheck with work samples rather than replacing judgment with labels.
Continue checking against real tasks, boundaries, and reviewable deliverables.
Do not use it this way: Hiring, qualifications, or performance cannot be inferred from this.
Start a career-interest trialFits better when: Can systematically collect information and form judgments.
Watch for: Must remain within authorized scope.
Fits better when: Can develop individualized treatment plans.
Watch for: Goals and ethics must be checked.
Fits better when: Can use family systems techniques.
Watch for: Neutrality and boundaries must be maintained.
Fits better when: Can recognize and refer issues beyond scope.
Watch for: Interdisciplinary procedures must be checked.
Fits better when: Can document properly and maintain confidentiality.
Watch for: Regulations and consent must be checked.
Fits better when: Can accept supervision and reflect continuously.
Watch for: Ethical and competence boundaries must be checked.
Use this page's work sample to check boundaries and neutrality.
Check assessment and plans against standards.
Assess risk-recognition and referral skills.
Pause first and refer or report to your supervisor.
Assess receptiveness to supervision and reflection.
Assess ethical and confidentiality awareness.
Use case and supervision records to enable review by others.
Complete a supervised exercise using entirely fictional family relationship records.
Typical scenario：Diagnosing or treating outside licensing or competence.
Roles most affected：Clinical treatment roles
Possible consequence：May violate practice and legal requirements.
How to reduce risk：In the United States, check state licensing and competence scope. In China, distinguish counseling, psychotherapy, and mental disorder diagnosis and treatment authority. Stop tasks beyond scope and refer to qualified organizations / personnel.
Evidence：BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Marriage and Family Therapists · China's Mental Health Law
Typical scenario：Improper confidentiality or informed-consent handling.
Roles most affected：Clinical treatment roles
Possible consequence：May harm client rights and trust.
How to reduce risk：First identify who the client is and each party's consent / confidentiality and exceptions. Family participation does not permit unrestricted sharing of personal information. Consult supervisors and the relevant legal lead when unclear.
Evidence：AAMFT2026 Ethics Preamble · China's Mental Health Law
Typical scenario：Excessive empathy or unclear boundaries leads to exhaustion.
Roles most affected：Clinical treatment roles
Possible consequence：May affect judgment and health.
How to reduce risk：Maintain professional boundaries and receive supervision.
Evidence：AAMFT2026 Ethics Preamble
Typical scenario：Incomplete documentation or supervision arrangements.
Roles most affected：Documentation and supervision roles
Possible consequence：May affect continuity and accountability.
How to reduce risk：Document properly and implement supervision arrangements.
Evidence：O*NET 21-1013.00 Tasks
Typical scenario：Failure to refer promptly when a case requires medical, psychiatric, or legal assistance.
Roles most affected：Clinical and collaboration roles
Possible consequence：May delay intervention.
How to reduce risk：Refer according to procedures and collaborate with professionals.
Evidence：O*NET 21-1013.00 Tasks
Typical scope：Entry stage: practice assessment and interviewing, basic therapeutic techniques, case documentation, and referral procedures under licensed therapist supervision. Learn ethics, confidentiality, and licensing requirements and retain supervision records.
Readiness evidence：Evidence to show: use reviewable case records and supervisory feedback covering assessment approaches, treatment plans, referrals, and ethical considerations to demonstrate compliant clinical work under supervision.
Credential boundary：Verify master's program and supervision requirements.
Next moves：Next step: check the target employer's service populations and supervision arrangements, state or local licensing and continuing education requirements, and confidentiality and documentation standards. Validate assessment, treatment, and collaboration abilities through real supervised cases.
Typical scope：Independently assess and treat, with supervision or peer review.
Readiness evidence：Retain case and supervision records.
Credential boundary：Verify state licensing requirements.
Next moves：Moving toward greater responsibility: with experience and licensing, workers may handle more complex cases, supervise others, develop treatment specialties, or move into organizational management, teaching and research, or private practice.
Typical scope：Handle complex cases and supervise others.
Readiness evidence：Retain complex-case and supervision records.
Credential boundary：Verify state licensing and supervisor qualifications.
Next moves：Add supervision and specialty evidence.
Typical scope：Oversee service quality and teams.
Readiness evidence：Retain quality and team records.
Credential boundary：Verify licensing and employer requirements.
Next moves：Add evidence of management responsibility.
Typical scope：Learn specific therapeutic approaches under supervision.
Readiness evidence：Retain training and supervision records.
Credential boundary：Verify program and licensing requirements.
Next moves：Complete additional specialty training hours.
Typical scope：Independently provide treatment in a specific approach.
Readiness evidence：Retain specialty case records.
Credential boundary：Verify licensing requirements.
Next moves：Add specialty credential evidence.
Typical scope：Collaborate with medical, legal, and other professions.
Readiness evidence：Retain collaboration and consultation records.
Credential boundary：Verify licensing requirements.
Next moves：Add collaboration and compliance evidence.
Typical scope：Oversee specialty programs and teams.
Readiness evidence：Retain program and team records.
Credential boundary：Verify employer requirements.
Next moves：Add program and governance evidence.
Typical scope：Participate in teaching and research under supervision.
Readiness evidence：Retain teaching and research records.
Credential boundary：Verify program requirements.
Next moves：Build research and teaching foundations.
Typical scope：Independently undertake courses or research tasks.
Readiness evidence：Retain course and research records.
Credential boundary：Verify organizational requirements.
Next moves：Add outcome and teaching evidence.
Typical scope：Oversee practice compliance and case management.
Readiness evidence：Retain practice and compliance records.
Credential boundary：Verify licensing and local requirements.
Next moves：Add practice and compliance evidence.
Typical scope：Oversee organizational operations and quality.
Readiness evidence：Retain operations and quality records.
Credential boundary：Verify licensing and employer requirements.
Next moves：Add governance and compliance evidence.
Confirm informed consent, authorization, and supervision arrangements.
Assess, treat, and document within scope.
Produce reviewable case and supervision records.
Expand cases and specialties within licensing and supervision scope.
US nationwide · Display scope: Marriage and Family Therapists (21-1013.00)
About 7,700 openings / year (older version)
Projected average annual job openings
Older 2024—2034 annual average; the newer 2025—2035 annual average of 6,900 is listed separately, not a period total.
Does not establish：Cannot represent an individual's probability of being hired.
US nationwide · Display scope: Marriage and Family Therapists (21-1013.00)
$66,940 / year
Median annual wage
The BLS 2025 OEWS nationwide median, not starting pay or take-home income.
Does not establish：Full 2025 wage percentiles were obtained for occupation 21-1013; they do not represent individual income or seniority.
These are capability relationships, not automatic promotions or credential waivers.
Transfers：Transferable capabilities: clinical assessment and interviewing, treatment planning, family systems perspectives, case documentation and ethical judgment, interdisciplinary collaboration and referral, supervision, and reflection.
Build next：First target, clinical and counseling psychologist: the United States typically requires a psychology PhD / PsyD, internship, and corresponding state license. An MFT master's / license and family systems experience do not automatically replace these. The target involves psychological testing and research training; check the specific jurisdiction separately.
View career profileTransfers：Foundation in assessment and counseling.
Build next：Add school-setting expertise and corresponding authorization.
View career profileTransfers：Assessment foundations.
Build next：Add neuropsychological assessment training.
View career profileTransfers：Clinical assessment foundations.
Build next：Add neuropsychology and authorization requirements.
View career profileTransfers：Foundation in counseling and casework.
Build next：Add addiction counseling and corresponding licensing.
View career profileTransfers：Foundation in counseling and casework.
Build next：Add training for the different licensing system.
View career profileClinical and counseling psychologists provide psychological assessment and treatment with corresponding authorization; school psychologists work in school settings; neuropsychologists emphasize neuropsychological assessment; addiction counselors emphasize addiction and recovery. Marriage and family therapists take a family and relationship systems approach. Compare service populations, practice scopes, and licensing systems to distinguish them.
Observable signals: listening and building trust, systematic assessment and documentation, risk recognition and referral, accepting supervision and feedback, and maintaining ethical and confidentiality boundaries. O*NET interest code SI describes activity preferences only and cannot determine competence or qualifications, much less replace licensing.
Tools for organizing documents and records, drafting session summaries, scheduling, generating psychoeducational materials, and retrieving literature and assessment tools may assist record and material organization. Licensed therapists remain responsible for diagnostic and treatment judgments, crisis and risk assessment, confidentiality, and supervision. Tools must not replace clinical judgment. This page presents tool uses only as task hypotheses, not evidence of widespread organizational adoption.
Human responsibilities include judging safety and crisis risks, developing diagnoses and treatment plans, treating within authorization and competence, maintaining confidentiality and informed consent, receiving supervision, and taking responsibility for clinical consequences.
The National Bureau of Statistics publishes average annual wages for urban-unit employees by industry category without separately listing this occupation, so a safely matched nationwide occupational median cannot be established. This page displays only industry proxies labeled as such: in 2025, health and social work paid 146,266 yuan / year in urban non-private units and 75,631 yuan / year in urban private units, while the nationwide total for urban non-private units was 129,441 yuan / year. None equals this occupation's median or starting pay. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security's enterprise compensation survey information is provided as a lookup entry point.
The O*NET page displays a 2025 BLS OEWS median annual wage of 66,940 dollars, approximately 32.18 dollars / hour, for occupation 21-1013.00. That page does not display percentile wages. These are US nationwide statistics, not individual take-home income or starting pay.
In the United States, this occupation typically requires a master's degree, reported by approximately 87% of respondents, and every state requires licensing to practice (BLS OOH: Every state requires therapists to be licensed). Check licensing requirements by state. Mainland China: there is no unified occupational qualification exactly corresponding to this O*NET occupation. Check competent authority and employer requirements; do not practice without authorization.
Main risks include safety and crises, out-of-scope practice and authorization, confidentiality and informed consent, empathy fatigue and boundary depletion, and documentation and supervision. Controls include recognizing risks and escalating or referring according to procedures, practicing within licensing and competence, implementing confidentiality and informed consent, receiving supervision, and keeping proper records. Check specific rules against employer procedures and applicable jurisdictions.
O*NET cites BLS data showing about 77,800 employed in this occupation in 2024, projected growth much faster than average, at 7% or higher, in 2024—2034, and about 7,700 job openings during the period. These are occupational statistics, not an individual's probability of being hired.
If you can maintain neutrality amid relationship conflict, assess systematically, and accept supervision, a low-cost exercise using entirely fictional family relationship and counseling records is worthwhile, without using it for diagnosis or treatment. Moving into clinical psychology or addiction counseling requires additional corresponding authorization and training.
Evidence for China, the United States, and individual organizations is presented separately. Conclusions on wages, employment, qualifications / licensing, safety, and AI must not be combined across scopes. The marriage and family therapists page provides occupational judgment and educational exercise information and does not replace local laws, practice standards, clinical supervision, or other professional advice, or serve diagnostic or treatment purposes. Any statement of insufficient evidence means only that safely matched data was not established within a bounded search; proxies or memory are not used to fabricate figures.
FermatMind research workflow
2025 BLS OEWS wage data; accessed 2026-09-25
O*NET 21-1013.00 National Wages (BLS OEWS Display)
Limitations：Applies only to 21-1013.00 and the US market; does not establish a mapping to China.
Limitations：Task examples do not mean every position performs every task; they do not establish a mapping to China.
Limitations：US work context does not replace Chinese law or employer procedures.
Limitations：This page does not display percentile wages; the median does not represent starting pay or individual take-home income.
Limitations：Projections are not a hiring guarantee; much faster than average does not mean individual opportunities necessarily increase.
Limitations：Industry distribution signals employer settings, not projected growth or demand.
Limitations：Education distribution does not establish a mandatory requirement for every employer; it does not establish a mapping to China.
Limitations：Certification and training do not equal a scope of practice or employer hiring; check the applicable jurisdiction.
Limitations：Describes US state-level practice requirements; there is no automatic equivalent mapping to China. Check local rules.
Limitations：Task exposure does not equal implemented automation, adoption, or layoffs; individual outcomes are not inferred.
Limitations：Industry averages are not occupational medians and exclude individually owned businesses and freelancers; no nationwide wage distribution matching the exact occupation was established.
Limitations：Covers urban enterprises, excluding government agencies and public institutions; this page did not obtain an exact occupational match and does not use it as a nationwide median.
Limitations：An editorial scale is not evidence of adoption rates, layoffs, regulations, or licensing.
Limitations：Chinese responsibility boundaries cannot explain US MFT authority; an exact occupational qualification mapping remains missing.
Limitations：Only the public preamble was read. Retrieval of the full-provisions PDF failed; unread specific numbered provisions are not cited.
Limitations：First target only; do not apply this as MFT entry education.
Limitations：Editorial ratings use the existing occupational responsibilities and AI task analysis on this page. They are not adoption rates, measured effects, job-disappearance or personal-unemployment probabilities, or official scores from Stanford or another external institution. No measured time weights or future robot deployment are assumed.
Check source scope, limitations, and statistical periods separately against the original evidence. Source usage notes: O*NET 21-1013.00 Marriage and Family Therapists (Summary): provides occupational identity, the official description, interest code, Job Zone, skills, and knowledge for 21-1013.00. Wage and employment data on that page cover this occupation. O*NET 21-1013.00 Tasks: provides tasks including diagnosing and treating mental and emotional disorders, developing treatment plans, maintaining case files, consultation and supervision, and providing court assessments. Task examples do not mean every position performs every task. O*NET 21-1013.00 Work Context: describes primarily controlled indoor work, sustained face-to-face contact, high decision freedom, serious consequences of errors, time pressure, conflict situations, and other contexts. US work context does not replace Chinese law or employer procedures. O*NET 21-1013.00 National Wages (BLS OEWS Display): 2025 BLS OEWS median wages for this occupation. This page does not display percentile wages. O*NET 21-1013.00 National Employment Trends: employment in 2024 and projections for growth and job openings in 2024—2034. Projections are not a hiring guarantee. Industries: 21-1013.00: the main industry on that page for 2024 is Health Care and Social Assistance. Industry distribution signals employer settings, not projected growth or demand. O*NET 21-1013.00 Education and Occupational Preparation: Job Zone 5; most positions require a master's degree, approximately 87%, while some require a post-master's certificate or doctorate. Education distribution does not establish mandatory requirements for every employer. Licenses & Certifications: 21-1013.00: O*NET provides state licensing and national certification lookup entry points. Certification and training do not equal authorization to practice or employer hiring requirements. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Marriage and Family Therapists: explains that a master's degree is typically required and every state requires licensing to practice. These are US practice requirements and do not automatically map to other jurisdictions. Generative AI and Jobs (ILO Working Paper 140, 2025): assesses occupational exposure to generative AI at the task level. An exposure index is not an adoption rate, job outcome, or hiring probability. Average Annual Wages of Employees in Urban Units in 2025: provides average annual wages by industry category for urban non-private and private units, including health and social work. Industry averages are not occupational medians and exclude individually owned businesses and freelancers. FermatMind Task Impact Scale for Marriage and Family Therapists: organizes potentially assisted tasks and human control points for task-level AI and fit discussions. An editorial scale is not evidence of adoption rates, layoffs, regulations, or licensing.
