Family and systemic psychotherapists

We work with individuals, families, and groups to address relational and emotional difficulties within a systemic framework. We focus on how patterns of behaviour, communication, roles and social discourses influence a person’s mental health and well-being.

A family therapist working in mental health services helps people make changes on their own or with parts of their social network to minimise the impact of trauma and mental health challenges on their lives and relationships.

Family therapists will often reach out and work with other parts of a person’s social system.

Where we work and what we earn

We work across the lifespan with children and adults and with organisations.

Qualified roles earn from £46,000 to £101,000 per year

Family and systemic psychotherapists are great at:

Helping people to understand their difficulties
Showing empathy
Listening
Problem solving
Research and evaluation

How to get started

To become a family and systemic therapist you generally need a core profession (although an apprenticeship is being developed). This is usually something like a nurse, social worker, psychologist or medic.

The training is in two parts:

Foundation and intermediate training is two years post graduate certificate level. This course is usually one evening a week. In this part of the training you are introduced to the theories used in family therapy and are expected to use them in your workplace. There is a big focus on understanding your experiences and background and how this shapes how you work with others.
The second part of the training is the MSc in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy, this is over a two year period and involves more academic work and being part of a training clinic where you are supported by a clinical supervisor in developing your skills. Training to the MSc qualifies you to register with the Council for Psychotherapy so that you can work as a psychotherapist.