How To Become A Couples Therapist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a couples therapist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Ron Precht

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a couples therapist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $45.7 an hour? That's $95,051 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 9,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Couples Therapist?

Ron Precht

Senior Manager, American Massage Therapy Association

Generally, metropolitan areas have had more openings for massage therapists. This is a report from the end of 2019 that has the most recent data we have available. Report

ScoreCouples TherapistUS Average

Salary

7.4

Avg. Salary $95,051

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.8

Growth Rate 14%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.48%

Asian 4.57%

Black or African American 6.97%

Hispanic or Latino 13.94%

Unknown 5.53%

White 68.51%

Gender

female 71.43%

male 28.57%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress Level

9.8

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.2

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a couples therapist

Explore couples therapist education requirements

Most common couples therapist degrees

Master's

55.0 %

Bachelor's

32.5 %

Doctorate

10.0 %

Start to develop specific couples therapist skills

Skills	Percentages
Couples Therapy	29.85%
Private Practice	19.10%
Adolescents	14.34%
Family Therapy	12.49%
Cognitive Behavioral	8.76%

Research couples therapist duties and responsibilities

Manage ventilator and BiPAP's and create or update care plans per patient needs.
Perform occasional psychosocial rehabilitation services.
Perform occasional psychosocial rehabilitation services.

Prepare your couples therapist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your couples therapist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a couples therapist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Couples Therapist Resume templates

Build a professional Couples Therapist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Couples Therapist resume.

Apply for couples therapist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a couples therapist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do couples therapists rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Couples Therapist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022

Pros

Making a difference in someone's life. Seeing positive changes.

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019