Counseling is not an easy job, by any means. It requires you to detach yourself from clients’ personal lives, work hand-in-hand with doctors and other professionals to assure client health and witness and resolve a lot of tension in group therapy.

At the same time, counseling is one of the most rewarding career paths you can choose, seeing firsthand the effect you can have on someone and their ability to live a happy and healthy life. Earning your master’s degree in marriage and family therapy gives you the tools to help families and couples work through their issues in order to focus on what matters most:  each other. While many days in the office may feel difficult, here are six moments you will experience that will make the whole thing worth it.

When you help your first client

It’s overwhelming to go from a student to a therapist and meet with real clients, but it is the opportunity to take everything you have learned and apply it to a real-life situation. While a job well done would have earned you a sufficient grade as you earned your master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, a job well done as a therapist means a happy and healthy client who is living a better life because of your contribution to it. Many students going for their master’s degree in marriage and family therapy at Texas Wesleyan get this first patient before they even graduate thanks to our on-site counseling center, The Glick House.

When you get your first post-grad counseling job

You work to earn your master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, you graduate from your program, you spruce up your resume, you ace the interview. Now you wait. When the call comes in that you have your first counseling job, be sure to celebrate! It’s your hard work that got you the job, and you are now beginning what will hopefully be a successful career with new opportunities thanks to your master’s degree.

When you get the first paycheck

Master’s degrees have many benefits, and one of them is higher income potential. When you get your first paycheck at a higher rate, you literally begin to see your master’s degree pay off. Another memorable day? When you use your paycheck to pay off any student loan debt you may have taken on!

When you get a thank you note from a client

As a counselor, it’s a GOOD thing if your clients don’t need to see you very often. It means that what you are teaching them is sinking in and that they are applying your advice to their life. The best thanks  you can get from a client is simply a handwritten card, a child’s drawing or a family photo featuring the people who you have dedicated your career to help!

When you see a client succeed after working with you

When your client succeeds, you succeed. Seeing a marriage repaired after a couple came to you on the verge of divorce or seeing a mother and daughter who hadn’t spoken for years renew their relationship is extremely rewarding.

When you are recognized by your peers

Being recognized by others in your industry is quite the honor. These are the people who know the industry best, and who can tell the difference between an effective counselor and a mediocre one. Getting industry recognition, through a letter of recommendation, award, written feature or any other recognition, is one of the top honors you will ever receive.

Get one step closer to these moments by applying to get your master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. For more information on our program at Texas Wesleyan, contact one of our admissions counselors.

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