Marriage & Family Therapists (MFTs) are psychotherapists licences by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences to provide various mental health services (e.g. couples, family, indivdual and/or child therapy, social services, group therapy, etc.). Each therapist has their own specialties and emphasis that they gained through their education, special training received, or direct experience. MFTs work in a variety of settings, businesses, private practice, group homes, and more.

You may have heard of other helping fields as well: Social workers (LCSWs), Psychologists, Psychiatrists, etc. We all do similar things and can even do the same types of therapy. What distinguishes each field is the way we were trained.  Social Workers come from a community focused background and specialize in accessing community resources. Psychologists come from an individual perspective and focus on internal functioning. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe psychotropic medications. We all learn each other's main theories but emphasize the above stated areas in our training.

Nope. Marriage and family therapists often see individual clients. MFTs use the same therapeutic approaches with individuals as they do with couples and families. 

Yes! Recent research suggests that the average person receiving marital therapy is significantly better off than 84% of those who don't seek treatment, and that treatment gains are generally sustained over time. There is similar research about the effectiveness of the individual therapy approaches that I use.

It depends. It's a good idea to consider counseling if you have been dealing with a particular issue for a sustained period of time and your attempts to improve things haven't worked. It's also important to consider counseling if you or a family member is in crisis, or thinking about harming themselves or others. Some problems, like sadness after a breakup, are normal and natural and just require time to resolve themselves. The best thing to do is call for a free consultation, and then decide if therapy is right for you.

• Latest Research: Interns have recently been in graduate school which means that they have been exposed to the latest studies, the newest information, and the most up-to-date therapeutic research.

• Cost: Because interns are not yet licensed, they aren't as expensive as most licensed therapists but are still trained with the same effective therapy approaches as licensed therapists.

• Two Heads Are Better Than One: Interns work closely with their supervisors to ensure that the intern's clients are receiving the best possible therapeutic experience. So as my client, you not only get the benefit of my knowledge and competence, but you also receive the benefit of my supervisor's expertise, experience, and insight.