A Guide to Family Therapy
Key Takeaways:
Family therapy focuses on the family as a whole system, helping to strengthen relationships, communication, and understanding.
Social workers are well-suited for this work, bringing a systems lens, advocacy skills, and holistic approaches to support families.
Licensing and registration requirements differ by province, so it’s important to review your local regulatory body’s guidelines.
Several Canadian universities now offer accredited family therapy programs, including the University of Calgary, Guelph, McGill, and more.
With growing awareness around mental health, the demand for trained family therapists continues to rise, making now a great time to explore this path.
Introduction
Social workers support individuals with various aspects of life, which can include close relationships, like with families or couples therapy. Personally, when I started my social work career, I never thought about working with couples and families, but after a BSW practicum in a hospital setting, I grew to love this part of the work! In this post we will discuss what family therapy is, career trajectories, licensing requirements, and what schools offer family therapy programs in Canada! Let’s get started!
Disclaimer: this post is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Please be aware that the requirements and processes for becoming a therapist as a social worker can vary depending on your province, territory, or state, as each jurisdiction is governed by its own social work regulatory body and may have specific legislation. For any regulatory-specific questions, please consult your own regulatory body for the most accurate and up-to-date advice.
What is Family Therapy?
Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy that aims to support various relational dynamics like communication, understanding, and conflict. Rather than focusing solely on the individual, family therapy has a systems focus where the service user is the entire family system. This alternative lens requires clinicians to have specialized training so the clinician can provide support with these dynamics. Family therapy can use various therapeutic approaches such as:
Structural Family Therapy
Strategic Family Therapy
Narrative Family Therapy (created by social workers!!)
Bowenian Family Therapy
Career trajectory
As a family therapist, career options are vast and may involve working on the clinical, educational, or policy levels. These roles might look like:
Community mental health centres
Hospitals and health care settings
Private practice
Child welfare agencies
Schools or university counselling services
Policy development
As the need for culturally competent family therapists grows, social workers with additional training are uniquely positioned to support this population. So, if this is something that you’ve been considering, now might be a good time to pursue this option!
Licensing requirements
As always, licensing requirements in Canada vary by province, so it’s important to look into the specific guidelines of the province/territory you plan to practice in. Generally, the requirements vary based on the regulatory body of the profession, so let’s go through bodies that allow professionals to practice as family therapists.
Registered Social Worker (RSW): Typically, MSW level social workers can practice as family therapists after registering with their provincial body (ex. OCSWSSW in Ontario)
Psychotherapist Registration: Individuals who hold a master’s degree in the area of counselling psychology may also offer family therapy services, after registering with the regulatory body (ex. CRPO in Ontario).
Psychologists: registered psychologists, who hold a PhD, are also able to practice family therapy (ex. CPBAO in Ontario)
Even after figuring out the requirements of registration for the province you wish to practice in, there’s more to be done! As different provinces have varying regulations around the scope of practice for professionals, after registering it’s important to check in with your regulatory body about what services you are, and are not, allowed to offer. For example, in Quebec MSW level clinicians are unable to offer EMDR services, compared to British Columbia where this service is permitted.
Additionally, clinicians may opt for further training in family therapy, so that they can become accredited with the Canadian Association of Couple and Family Therapy. This accreditation can indicate to service users that the clinician has undergone specific training and is competent in the specialty of family therapy.
Family Therapy vs. Counselling Psychology vs. Social Work
Of course, there are many different professional routes to consider if you want to pursue family therapy. If you are unsure which avenue to take in your journey to family therapy, this breakdown might help!
Social workers can bring a holistic perspective to family therapy by bringing a systems-lens as well as incorporating case management and advocacy. If these are components of therapy that are important to you, exploring the MSW route may be an interesting option to explore.
Related Reading:
What Schools Offer Family Therapy in Canada?
Although family therapy programs are popular in the United States, Canada has been slow to develop programs in this area. However, as awareness around mental health grows, the demand for family therapy programs is also growing. Let’s take a look of some of the current programs offered in Canada.
University of Calgary
Professional Certificate in Couple and Family Therapy: offered online with a social work perspective with four courses to complete for each level
Diploma in Couple and Family Therapy: must have completed levels 1 and 2 of the professional certificate to enter into diploma program
Trinity Western University
Master of Christian Studies in Marriage and Family Therapy
University of Winnipeg
Master of Marriage and Family Therapy
University of Guelph
Saint Paul University Studies
Tyndale University College and Seminary
McGill University:
l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Briercrest College and Seminary
*Note: These are the current programs accredited by the Canadian Association of Couple and Family Therapy (CACFT)
In conclusion
Family therapy programs in Canada are on the rise. If this has been a career that interests you, now might be the time to explore this exciting field. As social workers work from a systemic, advocacy, and system management lens, they can offer unique support to this population. I hope this information was helpful, and if you decide this path is for you - I wish you the best of luck on this journey!
