Synthesis Post

   During this blog project, I learned a variety of different aspects about my career occupation. A marriage and family therapist is a mental health professional who helps with problems such as mental health and substance abuse issues in family contexts, individual settings, or group therapy. Some issues include;

• Child and adolescent behavioral problems
• Depression and anxiety
• Domestic violence
• Marital conflicts
• Etc.

   I have learned about the different requirements the state of Michigan has for those planning to pursue a career as a marriage and family therapist. These requirements include:

• Minimum bachelors degree or doctorate degree
• At least 300 hours of direct clinical contact
• Out of 300, 150 must occur within family settings
• At least 60 hours of supervised clinical experience
• Course and research requirements 

   During this assignment I have also found out about a vast amount of websites, books, and video's that has provided me with a lot of useful information. For example the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy has informed me about what a marriage and family therapist does, the types of places a marriage and family therapist would provide their services, ethics for a marriage and family therapist, and much more. Videos such as the YouTube video titled "Interview with Marriage and Family Therapist, Tina Tessina", has informed me that the bulk of knowledge needed to have a successful career in this field , comes from hands on experience within the field, such as the  clinical supervised experience required. This blog has allowed me to understand the attitudes, personality characteristics, and dedication needed to attain my goal. For example, I will need to be a good listener, critical thinker, complex problem solver, etc. It has taught me about the skills needed for daily task I may face as a marriage and family therapist. For example, using spreadsheet software to conduct my notes on and keep track of work. And most importantly for me, I can now pin point, or detect a lot of different aspects of myself that I need to work on in order to be successful. For example, I learned that people will often air their dirty laundry and no matter how disturbing, I need to be able to practice emotional labor, such as suppressing my feelings because a lot of emotional labor comes with this occupation.
   The most helpful aspect of this blog project was the videos and informative websites. From these sources, I felt that I learned in a more hands on approach. When observing these sources I was able to understand information in a more effective manner. For example, when viewing a typical day of being a marriage and family therapist, u could actually see what the work environment looked liked opposed to imagining it. I found it interesting when observing marriage and family therapist interviews as well. Many of the websites provided me with simple steps to obtain my future degree. They also informed me on issues, advances, and basics about my career field, in which I found very interesting. When provided information in a simple way, it was more easier to understand and know my next moves in my college career. For example , when observing a website for the requirements to become a marriage and family therapist in the state of Michigan, I learned that I will need a bachelors degree in counseling and not in psychology which is a pretty good catch for me.
   The source that interested me the least, was the hands on aspect of the blog project. These aspects were very difficult for me because the lack of communication. I was unable to get into contact with a marriage and family therapist mist of the time which prevented me from getting a interview. It was also very challenging to find hands on experience in this field. I feel that this is because of the amount of confidentiality between a therapist and their client.
   The blog assignment has also contributed to my learning as a writer. For example, I have created a habit for making sure the websites and other sources are worthy of retaining information. I have also learned a lot of new ways of finding information by visiting the msu library website and finding news articles, books , scholarly journals, etc. Which has been really helpful with finding information about prompt posts.
   Overall, i have learned a lot from the blog project. It has provided me with a lot of helpful information about my career occupation and how I would need to go about to become a marriage and family therapist. It introduce me to a new way of learning about a marriage and family therapist, such as reading books, looking at video's, and searching through websii. I now feel that I am equipped with the necessary tools to find out more about my career fiwld , and any other information I  might need in the future on the road to success.
careersinpsychology.org/becoming-a-licensed-marriage-family-therapist-in-michigan/

www.allpsychologyschools.com/psychology-careers/marriage-and-family-therapy job-description/