A Master’s degree with a Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) focus is graduate level clinical training in which a therapist learns to work with relationships and family systems, not only with individuals. Alongside coursework in couple and family therapy models, MFT students complete supervised clinical hours with couples and families in the room. Some go on to earn the Registered Marriage and Family Therapist (RMFT) designation, a national credential that confirms that training was completed and then built on with years of supervised relational practice. For clients, this means working with a therapist whose core training was relational from the start. At Sojourn Counselling and Neurofeedback in Cloverdale, Surrey, MFT training is one of the foundations of our couples counselling and family counselling.
What Is a Marriage and Family Therapy Focused Master’s Degree
Most graduate programs in counselling prepare therapists primarily for individual work. A Master’s degree with an MFT focus is built differently. Its coursework centres on systems thinking: how couples and families function as living systems, how patterns between people develop and repeat, and how change in one part of a relationship affects the whole. Students study couple and family therapy models in depth, alongside human development across the lifespan, assessment, research, and the ethics of working with more than one client in the room.
The practicum is different too. MFT students accumulate supervised clinical hours sitting with actual couples and families, not just individuals. That is where some of the hardest skills in therapy are learned: holding two or more perspectives at once, staying balanced when partners disagree, keeping a session safe when emotions run high, and helping a family hear each other rather than argue past each other.
Supervision in these programs is usually relational as well. Sessions are often recorded or observed, and a supervisor trained in couple and family therapy reviews how the therapist joined with each person, tracked the pattern between them, and managed the moments where one partner could easily have felt ganged up on. That kind of feedback is hard to get any other way, and it shapes how an MFT trained therapist sits in the room for the rest of their career.
What It Means to Be a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist
The degree is where relational training starts. The Registered Marriage and Family Therapist (RMFT) designation is what confirms that training has been completed, tested against real clinical experience, and maintained. In Canada the RMFT credential is granted by the Canadian Association for Couple and Family Therapy (CACFT), the national professional body for couple and family therapists, formerly known as the Canadian Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. It is a voluntary professional registration rather than a government licence, and that distinction matters in BC for reasons explained below.
To use the RMFT title, a therapist must meet requirements that are specific to relational work. In broad terms, CACFT asks for a Master’s or doctoral degree in couple and family therapy, or an equivalent graduate degree with a required set of courses across the core areas of couple and family therapy; at least 1,000 hours of supervised direct client contact with individuals, couples and families in which the therapist can demonstrate a systemic approach; at least 200 hours of clinical supervision, at least half of it individual, provided by an approved marriage and family therapy supervisor; and two years of professional work experience after graduating. RMFTs also agree to practise under the CACFT Code of Ethics and to keep their knowledge current through ongoing continuing education.
Put plainly, an RMFT is someone who did not only study couples and families in graduate school but then spent years doing that work under the eye of a supervisor who specializes in it, before earning the right to use the title. Many therapists offer couples counselling. Far fewer have been assessed specifically on their ability to work with relationships.
RCC and RMFT: What Each Designation Tells You
In British Columbia, most of our team are Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCCs) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors. The RCC designation confirms graduate education, supervised experience, ethical accountability and insurance across clinical counselling broadly, and it is one of the most recognized counselling credentials in the province. You can read more about what that involves on our Registered Clinical Counselling page.
The RMFT designation sits alongside the RCC rather than replacing it. Where the RCC speaks to a therapist’s general clinical standing, the RMFT speaks to a specific specialty in couple and family work. A therapist who holds both, as Jonathan does, has met the standards of two separate professional bodies: one for clinical counselling in BC and one for relational therapy nationally.
It is also worth knowing that counselling is not yet a government regulated profession in BC. Psychotherapy has been designated a health profession under the Health Professions and Occupations Act, and licensing through the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC is expected to take effect in late 2027. Until then, voluntary designations such as RCC and RMFT are the clearest way for the public to check that a therapist has completed graduate training, supervised practice and ethical oversight. We have written about this transition in more detail in Are Counsellors Regulated in BC?
Why This Training Matters in Couples Counselling
When a therapist is trained systemically, the relationship itself becomes the client. Rather than looking for a villain, an MFT trained therapist looks for the negative interaction cycle a couple is caught in: one partner pursues and protests, the other defends or withdraws, and both end up feeling more alone. Underneath the anger and distance are usually softer emotions and unmet attachment needs that rarely get spoken aloud.
This lens runs through couples counselling at Sojourn, and especially through emotionally focused couples therapy, which helps partners step out of their cycle, reach the emotions underneath it, and rebuild safety, responsiveness and connection. It is the same foundation we bring to marriage counselling, whether a couple is recovering from a rupture, navigating a difficult season, or wanting to strengthen a relationship that is basically good but has grown distant. Some of our therapists also draw on the Gottman Method as a complementary framework; if you are curious how the two approaches compare, we have written about that in EFT vs Gottman Method.
Why It Matters for Family Counselling
Families are systems too. A teenager’s withdrawal, a parent’s frustration, and a sibling’s peacemaking often fit together into a pattern that no one chose and everyone feels stuck in. An MFT trained therapist is taught to see each person’s behaviour in context, to make room for every voice, and to help a family shift the pattern rather than assign blame. In family counselling, small changes in how members respond to one another can make a meaningful difference in how safe and connected home feels.
This systemic view also shapes how we approach child and youth counselling. A young person’s struggles rarely exist in isolation, and involving parents or caregivers in a thoughtful way, sometimes in the room and sometimes in separate sessions, is often part of what helps.
What a Systemic Lens Looks Like in the Room
If you have never worked with a couple or family therapist before, it can help to know what the training looks like in practice. In a first session, an MFT trained therapist will usually spend time getting to know each person and the relationship as a whole, rather than treating one partner as the identified problem. They will pay close attention to the pattern that shows up between you, sometimes slowing a conversation down to notice what happens right before things escalate or shut down.
You can expect the therapist to work at staying balanced. Each person should feel that their experience is understood, even when the two accounts differ. MFT training also includes clear thinking about the ethics of more than one client in the room, including how confidentiality works within couple or family sessions and how individual sessions, if any, fit into the shared work. A good relational therapist will explain those agreements early so that everyone knows where they stand.
Finally, the goal is rarely to decide who is right. It is to help the people in the relationship understand the cycle they are caught in, reach the needs underneath it, and find new ways of responding to each other that feel safer and more connected.
MFT Trained Therapists at Sojourn
Couples and family work has been part of Sojourn’s identity from the beginning, and two members of our team hold graduate degrees focused specifically on marriage and family therapy, with a third on the way.
Jonathan Wieser
Jonathan Wieser, Sojourn’s founder, completed his Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Trinity Western University in 2010 and has practised as a Registered Clinical Counsellor since that year. He is also a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist with CACFT and an Approved Clinical Supervisor, which means he supervises other counsellors as they build their own clinical experience. His couples training includes the Emotionally Focused Therapy externship and advanced training in the Gottman Method, and his work with couples and families is relational, experiential and process oriented.
Michael Murie
Michael Murie recently completed his Master of Christian Studies in Marriage and Family Therapy at Trinity Western University. His training spans all three streams of the emotionally focused model: Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (Levels 1 and 2), the Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy externship, and Emotionally Focused Family Therapy essentials. Michael works with individuals, couples and families aged 16 and older, and offers sessions at a reduced rate through our low cost counselling program.
Sarah Ball
Sarah Ball is currently completing a Master’s degree with a Marriage and Family Therapy focus. She sees clients at a reduced rate through our low cost counselling program, and may see couples depending on fit and availability, bringing the same systemic training to her work as it unfolds.
Choosing a Counsellor for Couples or Family Work
Credentials matter, and so does fit. The right counsellor for you is one whose approach, experience and schedule work for your situation, and whom you and your partner or family feel comfortable with. Several members of our team see couples, each bringing different training and availability, and our Find a Counsellor page can help you narrow the choice. You can also meet the whole team on the counsellors page, read about each therapist’s approach, and book directly online. Sessions are available in person in Cloverdale, Surrey, and through online therapy for couples and families anywhere in British Columbia. If you are unsure who to book with, contact us and we can help you find a good fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all couples counsellors have an MFT focused degree
No, and many skilled couples therapists build their expertise through post graduate training such as EFT externships or Gottman Method training after a general counselling degree. What an MFT focused Master’s degree signals is that relational work was the centre of a therapist’s graduate training from the beginning, including supervised clinical hours with couples and families. Both paths can serve couples well, and it is always reasonable to ask a prospective therapist about their training and experience with relationships.
What is the difference between an RCC and an RMFT
A Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) is registered with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors and meets its standards for graduate education, supervision and ethics across clinical counselling broadly. A Registered Marriage and Family Therapist (RMFT) holds a national designation through the Canadian Association for Couple and Family Therapy that is specific to couple and family work, including a minimum of 1,000 supervised client contact hours and 200 hours of supervision by an approved marriage and family therapy supervisor. Some therapists, including Jonathan, hold both.
Is an RMFT the same as a psychologist
No. Psychologists in BC are regulated health professionals, registered through the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC, and typically hold a doctoral degree with training in psychological assessment and diagnosis. An RMFT holds a graduate degree in couple and family therapy and has completed supervised relational clinical experience. Both can provide therapy for relationship concerns; the RMFT designation specifically reflects depth of training in working with couples and families as systems.
Can an MFT trained therapist see me on my own
Yes. Marriage and family therapists work with individuals as well as couples and families, and many clients come on their own to work on relationship patterns, attachment history or family of origin concerns. The systemic lens still applies: an MFT trained therapist will often help you understand your own reactions in the context of the relationships that shaped them.
Does extended health insurance cover an RMFT
Coverage depends on your plan. Many extended health plans in BC reimburse sessions with a Registered Clinical Counsellor, and some also list Registered Marriage and Family Therapists. Because most of our couples therapists are RCCs, and Jonathan holds both designations, it is worth checking which titles your plan recognizes before booking. Our fees and insurance page has more detail.
How do I start couples or family counselling in Surrey
You can book online through JaneApp, where you can review therapist profiles, availability and rates, and choose a counsellor whose experience and schedule fit your needs. We see clients in person in Cloverdale, Surrey, and online across British Columbia.
If your relationship or family is feeling stuck, counselling can provide space to understand the patterns you are caught in and find your way back to one another. View therapist profiles and book online, or email us at info@sojourncounselling.com if you would like help choosing where to start.
