Program Details
The Relationship Therapy Center practicum or post-graduate fellowship is a 3 year position in the field of couples therapy. The position will fulfill the supervision and clinical contact hour requirements for full LMFT licensure in the state of Minnesota. A small cohort of practicum students, master’s-level graduates, and/or associate-licensed therapists (LAMFT, LPC, LGSW, etc) will be chosen for this unique opportunity. Therapists of color are strongly encouraged to apply!
We will dedicate the next three years to helping you become an incredible couples therapist! Benefits of this program include: a comprehensive training program that exposes you to different models and methods of couples therapy; individual, dyadic, and group supervision; the training and technology to become proficient in Feedback-Informed Treatment (FIT); a full and diverse client caseload without needing to do any of your own marketing; administrative and billing/insurance support; access to an extensive database of resources; a fantastic and dedicated community of high-quality and experienced therapists; and a compensation package commensurate with the position and your experience in the field.
Program Prerequisites and
Candidate Selection Philosophy
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in counseling, marriage & family therapy, social work, psychology, or other related field
- Enrollment in, or graduation from, a Master’s degree program in counseling, marriage & family therapy, social work, psychology, or other related field
- An ability to commit to the entire 3 year program
- An honest and sincere respect for relationships of all kinds, and a commitment to providing the best care possible
- Cultural responsiveness; awareness of your own cultural identity and the ability to learn from and respectfully relate to other cultural backgrounds and heritages
We believe that personality is much more important than experience.
We do not expect for you to have any prior experience in couples therapy. We are looking for therapists who have a passion for relationship therapy and have a strong enough personality to hold the therapy room. We also are looking for individuals with a collaborative bend, who enjoy sharing resources and knowledge with others.
Additonal Preferred Qualifications
Additional Preferred Qualifications
- Training in couples therapy or experience working with couples
- Addiction training or experience working with individuals experiencing addiction
- Sex therapy training or education
- Knowledge of specific trauma models
Core Tasks of the Program
See all the Core Tasks
Core tasks of the fellowship or practicum program include:
- Developing a specific and personalized structure for couples therapy, including an assessment process, cohesive theory, and personal repertoire of activities and interventions to use both in and out of session
- Learning how to identify and assess risk, and help couples experiencing commonly-presenting complaints and conflicts
- Recognizing your own triggers and enforcing your own boundaries within the therapy room, and engaging in continual self-care
- Understanding and practicing the non-clinical aspects of therapy such as documentation
You can download the full document here: “Core Tasks of Becoming an Effective Couples Therapist at RTC.”
Training Modalities
Our Model of training is influenced by three practices:
- Supervision, training, mentoring, and self-of the-therapist discussion are core to our training. Supervision occurs in individual, dyadic, and group formats and allows therapists to receive direct feedback on actual cases.
- Feedback-Informed Treatment (FIT), which is an electronically delivered system which solicits feedback and tracks outcome in each therapy session. FIT has been shown to increase outcomes of associate level clinicians by up to 4 times. The accountability of FIT helps therapists ensure they are providing the highest level of care possible.
- We believe that different couples methodologies and theories work for different personalities and different clients. While we will give you concrete theory and skills to become a competent couples therapist, we strongly encourage and coach all of our therapists to actively develop a couples therapy engagement style that works for their own particular set of values, temperament, and skills.
Position Benefits
This is a full-time paid 3 year position. We offer a competitive compensation package. Total compensation (including all benefits) adds up to $53,000-$61,000 per year before incentives.
Other Benefits Included
- 50% health insurance premiums coverage.
- A profit sharing plan in which we match up to 4% of your salary to a 401(k).
- 4 weeks of paid leave per year.
- All trainings, continuing education hours, and clinical supervision covered by RTC.
- Incentives for additional client contact hours.
- Liability and malpractice insurance.
Application Process
The timeline is as follows:
All available spots for our 2023-2026 Couples Therapy Fellowship have been filled. Details about future fellowship/practicum opportunities will be added to this page as soon as we have available details.
Below are the links to the application forms for each program. Please be mindful of the following:
- This is an online-only application. The form is compatible with computer, tablet, and mobile devices.
- Allow yourself 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete your application.
- The application includes a video recording segment. Please be prepared to briefly film yourself answering some questions. This includes ensuring you are in a place with appropriate lighting and minimal background distractions. You can use your phone for your recording!
Clinical Training Staff
If you have further questions, please e-mail our fellowship team at fellowship@mncouplescounseling.com.