§ 8403 — Marriage and family therapy

§ 8403. Marriage and family therapy. 1. Definition of the practice of\nmarriage and family therapy. The practice of the profession of marriage\nand family therapy is defined as:\n (a) the assessment and treatment of nervous and mental disorders,\nwhether affective, cognitive or behavioral, which results in\ndysfunctional interpersonal family relationships including, but not\nlimited to familial relationships, marital/couple relationships,\nparent-child relationships, pre-marital and other personal\nrelationships;\n (b) the use of mental health counseling, psychotherapy and therapeutic\ntechniques to evaluate and treat marital, relational, and family\nsystems, and individuals in relationship to these systems;\n (c) the use of mental health counseling and psychotherapeutic\ntechniques to treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders and\nailments within the context of marital, relational and family systems to\nprevent and ameliorate dysfunction; and\n (d) the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and\npsychotherapy to identify and evaluate dysfunctions and disorders for\npurposes of providing appropriate marriage and family therapy services.\n 2. Practice of marriage and family therapy and use of the titles\n"marriage and family therapist" and "licensed marriage and family\ntherapist". Only a person licensed or exempt under this article shall\npractice marriage and family therapy or use the title "marriage and\nfamily therapist". Only a person licensed under this article shall use\nthe titles "licensed marriage and family therapist", "licensed marriage\ntherapist", "licensed family therapist" or any other designation tending\nto imply that the person is licensed to practice marriage and family\ntherapy.\n 3. Requirements for a professional license. To qualify for a license\nas a "licensed marriage and family therapist", an applicant shall\nfulfill the following requirements:\n (a) Application: File an application with the department;\n (b) Education: Have received a master's or doctoral degree in marriage\nand family therapy from a program registered by the department, or\ndetermined by the department to be the substantial equivalent, in\naccordance with the commissioner's regulations or a graduate degree in\nan allied field from a program registered by the department and graduate\nlevel coursework determined to be equivalent to that required in a\nprogram registered by the department. This coursework shall include, but\nnot be limited to:\n (i) the study of human development, including individual, child and\nfamily development;\n (ii) psychopathology;\n (iii) marital and family therapy;\n (iv) family law;\n (v) research;\n (vi) professional ethics; and\n (vii) a practicum of at least three hundred client contact hours;\n (c) Experience: The completion of at least one thousand five hundred\nclient contact hours of supervised clinical experience, by persons\nholding a degree from a master's or doctoral program, or the substantial\nequivalent, in accordance with the commissioner's regulations or the\ncompletion of at least one thousand five hundred client hours of\nsupervised post-master's clinical experience in marriage and family\ntherapy satisfactory to the department in accordance with the\ncommissioner's regulations. Satisfactory experience obtained in an\nentity operating under a waiver issued by the department pursuant to\nsection sixty-five hundred three-a of this title may be accepted by the\ndepartment, notwithstanding that such experience may have been obtained\nprior to the effective date of such section sixty-five hundred three-a\nand/or prior to the entity having obtained a waiver. The department may,\nfor good cause shown, accept satisfactory experience that was obtained\nin a setting that would have been eligible for a waiver but which has\nnot obtained a waiver from the department or experience that was\nobtained in good faith by the applicant under the belief that\nappropriate authorization had been obtained for the experience, provided\nthat such experience meets all other requirements for acceptable\nexperience;\n (d) Examination: Pass an examination satisfactory to the board and in\naccordance with the commissioner's regulations;\n (e) Age: Be at least twenty-one years of age;\n (f) Character: Be of good moral character as determined by the\ndepartment; and\n (g) Fees: Pay a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars for an initial\nlicense and a fee of one hundred seventy dollars for each triennial\nregistration period.\n