Sec 32-3311. Licensed marriage and family therapist; licensure; qualifications

A. A person who wishes to be licensed by the board to engage in the practice of marriage and family therapy as a licensed marriage and family therapist shall furnish documentation as prescribed by the board by rule that the person has:

1. Earned a master's or doctorate degree in behavioral science, including, but not limited to, marriage and family therapy, psychology, sociology, counseling and social work, granted by a regionally accredited college or university in a program accredited by the commission on accreditation for marriage and family therapy education or a degree based on a program of study that the board determines is substantially equivalent.

2. Completed three thousand two hundred hours of post-master's degree experience in not less than twenty-four months in the practice of marriage and family therapy under supervision that meets the requirements prescribed by the board by rule, including at least one thousand hours of clinical experience with couples and families, at least one thousand six hundred hours of direct client contact and not more than one thousand six hundred hours of indirect client service. For the direct client contact hours, not more than four hundred hours may be in psychoeducation. The board by rule may prescribe the number of hours required for functions related to direct client contact and indirect client service.

3. Passed an examination approved by the board.

B. The curriculum for the master's or doctorate degree in behavioral science accepted by the board pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section shall include a specified number of graduate courses as prescribed by the board by rule and shall be consistent with national standards of marriage and family therapy. Part of this course of study may be taken in a post-master's degree program as approved by the board.

C. The one thousand hours of clinical experience required by subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section shall include a combination of one hundred hours of group or individual supervision in the practice of marriage and family therapy. The one thousand hours may include one year in an approved marriage and family internship program.