§ 8403. Marriage and family therapy. 1. Definition of the practice of
marriage and family therapy. The practice of the profession of marriage
and family therapy is defined as:

(a) the assessment and treatment of nervous and mental disorders,
whether affective, cognitive or behavioral, which results in
dysfunctional interpersonal family relationships including, but not
limited to familial relationships, marital/couple relationships,
parent-child relationships, pre-marital and other personal
relationships;

(b) the use of mental health counseling, psychotherapy and therapeutic
techniques to evaluate and treat marital, relational, and family
systems, and individuals in relationship to these systems;

(c) the use of mental health counseling and psychotherapeutic
techniques to treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders and
ailments within the context of marital, relational and family systems to
prevent and ameliorate dysfunction; and

(d) the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and
psychotherapy to identify and evaluate dysfunctions and disorders for
purposes of providing appropriate marriage and family therapy services.

2. Practice of marriage and family therapy and use of the titles
"marriage and family therapist" and "licensed marriage and family
therapist". Only a person licensed or exempt under this article shall
practice marriage and family therapy or use the title "marriage and
family therapist". Only a person licensed under this article shall use
the titles "licensed marriage and family therapist", "licensed marriage
therapist", "licensed family therapist" or any other designation tending
to imply that the person is licensed to practice marriage and family
therapy.

3. Requirements for a professional license. To qualify for a license
as a "licensed marriage and family therapist", an applicant shall
fulfill the following requirements:

(a) Application: File an application with the department;

(b) Education: Have received a master's or doctoral degree in marriage
and family therapy from a program registered by the department, or
determined by the department to be the substantial equivalent, in
accordance with the commissioner's regulations or a graduate degree in
an allied field from a program registered by the department and graduate
level coursework determined to be equivalent to that required in a
program registered by the department. This coursework shall include, but
not be limited to:

(i) the study of human development, including individual, child and
family development;

(ii) psychopathology;

(iii) marital and family therapy;

(iv) family law;

(v) research;

(vi) professional ethics; and

(vii) a practicum of at least three hundred client contact hours;

(c) Experience: The completion of at least one thousand five hundred
client contact hours of supervised clinical experience, by persons
holding a degree from a master's or doctoral program, or the substantial
equivalent, in accordance with the commissioner's regulations or the
completion of at least one thousand five hundred client hours of
supervised post-master's clinical experience in marriage and family
therapy satisfactory to the department in accordance with the
commissioner's regulations. Satisfactory experience obtained in an
entity operating under a waiver issued by the department pursuant to
section sixty-five hundred three-a of this title may be accepted by the
department, notwithstanding that such experience may have been obtained
prior to the effective date of such section sixty-five hundred three-a
and/or prior to the entity having obtained a waiver. The department may,
for good cause shown, accept satisfactory experience that was obtained
in a setting that would have been eligible for a waiver but which has
not obtained a waiver from the department or experience that was
obtained in good faith by the applicant under the belief that
appropriate authorization had been obtained for the experience, provided
that such experience meets all other requirements for acceptable
experience;

(d) Examination: Pass an examination satisfactory to the board and in
accordance with the commissioner's regulations;

(e) Age: Be at least twenty-one years of age;

(f) Character: Be of good moral character as determined by the
department; and

(g) Fees: Pay a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars for an initial
license and a fee of one hundred seventy dollars for each triennial
registration period.