NY Educ L § 8403 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 8 - The Professions Article 163 - Mental Health Practitioners 8403 - Marriage and Family Therapy.

§  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.