Ohio Administrative Code › Title 4757 - Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board › Chapter 4757-25 - Licensing of Marriage and Family Therapists › Section 4757-25-01 - Education requirements for admission to the examination for marriage and family therapist

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
The requirements for licensure are generally set forth in
				section
				4757.30
				of the Revised Code.
(A) Pertaining to
			 the educational requirements, the board further prescribes that: a "graduate
			 degree in marriage and family therapy" is defined as a degree that meets all of
			 the following criteria:
(1) The program or
			 concentration shall clearly be identified as marriage and family therapy
			 (also referred to as "MFT"), shall include a minimum of
			 ninety quarter hours or sixty semester hours of graduate level course work in
			 marriage and family therapy training grounded in systemic theory and systemic
			 approaches that is acceptable to the committee. Such a program shall
			 specify in pertinent institutional catalogues and brochures its intent to
			 educate and train marriage and family therapists. Examples of this include
			 statements explaining the distinction between MFT and other human service
			 areas, statements that the program prepares students to pass the national MFT
			 examination, or statements that the program prepares students for MFT state
			 licensure.
(2) The marriage and
			 family therapy curriculum shall stand as a recognized entity within the
			 institution and have a marriage and family therapy faculty. Marriage and family
			 therapy faculty identify with the MFT profession by having a doctoral degree in
			 "Marriage and Family Therapy," holding a state license in MFT, being clinical
			 members of the AAMFT, and/or being AAMFT approved supervisors.
(3) The marriage and family therapy
			 coursework shall have a major focus on marital and family systems and systemic
			 therapeutic interventions. Program coursework must
			 include content on crisis intervention. Marriage and family therapy
			 coursework shall include at least two graduate courses in paragraph (A)(3)(a)
			 and paragraph (A)(3)(b) of this rule and at least
			 one graduate course in paragraphs(A)(3)(c) to
			 (A)(3)(g) of this rule of the following areas of
			 marriage and family therapy :
(a) Marriage and family
			 therapy theory studies: Courses in this area
			 should present a fundamental introduction to marriage and family studies,
			 including the historical development of the relational/systemic perspective and
			 empirical foundations of the field of marriage and family therapy. This area
			 facilitates students developing knowledge of the early and contemporary
			 theories of MFT. It should provide a substantive understanding of the major
			 theories of systems change and the applied practices evolving from each
			 theoretical orientation. Major MFT theories include but are not limited to:
			 strategic, structural, contextual, Bowenian, narrative, solution-focused,
			 object relations, experiential, emotion focused, and internal family.
(b)
										Clinical
			 treatment of individuals, couples and families: Courses in this area facilitate
			 students developing competencies in systemic hypotheses, treatment planning and
			 interventions specifically designed for use with a wide range of diverse
			 individuals, couples, and families, and includes a focus on evidence-based
			 practice and empirically supported treatment modalities. The courses in this
			 category may focus on areas such as:
(i)
											Couples therapy: theories and skills in providing
			 therapy with couples, including family of origin issues, new marriages,
			 marriage preparation, multi-cultural issues, partnerships, and
			 divorce.
(ii)
											Family therapy with children, adolescents, or young
			 adults: training in unique diagnostic and treatment considerations in working
			 with children, adolescents, or young adults, including collaboration with
			 medical providers and educational systems.
(iii)
											Sexuality and
			 family therapy: the physiological, psychological, and sociocultural variables
			 associated with sexual identity and sexual behavior including sexual
			 dysfunctions.
(iv)
											Substance abuse and addictive disorders in marriage and
			 family therapy: This course covers the physical and psychological aspects of
			 psychotropic medication, alcohol, and other substances on relationships and
			 behavior as well as systemic treatment approaches to substance use
			 disorders.
(c) Research: This
			 course facilitates students developing competencies in marriage and family
			 therapy research and evaluation methods and in evidence-based practice,
			 including becoming an informed consumer of couple, marriage, and family therapy
			 research.
(d) Professional ethics: Courses in this area shall
			 include the "American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy" (AAMFT) code
			 of ethics, confidentiality and liabilities of clinical practice and research,
			 professional ethics as a marriage and family therapist, professional
			 socialization, and the role of the professional organization, licensure, state
			 and federal legislation, independent practice and inter professional
			 cooperation. Religious ethics courses and moral theology courses do not meet
			 this requirement.
(e) Individual and family development: This course
			 shall address individual and family development and biopsychosocial health
			 across the lifespan from a systemic perspective.
(f) Appraisal of
			 individuals and families: Course content shall address from a relational/systemic perspective,
			 psychopharmacology, physical health and illness, traditional psycho diagnostic
			 categories, and the assessment, diagnosis, and
			 treatment of major mental and emotional disorders, including the appropriate
			 use of the current edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental
			 Disorders."
(g)
										Family therapy with diverse, multicultural and/or
			 underserved communities: This course facilitates students developing
			 competencies in understanding and applying knowledge of diversity, power,
			 privilege and oppression as these relate to race, age, gender, ethnicity,
			 sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, disability, health
			 status, religious, spiritual and/or beliefs, nation of origin, immigration
			 status, housing status, or other relevant social categories, in the practice of
			 marriage and family therapy. This includes developing competencies in working
			 with sexual and gender minorities and their families as well as anti-oppressive
			 practices.
(h) Practicum: Includes a supervised training
			 experience consisting of the provision of marriage and family therapy to
			 clients and is acceptable to the board as defined in paragraphs (A)(3)(f)(i) to
			 (A)(3)(f)(v) of this rule.
(i) Applicants, who
			 begin their program after January 2015, shall have a minimum of two semesters
			 or three quarters of qualified supervised clinical practicum and/or qualified
			 internship with five hundred hours of direct face-to-face client contact with
			 individuals, couples, and families and one hundred hours of supervision.
			 Applicants, who begin their program before January 2015, shall have a minimum
			 of two semesters or three quarters of qualified supervised clinical practicum
			 and/or qualified internship with three hundred hours of direct face-to-face
			 client contact with individuals, couples, and families and sixty hours of
			 supervision.
(ii) Applicants, who
			 begin their program after January 2015, shall have two hundred fifty hours of
			 the five hundred hours of direct client contact with couples and/or families
			 present. Applicants, who begin their program before January 2015, shall have
			 one hundred fifty hours of the three hundred hours of direct client contact
			 with couples and/or families present.
(iii) The clinical practicum and internship
			 experience must be under the supervision of an independently licensed marriage
			 and family therapist with supervision designation, an AAMFT approved
			 supervisor, an AAMFT supervisor candidate, or an independently licensed mental
			 health practitioner who shall have demonstrated competence in the area in which
			 he/she is supervising and have training in legal and ethical issues relevant to
			 marriage and family therapy.
(iv)
			 Applicants from non-COAMFTE accredited programs shall document their practicum
			 and internship experience on a form prescribed by the board. The form shall be
			 completed by the supervisor or supervisors and shall document the student's
			 competency, client contact hours, and supervision hours in all areas designated
			 on the form. The form shall be completed and submitted by the student at the
			 time of examination request.
(4)
			 Programs accredited by the "Commission On Accreditation Of Marriage And Family
			 Therapy Education" (COAMFTE) at the time of applicant's degree conferral are
			 recognized as meeting the requirements for a graduate degree in marriage and
			 family therapy.
(5) Applicants who possess a degree from a program not
			 accredited by the "Commission On Accreditation Of Marriage And Family Therapy
			 Education" (COAMFTE) shall submit a request to this board for approval in
			 meeting the educational requirements for admission to the examination for the
			 marriage and family therapy license. Program approval may be obtained by the
			 applicant submitting to the board written evidence that the degree meets the
			 requirements set forth in paragraphs (A)(1) to (A)(3) of this rule.