N.Y. Education Law § 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.