Sec. 2.5. (a) An applicant for a license as a marriage and family therapist under section 1 of this chapter or an applicant for a license as a marriage and family therapist associate under section 1.5 of this chapter must complete the following educational requirements:

(1) Except as provided in subsection (b), complete twenty-seven (27) semester hours or forty-one (41) quarter hours of graduate course work that must include graduate level course credits with material in at least the following content areas:

(A) Theoretical foundations of marriage and family therapy.

(B) Major models of marriage and family therapy.

(C) Individual development.

(D) Family development and family relationships.

(E) Clinical problems.

(F) Collaboration with other disciplines.

(G) Sexuality.

(H) Gender and sexual orientation.

(I) Issues of ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, and culture.

(J) Therapy techniques.

(K) Behavioral research that focuses on the interpretation and application of research data as it applies to clinical practice.

The content areas may be combined into any one (1) graduate level course, if the applicant can prove that the course work was devoted to each content area.

(2) Not less than one (1) graduate level course of two (2) semester hours or three (3) quarter hours in the following areas:

(A) Legal, ethical, and professional standards issues in the practice of marriage and family therapy or an equivalent course approved by the board.

(B) Appraisal and assessment for individual or interpersonal disorder or dysfunction.

(3) At least one (1) supervised clinical practicum, internship, or field experience in a marriage and family counseling setting that meets the following requirements:

(A) The applicant provided five hundred (500) hours of marriage and family therapy services, including at least four hundred (400) face to face client contact hours, of which at least two hundred (200) hours must be relational, under the supervision of a licensed marriage and family therapist who has at least five (5) years of experience or a qualified supervisor approved by the board.

(B) The applicant received one hundred (100) hours of supervision from a licensed marriage and family therapist who has at least five (5) years experience as a qualified supervisor.

The requirements under clauses (A) and (B) may be met by a supervised practice experience that took place away from an institution of higher education but that is certified by an official of the eligible postsecondary educational institution as being equivalent to a graduate level practicum or internship program at an institution accredited by an accrediting agency approved by the United States Department of Education Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Education, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, or the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education.

(b) The following graduate work may not be used to satisfy the content area requirements under subsection (a):

(1) Thesis or dissertation work.

(2) Practicums, internships, or fieldwork.

As added by P.L.147-1997, SEC.63. Amended by P.L.2-2007, SEC.339; P.L.134-2008, SEC.42; P.L.160-2018, SEC.2; P.L.49-2019, SEC.5.