STATE OF LOUISIANA

Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners

8631 Summa Avenue

Baton Rouge LA 70809 

GRANDFATHERING RULES

 Licensing Requirements

 General Licensing Requirements

     To become licensed, an applicant must:

1. Be of good moral character.

2. Never have engaged in any practice or conduct that would be grounds for refusing to issue a license.

3. Be qualified for licensure pursuant to the requirements provided for in Title 46, Part LX. Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, Subpart 2, Professional Standards for Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists.

4. File a completed application form, accompanied by the required fee.

5. If applicable for method of application, ask that official transcripts be sent directly from the education institution and verification of supervised clinical experience be sent directly from supervisors.

6. Provide a statement of practice (refer to the Appendix of the Rules) for review and approval. Applicants already licensed by one or more other allied mental health professions may integrate the requirements specific to licensed marriage and family therapy into any similar informed consent document required for licensure by such allied mental health professions and submit this integrated document.

 Specific Licensing Requirements for applications made on or before JUNE 30, 2004

 1. Applicants must have an appropriate graduate degree (a master's or doctoral degree from a college or university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools [SACS] or a comparable accrediting body in a mental health discipline (which includes, but may not be limited to, marriage and family therapy, mental health counseling, social work, psychology, psychiatric nursing, and psychiatry). If a discipline requires a specific terminal degree, that degree will be considered the appropriate degree.

2. and have completed, after the receipt of their qualifying degree:

a.            at least two years of supervised clinical experience, and

b.            a minimum of 1000 hours of supervised clinical experience in the practice of marriage and family therapy or as part of the scope of practice of an allied mental health discipline.

3. Persons with appropriate graduate degrees may register to become MFT interns to obtain the two-year time requirement/or and the required 1000 hours of supervised clinical practice.

C. THREE WAYS TO MEET THE LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE GRANDFATHERING PERIOD THAT ENDS ON OR BEFORE JUNE 30, 2004

            1. Documentation of educational and supervised clinical experience

            2. Verification of a valid license in marriage and family therapy or an allied mental health discipline in Louisiana or other states from a licensing body that requires standards substantially equivalent to the licensing requirements during the grandfathering period for licensed marriage and family therapists in Louisiana.

            3. Verification of current clinical membership in the Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)

See the GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLICATION in the GRANDFATHERING APPLICATION FOR BECOMING A LICENSED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST for more information regarding how to determine if you meet the requirements and how to apply.