STATE OF LOUISIANA
Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners
8631 Summa Avenue
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
LICENSED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST
Licensing Requirements
General Licensing Requirements
To become licensed, an applicant must:
Be of good moral character.
Never have engaged in any practice or conduct that would be grounds for refusing to issue a license.
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.
File a completed application form accompanied by the required fee.
Have official transcripts sent directly from the education institution and verification of supervised clinical experience be sent directly from supervisors.
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 made after June 30, 2004
1. Academic Requirements
a. Applicants must have a master’s or doctoral degree from a marriage and family therapy program that meets the standards established by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) as determined by the advisory committee in a regionally accredited educational institution or training from a postgraduate training institute that meets the standards established by COAMFTE as determined by the advisory committee; or
b. until June 30, 2003, a master's or doctoral degree in mental health counseling with a specialization in marriage and family counseling that substantially meets the standards established by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) as determined by the ad hoc committee on licensure and supervision from a regionally accredited educational institution or training from a postgraduate training institute that meets the standards established by CACREP as determined by the ad hoc committee on licensure and supervision; or
c. an appropriate graduate degree in an allied mental health field from a regionally accredited educational institution with graduate level coursework equivalent to:
(a). a master's degree in marriage and family therapy that meets the standards established by COAMFTE as determined by the advisory committee and specified in §§3311, Academic Requirements for Equivalency; or
(i). until June 30, 2003, the standards for marriage and family counseling or therapy established by CACREP as determined by the ad hoc committee on licensure and supervision and specified in §§3311, Academic Requirements for Equivalency.
2. Supervision Requirements
a. After receipt of a qualifying degree an applicant must complete a minimum of two years of supervised work experience in marriage and family therapy that includes at least 3,000 hours of clinical services to individuals, couples, or families. Of these 3,000 hours, 2,000 must be direct work with clients and 1,000 may come from such things as writing case notes, workshops, public relations, consulting with referral sources, etc. The required hours of supervision are at least 200 hours, of which at least 100 must be individual supervision. Up to 100 hours of supervision received during a graduate program that can be documented as systemic may be counted toward the 200 hours. Requirements specified in §§3315
3. Examination Requirements
a. Applicants must pass the national examination in marriage and family therapy as determined by the advisory committee. Requirements specified in §§3313.