Quarterly Newsletter, March 2005, Vol. 14 No.1

THE 2005 LAMFT STATE CONFERENCE

Licensed Family Therapist from Louisiana and surrounding states gathered in February in Baton Rouge for the annual LAMFT State Conference for Marriage and Family Therapists. LAMFT, the state division of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, chose as the

title of this year’s conference Kitchen Table Wisdom: Conversations and Reflections on Family Therapy. In regard to the title of the conference, Dr. Tim Dwyer, president of LAMFT, explained, "Family therapy was born out of a number of significant associations and unconventional conversations. In the spirit of our theoretical forbearers, we plan to set a "table" of ideas and conversations that will engage, inspire, connect our personal and professional selves as family therapists with the community."

Indeed, the panel of distinguished guests that the LAMFT board was able to assemble for the conference was nothing less than a smorgasbord of word-renown family therapists who have left all their own indelible marks on the field. The panel, which included our own Dr. Wendell Ray, Dr. Karl Tomm, Peggy Papp, MSW, Lynn Hoffman, MSW, and Dr. Bradford Keeney, provided rich dialogue with each other and the audience during each plenary session about the history of the development of family therapy as well as their visions of its future. Some breakout sessions during the three-day conference provided beginning as well as advanced practitioners with information about systemic approaches to variety of presenting problems. Other sessions offered the chance to dialogue in small groups about contemporary problems facing MFT’s in Louisiana, such as MFT education in the post-grandfathering period of licensure. During lunch on the first day of the conference, the LPC Board was invited to update the more than two hundred participants on the recent documents in the licensure of the LMFT’s in the state.

Our thanks to LAMFT for providing such a quality learning and networking experience for MFT’s in our state. We are already looking forward to next year!

ADDRESS CHANGES FOR: LPC/COUNSELOR INTERNS/LMFT/MFT INTERNS

Notify the Board in writing of your change of address. Be sure to let us know what address you wish to use for correspondence and what address you wish to use for the website. There is a rule which gives you 30 days to notify the Board of any and all changes in name, address, and phone number. Failure to comply with this rule will result in a $50.00 fine. It is very important that the Board have a current address for all of their licensees especially at renewal time.. Please help us by sending in your changes.

CLINICIAN PORTABILITY

The past January, the LPC Board attended the American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB) annual conference. The main focus of the conference was protecting the public, but a definite undercurrent revolved around Portability. As mentioned in previous articles, AASCB is taking of the task of creating a National Credentials Registry - which will provide for a higher degree of portability for clinicians. The idea is to facilitate professional movement from state to state.

At this time, the plan is for AASCB to first introduce the "CREDENTIALS BANK". This will allow clinicians to maintain ALL their pertinent information, such as transcripts, supervision forms, licensing credentials, certification information, in one location. This will be particularly helpful in later years when a particular supervisor is no longer available, or (heaven forbid) your alma mater no longer exists. The second phase for AASCB is the "CREDENTIALS REGISTRY". AASCB has begun interacting with each state licensing board, facilitating communication between boards, making a move from one state to another more palatable for the licensee. As a "registrant", licensees will be able to simply request that AASCB forward all information to the receiving state board, only needing to complete the receiving state's
application.

The plan is to initiate the "CREDENTIALS BANK" at the beginning of July, and to open the Please go to the AASCB website for more information: www.aascb.org .

BOARD ACTION

As of December 31, 2004 there were:

LPCs 1690                                          LMFTs 854

Counselor Interns                                                       661 MFT Interns 210

116 LPC Applications Reviewed                               172 LMFT Applications Reviewed

37 LPCs Approved for Licensure                               68 LMFTs Approved for Licensure

55 Counselor Interns Registered for Supervision         47 MFT Interns registered for Supervision

19 Counselor Interns Changed Supervisors                 8 MFT Interns Changed Supervisors

DISCIPLINE REPORT

Ten complaints filed in FY 02/03, five remain under investigation.

Eleven complaints have been filed in FY 03/04. Six remain under investigation.

Sheryl Betts approved for LPC license on probation for two years for violation of RS 37:1110(3).

 

SUPERVISOR’S TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR LPC/LMFT

OUR LADY OF HOLY CROSS COLLEGE

May 12-13, 2005 (Thursday and Friday)

June 17-18, 2005 (Friday and Saturday)

Our Lady of Holy Cross College is planning to do a combination LPC and MFT workshop. Specific times will be announced later.

The workshop will be 25 hours for LPC's and 30 hours for LMFT's.

The cost will be $250/$300. For more information, contact Dr. Tim Dwyer at Our Lady of Holy Cross College at tdwyer@olhcc.edu 504/398-2168 or Susan Wetwiski 504/398-2168.

 

BOARD MEETING DATES 2005

April 22, 2005

May 20, 2005

June 17, 2005

July 15, 2005

August 19, 2005

September 16, 2005

October 28, 2005

November 18, 2005

December 16, 2005

 

RENEWAL REMINDER

In the first week of April, LPC renewals will be mailed out.  Please advise the Board office if you have new address.  You can change your address by e-mailing lpcboard@eatel.net, faxing 225/765-2514, or by calling the Board office 225/765-2515.  Remember: In order to be considered on time, all renewals must be postmarked on or before June 30, 2005.

 

NCE INFORMATION FOR 2005

Exam Dates                                                     Deadline to Register                             Exam Location

July 16, 2005                                                  May 25, 2005                                       New Orleans

October 22, 2005                                           September 2, 2005                                Baton Rouge, Monroe

Exam registration forms can be obtained by calling the LPC Board office at 225/765-2515.

Fee $120.00 make checks payable to NBCC.

Questions about the Exam: Tel: 336/547-0607 FAX: 336/547-0017

E-mail: nbcc@nbcc.org