Quarterly Newsletter, September 2003, Vol. 12 No.3

GRANDFATHERING PERIOD RESUMED AUGUST 20, 2003

The grandfathering period for licensed marriage and family therapists was extended to June 30, 2004, in the last legislative session. The Board began approving applications for grandfathering under Emergency Rules on August 20.

All marriage and family therapy interns registered under the post-grandfathering requirements between January 1, 2003 and August 20, 2003, will be registered retroactively under the grandfathering requirements of 2 years and 1,000 hours of supervised clinical experience.

All LMFTs and MFT Interns are required to be familiar with the rules and to have their clients sign the informed consent forms formally called Statements of Practice. The Marriage and Family Therapy Advisory Committee is carefully reviewing these Statements of Practice because some of the rules governing licensed marriage and family therapists are different from those governing licensed professional counselors and other mental health professions. You may want to combine other informed consent forms that you use with the Statement so that your clients don't have to sign multiple forms.

The Emergency Rules are different from those printed last year. Please read and learn the rules carefully. Remember that not knowing the rules is not a defense if you ever have a complaint filed against you.

Changes in the LMFT Grandfathering Packet

The LMFT Grandfathering Cover Letter, LMFT Grandfathering Application, LMFT Verification of AAMFT Clinical Member, LMFT Verification of Licensure, and LMFT Guidelines for Developing Statement of Practice, are the same forms as those used in 2002. The dates in the LMFT Grandfathering Requirements form have been updated to reflect the extension to June 30, 2004. The rest of the forms have been updated to reflect changes in the rules.

Changes in the MFT Intern Grandfathering Packet

The MFT Grandfathering Cover Letter, MFT Grandfathering Section 1, MFT Grandfathering Section 2, MFT Grandfathering Requirements, (which has no dates) and MFT Intern Guidelines for Developing Statement of Practice are the same forms as those used in 2002. The rest of the forms have been updated to reflect changes in the rules.

§4720. Appendix. Statement of Practice for Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists

There are some changes in the rules in §4720 so the forms, LMFT Sample Statement of Practice, MFT Intern Sample Statement of Practice, LMFT Checklist for Statement of Practice, MFT Intern Checklist for Statement of Practice, LMFT Rules for Statement of Practice, MFT Intern Rules for Statement of Practice, and LMFT Rules Needed to Apply have been updated.

Please read §4720 before developing your Statement. These are the specific directions and rules for the Statement and should be your main guide in what you need to include. The sample statements have been developed to assist you in understanding §4720. Do not include information from the sample statements that does not accurately reflect your practice. For example, you cannot list professional affiliations that you do not hold and will need to change "What to Expect from Therapy" unless your theoretical framework is identical to that described in the sample.

The LPC Board meets the third Friday of most months. Be sure to check our website for meeting dates since the meeting is not always on the third Friday.

COUNSELOR INTERNS OR MFT INTERNS

Counselor Interns and MFT Interns may not own or operate private practices prior to becoming licensed as either Professional Counselors (LPCs) or Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs). Only appropriate professionals licensed by the state of Louisiana may own or operate private counseling, mental health, or marriage and family therapy practices.

If a Counselor Intern or MFT Intern is obtaining supervised experience in the private practice of a licensed Professional Counselor, Marriage and Family Therapist, Nurse, Social Worker, Rehabilitation Counselor, Substance Abuse Counselor, Psychologist, or Psychiatrist, the Intern must be an employee or contractor of the licensed professional and all fees collected from clients must be paid directly to the licensed professional or to the private practice business of the licensed professional. The licensed professional may compensate the Intern for his or her services at any rate they negotiate.

Counselor Interns or MFT Interns may not advertise that they own or operate a private practice. They may indicate in promotional materials that they work for a licensed professional in his or her practice.

Some Counselor Interns or MFT Interns may already be licensed in Louisiana as a Professional Counselor, Marriage and Family Therapist, Nurse, Social Worker, Rehabilitation Counselor, Substance Abuse Counselor, Psychologist, or Psychiatrist. If an Intern holds such a license, he or she may own and operate a private practice under that license, and he or she may earn hours toward the additional license in that private practice, as long as he or she is properly supervised during the period he or she is registered with this board as an Intern.

JOB TITLES FOR CIVIL SERVICE

Louisiana Department of Civil Service incorporates new job titles. The Department of Civil Service held a Public Hearing on August 6th to discuss the new "COUNSELOR" job titles. The hearing was a success. There were some objections that were addressed before the hearing. The only objection attempted to limit LPC's scope of practice, not allowing for testing. After a brief discussion between the LPC Board and Civil Service, it was agreed that the job descriptions would not include any such language, but would incorporate the title of the law regulating counselors in the state. Therefore, if an LPC is privileged, that person is allowed to do testing under the new Civil Service job description. The new positions will be: Counselor I, II, III, IV. The resolution has gone to the governor for signature. Once this takes place, the new job categories will be implemented.

QUARTERLY AVAILABLE ONLINE

The Quarterly newsletter has been available online for the past two years. With increased access to the internet, most people are able to access the Quarterly from the board's website at www.lpcboard.org. Beginning in 2004, we will discontinue mailing hard copies of the Quarterly except by special request. In this edition as well as the December edition, you will find a form to complete and mail back to the board if you would prefer to receive a hard copy of the Quarterly in the mail. Otherwise, please check the website for current editions. The Quarterly is published in March, June, September, and December.
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