Arizona Laws 32-3311. Licensed marriage and family therapist; licensure; qualifications
A. A person who wishes to be licensed by the board to engage in the practice of marriage and family therapy as a licensed marriage and family therapist shall furnish documentation as prescribed by the board by rule that the person has:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 32-3311
- Board: means the board of behavioral health examiners. See Arizona Laws 32-3251
- Client: means a patient who receives behavioral health services from a person licensed pursuant to this chapter. See Arizona Laws 32-3251
- Direct client contact: means the performance of therapeutic or clinical functions related to the applicant's professional practice level of psychotherapy that includes diagnosis, assessment and treatment and that may include psychoeducation for mental, emotional and behavioral disorders based primarily on verbal or nonverbal communications and intervention with, and in the presence of, one or more clients, including through the use of telehealth pursuant to Title 36, Chapter 36, Article 1. See Arizona Laws 32-3251
- Equivalent: means comparable in content and quality but not identical. See Arizona Laws 32-3251
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Practice of marriage and family therapy: means the professional application of family systems theories, principles and techniques to treat interpersonal relationship issues and nervous, mental and emotional disorders that are cognitive, affective or behavioral. See Arizona Laws 32-3251
- Psychoeducation: means the education of a client as part of a treatment process that provides the client with information regarding mental health, emotional disorders or behavioral health. See Arizona Laws 32-3251
1. Earned a master’s or doctoral degree in behavioral science, including, but not limited to, marriage and family therapy, psychology, sociology, counseling and social work, granted by a regionally accredited college or university in a program accredited by the commission on accreditation for marriage and family therapy education or a degree based on a program of study that the board determines is substantially equivalent.
2. Completed one thousand six hundred hours of post-master’s degree experience in at least twenty-four months in the practice of marriage and family therapy under supervision that meets the requirements prescribed by the board by rule. For the direct client contact hours, not more than four hundred hours may be in psychoeducation. The one thousand six hundred hours must consist of direct client contact and include at least one thousand hours of clinical experience with couples and families and at least one hundred hours of clinical supervision as prescribed by the board by rule.
3. Passed an examination approved by the board.
4. Provided an attestation from the person’s supervisor on a board-approved form that the person both:
(a) Was observed during supervised hours to have demonstrated satisfactory competency in clinical documentation, consultation, collaboration and coordination of care related to clients to whom the person provided direct care.
(b) Has a rating of at least satisfactory in overall performance.
B. The curriculum for the master’s or doctoral degree in behavioral science accepted by the board pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section shall include a specified number of graduate courses as prescribed by the board by rule and shall be consistent with national standards of marriage and family therapy. Part of this course of study may be taken in a post-master’s degree program as approved by the board.
C. The one thousand hours of clinical experience required by subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section may include one year in an approved marriage and family doctoral internship program.