2005 Idaho Code - 54-3405C — QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSURE

                                  TITLE  54
                    PROFESSIONS, VOCATIONS, AND BUSINESSES
                                  CHAPTER 34
                          COUNSELORS AND THERAPISTS
    54-3405C.  QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSURE. Licensure as a "marriage and
family therapist" shall be restricted to persons who have successfully
completed each of the following requirements:
    (1)  A graduate degree which consists of at least sixty (60) semester
hours or ninety (90) quarter credits in marriage and family therapy from a
program accredited by the commission on accreditation for marriage and family
therapy education, or a marriage and family counseling or therapy program
which is accredited by the council for accreditation of counseling and related
educational programs, or a graduate degree from a regionally accredited
educational institution and an equivalent course of study as approved by the
board. The course of study  for any graduate degree shall include a minimum of
thirty-nine (39) semester credits in the following areas:
    (a)  Marriage and family studies -- nine (9) semester credit minimum.
    Studies in this area shall include:
         (i)   Theoretical foundations, history, philosophy, etiology and
         contemporary conceptual directions of marriage and family therapy or
         marriage and family counseling;
         (ii)  Family systems theories and other relevant theories and their
         application in working with a wide variety of family structures,
         including families in transition, nontraditional families and blended
         families, and a diverse range of presenting issues; and
         (iii) Preventive approaches, including premarital counseling, parent
         skill training and relationship enhancement, for working with
         couples, families, individuals, subsystems and other systems.
    (b)  Marriage and family therapy -- nine (9) semester credit minimum.
    Studies in this area shall include:
         (i)   The practice of marriage and family therapy related to theory,
         and a comprehensive survey and substantive understanding of the major
         models of marriage and family therapy or marriage and family
         counseling; and
         (ii)  Interviewing and assessment skills for working with couples,
         families, individuals, subsystems and other systems, and skills in
         the appropriate implementation of systematic interventions across a
         variety of presenting clinical issues including, but not limited to,
         socioeconomic disadvantage, abuse and addiction.
    (c)  Human development -- nine (9) semester credit minimum. Studies in
    this area shall include:
         (i)   Individual development and transitions across the life span;
         (ii)  Family, marital and couple life cycle development and family
         relationships, family of origin and intergenerational influences,
         cultural influences, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, religious
         beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, social and equity issues and
         disability;
         (iii) Human sexual development, function and dysfunction, impacts on
         individuals, couples and families, and strategies for intervention
         and resolution; and
         (iv)  Issues of violence, abuse and substance use in a relational
         context, and strategies for intervention and resolution.
    (d)  Psychological and mental health competency -- six (6) semester credit
    minimum. Studies in this area shall include:
         (i)   Psychopathology, including etiology, assessment, evaluation and
         treatment of mental disorders, use of the current diagnostic and
         statistical manual of mental disorders, differential diagnosis and
         multiaxial diagnosis;
         (ii)  Standard mental health diagnostic assessment methods and
         instruments, including standardized tests; and
         (iii) Psychotropic medications and the role of referral to and
         cooperation with other mental health practitioners in treatment
         planning, and case management skills for working with individuals,
         couples and families.
    (e)  Professional ethics and identity -- three (3) semester credit
    minimum. Studies in this area shall include:
         (i)   Professional identity, including professional socialization,
         professional organizations, training standards, credentialing bodies,
         licensure, certification, practice settings and collaboration with
         other disciplines;
         (ii)  Ethical and legal issues related to the practice of marriage
         and family therapy, legal responsibilities of marriage and family
         therapy and marriage and family counseling practice and research,
         business aspects, reimbursement, recordkeeping, family law,
         confidentiality issues and the relevant codes of ethics, including
         the code of ethics specified by the board; and
         (iii) The interface between therapist responsibility and the
         professional, social and political context of treatment.
    (f)  Research -- three (3) semester credit minimum. Studies in this area
    shall include:
         (i)   Research in marriage and family therapy or marriage and family
         counseling and its application to working with couples and families;
         and
         (ii)  Research methodology, quantitative and qualitative methods,
         statistics, data analysis, ethics and legal considerations of
         conducting research, and evaluation of research.
    (2)  Completion of a one (1) year practicum of supervised marriage and
family therapy experience, consisting of a minimum of three hundred (300)
direct client contact hours, of which one hundred fifty (150) hours shall be
with couples or families, as part of the graduate program.
    (3)  Supervised experience in marriage and family therapy of three
thousand (3,000) hours, acceptable to the board as defined by rule. A minimum
of two hundred (200) hours of supervision of the postgraduate experience.
Supervision may be provided by a clinical member of the American association
for marriage and family therapy, by a licensed marriage and family therapist,
or another qualified licensed professional as determined by the board who has
a minimum of five (5) years experience providing marriage and family therapy,
including: a licensed professional counselor, private practice; psychologist;
certified social worker, private and independent practice; or psychiatrist.
    (4)  Successful completion of a written examination as approved by the
board and defined by rule.
    (5)  A license will not be allowed an individual whose license,
certification or registration has been revoked or suspended in this or any
other state and in this or any other related field. Such an individual may not
be licensed under this chapter unless the period of revocation or suspension
has been completed and the board has conducted a competency review and
determined that an acceptable degree of rehabilitation has been accomplished.