Section 20-195a-2 - Graduate degree programsA graduate degree program specializing in marital and family therapy shall be a graduate degree program satisfying all the criteria specified below, as evidenced by acceptable documentation:
(a) The program, wherever it may be administratively housed, shall be clearly identified and labeled as a marital and family therapy program with the intent to educate and train professional marital and family therapists.(b) The program shall stand as a recognizable, coherent organizational entity within the institution, which institution shall have recognized and established an organizational structure, curriculum, administration, and faculty for the marital and family therapy program.(c) Marital and family therapists shall have clear authority and primary responsibility for the core and specialty areas within the program. Acceptable documentation shall clearly identify a marital and family therapist or marital and family therapists responsible for core and specialty areas within the program. When the professional identification of the responsible individual(s) is in question, acceptable evidence of professional identification shall be submitted to the Department.(d) The program shall be an organized, integrated sequence of required study designed and taught by the faculty responsible for the graduate program. Acceptable documentation shall clearly identify specific educational objectives and an organized, sequenced plan for meeting these objectives. Said objectives and plan must be designed and taught by faculty of the program. The requirements of this subsection shall not be satisfied when a program permits educational objectives to be met solely by the completion of a specified number of course credits, examinations, independent study experiences, or hours of work experience.(e) The program shall have an identifiable core of full-time marital and family therapy faculty. Acceptable documentation shall clearly identify a core of marital and family therapists serving as full-time faculty for the program. When the professional identification of the faculty is in question, acceptable evidence of professional identification shall be submitted to the Department.(f) The program shall have a body of students who are matriculated in that program for a graduate degree specializing in marital and family therapy.(g) An applicant for marital and family therapy licensure shall demonstrate by acceptable evidence of applicant coursework that he has completed a course of study which encompassed a minimum of two academic years of full-time graduate study, or its equivalent, in marital and family therapy, including a minimum of one academic year of full-time graduate study, or its equivalent, in marital and family therapy completed at the institution granting the graduate degree.(h) An applicant for marital and family therapy licensure shall demonstrate that the content of his graduate degree program specialized in marital and family therapy by acceptable evidence of applicant coursework indicating completion of a curriculum which provided not less than:(1) a total of 45 semester hours, or its equivalent, of coursework in the degree program;(2) six (6) semester hours, or its equivalent, of classroom instruction in the theoretical foundations of Marital and Family Systems;(3) six (6) semester hours, or its equivalent, of classroom instruction in the theories and practices of Marital and Family Therapy, including diagnosis assessment and treatment processes;(4) six (6) semester hours, or its equivalent, of classroom instruction in Individual Development including, but not necessarily limited to, life-span human development, personality theory, psychopathology, or human sexuality;(5) a total of 27 semester hours, or its equivalent, of classroom instruction in the content areas specified in (2), (3), and (4) combined;(6) three (3) semester hours, or its equivalent, of classroom instruction in Professional Ethics and Standards, including but not necessarily limited to professional socialization, legal responsibilities and liabilities, ethics and family law, licensure or certification laws, confidentiality, independent practice and interprofessional cooperation;(7) three (3) semester hours, or its equivalent, of classroom instruction in Research Methodology including, but not necessarily limited to, research design, statistical analysis, computer applications, or critical appraisal of published research; and(8) one (1) calendar year of Supervised Clinical Practice in marital and family therapy, including a minimum of 500 supervised clock hours of direct face-to-face client contact.Conn. Agencies Regs. § 20-195a-2
Effective February 2, 1988; Amended April 29, 1997