Section 111-02-01-01 - DefinitionsUnless the context otherwise requires, the following terms have the meanings given:
1. "Accredited institutions or programs" means institutions or programs which hold accreditation or candidacy status from an accreditation organization recognized by the council for higher education accreditation or postgraduate academic programs in marriage and family therapy accredited by the commission on accreditation of the American association for marriage and family therapy.2. "Applicant" means an individual seeking licensure by the marriage and family therapy licensure board as a marriage and family therapist.3. "Certified professions or occupations" means those professions or occupations that have a certification process based upon specific criteria identified as necessary for effective performance of the profession or occupation. The certification process must include: a. Eligibility requirements established through education or experience, or both;b. Successful completion of a competency-based written examination;c. Successful demonstration of competent clinical skills; andd. Assurance of practitioner competencies through mandatory recertification and continuing education requirements.4. "Dual relationship" means a relationship between a therapist and another person with whom such relationships are prohibited by law or rule that is both professional and one or more of the following: cohabitational, familial, or supervisory, or that includes significant personal involvement or financial involvement other than legitimate payment for therapeutic services rendered.5. "Emeritus" means retired from active practice but retaining one's license and title.6. "Family system" means an open, ongoing, goal-seeking, self-regulating, social system which shares features of all such systems. Certain features such as its unique structuring of gender, race, nationality, and generation set it apart from other social systems. Each individual family system is shaped by its own particular structural features (size, complexity, composition, life stage), the psychobiological characteristics of its individual members (age, race, nationality, gender, fertility, health, and temperament) and its sociocultural and historic position in its larger environment.7. "Fee splitting" means the practice of paying commissions to colleagues for referrals.8. "LAMFT" are the initials permitted to be used by an associate marriage and family therapist licensee to designate that the individual has completed the educational requirements for a marriage and family therapy license, has successfully passed the licensing examination, and is in the process of completing postgraduate supervision for the licensing requirements.9. "Licensee" means a licensed marriage and family therapist.10. "LMFT" are the initials permitted to be used by a licensed marriage and family therapist to designate that the individual is licensed by the marriage and family therapy licensure board.11. "Postgraduate supervised experience" means supervised experience occurring after the accredited educational institution grants the degree for licensure as shown on the applicant's transcript and all educational requirements specified in section 111-02-02-02.12. "Provisional license" means a license granted temporarily if an applicant has submitted all the documents and met criteria for licensure and the board has approved the applicant for oral examination.13. "Sexual contact" means any of the following, whether or not occurring with the consent of a person with whom such conduct is prohibited by law or rule: a. Sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anal intercourse, or any intrusion, however slight, into the genital or anal openings of the body by any part of the therapist's body or by any object used by the therapist for this purpose, or any intrusion, however slight, into the genital or anal openings of the therapist's body by any part of another person's body or by any object used by another person for this purpose, if agreed to by the therapist;b. Kissing of, or the intentional touching by the therapist of another person's genital area, groin, inner thigh, buttocks, or breast or of the clothing covering any of these body parts; orc. Kissing of, or the intentional touching by another person of the therapist's genital area, groin, inner thigh, buttocks, or breast or of the clothing covering any of these body parts if the therapist agrees to the kissing or intentional touching. Sexual contact includes requests by the therapist for conduct described in subdivisions a to c.
Sexual contact does not include conduct described in subdivision a or b that is a part of standard medical treatment of a patient.
14. "Sexual harassment" includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated physical contact, or other verbal or physical conduct or communication of a sexual nature when: a. Submission to that conduct or communication is made a term or condition, either explicitly or implicitly, of obtaining employment, public accommodations or public services, education, or housing;b. Submission to or rejection of that conduct or communication by an individual is used as a factor in decisions affecting that individual's employment, public accommodations or public services, education, or housing; orc. That conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's employment, public accommodations or public services, education, or housing, or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive employment, public accommodations, public services, educational, or housing environment; and in the case of employment, the employer knows or should know of the existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and appropriate action.15. "Supervisee" means an individual who is engaged in postgraduate, supervised experience under the direction of a supervisor.16. "Supervision" means taking full professional responsibility for training, work experience, and performance in the practice of marriage and family therapy of a supervisee, including planning for and evaluation of the work product of the supervisee, and including face-to-face contact between the supervisor and supervisee.17. "Supervisor" means an individual who has met the requirements in section 111-02-02-04 and takes responsibility for the practice of the supervisee during a specific time to enable the supervisee to meet the requirements of licensing.18. "Therapeutic deception" means a representation by a therapist that sexual contact or unethical conduct with the therapist is consistent with or part of the professional work with a client, student, or supervisee or former client, student, or supervisee.19. "Therapist" means a licensee of the board.20. "Variance" means permission from the board to comply with a rule in a manner other than that generally specified. To request a variance, an applicant or licensee shall submit a letter in writing directly to the board. A variance must not be granted until the board has approved the request.N.D. Admin Code 111-02-01-01
Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 367, January 2018, effective 1/1/2018.Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 2024-392, April 2024, effective 4/1/2024.General Authority: NDCC 43-53-05
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-53-01, 43-53-02