§4980.36 QUALIFYING DEGREE PROGRAM FOR LICENSURE OR REGISTRATION; BEGINNING

GRADUATE STUDY AFTER AUGUST 1, 2012 OR COMPLETING GRADUATE STUDY AFTER

DECEMBER 31, 2018 

(a) This section shall apply to the following:

(1) Applicants for licensure or registration who begin graduate study before August 1, 2012, and do not

complete that study on or before December 31, 2018.

(2) Applicants for licensure or registration who begin graduate study before August 1, 2012, and who

graduate from a degree program that meets the requirements of this section.

(3) Applicants for licensure or registration who begin graduate study on or after August 1, 2012.

(b) To qualify for a license or registration, applicants shall possess a doctor's or master's degree meeting the

requirements of this section in marriage, family, and child counseling, marriage and family therapy,

psychology, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, or counseling with an emphasis in either marriage,

family, and child counseling or marriage and family therapy, obtained from a school, college, or university

approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education or accredited by either the

Commission on the Accreditation of Marriage and Family Therapy Education or a regional accrediting agency

recognized by the United States Department of Education.   The board has the authority to make the final

determination as to whether a degree meets all requirements, including, but not limited to, course

requirements, regardless of accreditation or approval.

(c) A doctor's or master's degree program that qualifies for licensure or registration shall do the following:

(1) Integrate all of the following throughout its curriculum:

(A) Marriage and family therapy principles.

(B) The principles of mental health recovery-oriented care and methods of service delivery in recovery-

oriented practice environments, among others.

(C) An understanding of various cultures and the social and psychological implications of socioeconomic

position, and an understanding of how poverty and social stress impact an individual's mental health and

recovery.

(2) Allow for innovation and individuality in the education of marriage and family therapists.

(3) Encourage students to develop the personal qualities that are  intimately related to effective practice,

including, but not limited to, integrity, sensitivity, flexibility, insight, compassion, and personal presence.

(4) Permit an emphasis or specialization that may address any one  or more of the unique and complex 

array of human problems, symptoms, and needs of Californians served by marriage and family therapists.

(5) Provide students with the opportunity to meet with various  consumers and family members of

consumers of mental health services  to enhance understanding of their experience of mental illness,

treatment, and recovery.

(d) The degree described in subdivision (b) shall contain no less  than 60 semester or 90 quarter units of

instruction that includes, but is not limited to, the following requirements:

(1) Both of the following:

(A) No less than 12 semester or 18 quarter units of coursework in theories, principles, and methods of a

variety of psychotherapeutic orientations directly related to marriage and family therapy and marital and

family systems approaches to treatment and how these  theories can be applied therapeutically with

individuals, couples, families, adults, including elder adults, children, adolescents, and groups to improve,

restore, or maintain healthy relationships.

(B) Practicum that involves direct client contact, as follows:

(i) A minimum of six semester or nine quarter units of practicum in a supervised clinical placement that

provides supervised fieldwork experience.

(ii) A minimum of 225 hours of face-to-face experience counseling  individuals, couples, families, or

groups.   Up to 75 of those hours may be gained performing client centered advocacy, as defined in

Section 4980.03.

(iii) A student must be enrolled in a practicum course while counseling clients.

(iv) The practicum shall provide training in all of the following areas:

(I) Applied use of theory and psychotherapeutic techniques.

(II) Assessment, diagnosis, and prognosis.

(III) Treatment of individuals and premarital, couple, family, and child relationships, including trauma

and abuse, dysfunctions, healthy functioning, health promotion,  illness prevention, and working with

families.

(IV) Professional writing, including documentation of services, treatment plans, and progress notes.

(V) How to connect people with resources that deliver the quality of services and support needed in

the community.

(v) Educational institutions are encouraged to design the practicum required by this subparagraph to

include marriage and family therapy experience in low-income and multicultural mental health settings.

(2) Instruction in all of the following:

(A) Diagnosis, assessment, prognosis, and treatment of mental disorders, including severe mental

disorders, evidence-based practices, psychological testing, psychopharmacology, and promising mental

health practices that are evaluated in peer reviewed literature.

(B) Developmental issues from infancy to old age, including instruction in all of the following areas:

(i) The effects of developmental issues on individuals, couples, and family relationships. 

(ii) The psychological, psychotherapeutic, and health implications of developmental issues and their

effects.

(iii) Aging and its biological, social, cognitive, and psychological aspects.

(iv) A variety of cultural understandings of human development.

(v) The understanding of human behavior within the social context of socioeconomic status and other

contextual issues affecting social position.

(vi) The understanding of human behavior within the social context  of a representative variety of the

cultures found within California.

(vii) The understanding of the impact that personal and social  insecurity, social stress, low educational

levels, inadequate housing, and malnutrition have on human development.

(C) The broad range of matters and life events that may arise within marriage and family relationships and

within a variety of California cultures, including instruction in all of the following:

(i) Child and adult abuse assessment and reporting.

(ii) Spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection, intervention  strategies, and same-gender abuse

dynamics.

(iii) Cultural factors relevant to abuse of partners and family members.

(iv) Childbirth, child rearing, parenting, and stepparenting.

(v) Marriage, divorce, and blended families.

(vi) Long-term care.

(vii) End of life and grief.

(viii) Poverty and deprivation.

(ix) Financial and social stress.

(x) Effects of trauma.

(xi) The psychological, psychotherapeutic, community, and health  implications of the matters and life

events described in clauses (i) to (x), inclusive.

(D) Cultural competency and sensitivity, including a familiarity with the racial, cultural, linguistic, and ethnic

backgrounds of persons living in California.

(E) Multicultural development and cross-cultural interaction, including experiences of race, ethnicity, class,

spirituality, sexual  orientation, gender, and disability, and their incorporation into  the psychotherapeutic

process.

(F) The effects of socioeconomic status on treatment and available resources.

(G) Resilience, including the personal and community qualities that enable persons to cope with adversity,

trauma, tragedy, threats, or other stresses. 

(H) Human sexuality, including the study of physiological, psychological, and social cultural variables

associated with sexual behavior and gender identity, and the assessment and treatment of psychosexual

dysfunction.

(I) Substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders, and addiction, including, but not limited to, instruction

in all of the following:

(i) The definition of substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders, and addiction. For purposes of this

subparagraph, "co-occurring disorders" means a mental illness and substance abuse diagnosis

occurring simultaneously in an individual.

(ii) Medical aspects of substance use disorders and co-occurring

disorders.

(iii) The effects of psychoactive drug use.

(iv) Current theories of the etiology of substance abuse and addiction.

(v) The role of persons and systems that support or compound substance abuse and addiction.

(vi) Major approaches to identification, evaluation,  and treatment of substance use disorders, co-

occurring disorders, and addiction, including, but not limited to, best practices.

(vii) Legal aspects of substance abuse.

(viii) Populations at risk with regard to substance use disorders

and co-occurring disorders.

(ix) Community resources offering screening, assessment, treatment, and follow-up for the affected

person and family.

(x) Recognition of substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders, and addiction, and appropriate

referral.

(xi) The prevention of substance use disorders and addiction.

(J) California law and professional ethics for marriage and family therapists, including instruction in all of

the following areas of study:

(i) Contemporary professional ethics and statutory, regulatory, and decisional laws that delineate the

scope of practice of marriage and family therapy.

(ii) The therapeutic, clinical, and practical considerations involved in the legal and ethical practice of

marriage and family therapy, including, but not limited to, family law.

(iii) The current legal patterns and trends in the mental health professions.

(iv) The psychotherapist-patient privilege, confidentiality, the patient dangerous to self or others, and the

treatment of minors with and without parental consent.

(v) A recognition and exploration of the relationship between a practitioner's sense of self and human

values and his or her professional behavior and ethics.

(vi) Differences in legal and ethical standards for different types of work settings. 

(vii) Licensing law and licensing process.

(e) The degree described in subdivision (b) shall, in addition to meeting the requirements of subdivision (d),

include instruction in case management, systems of care for the severely mentally ill, public and private

services and supports available for the severely mentally ill, community resources for persons with mental

illness and for victims of abuse, disaster and trauma response, advocacy for the severely mentally ill, and

collaborative treatment.  This instruction  may  be provided either in credit level coursework or through

extension programs offered by the degree-granting institution.

(f) The changes made to law by this section are intended to improve the educational qualifications for

licensure in order to better prepare future licentiates for practice, and are not intended to expand or restrict

the scope of practice for marriage and family therapists.

§4980.37. QUALIFYING DEGREE PROGRAM FOR LICENSURE OR REGISTRATION;

BEGINNING GRADUATE STUDY BEFORE AUGUST 1, 2012 AND COMPLETING GRADUATE

STUDY BEFORE DECEMBER 31, 2018

(a) This section shall apply to applicants for licensure or registration who begin graduate study before August

1, 2012, and  complete that study on or before December 31, 2018.    Those applicants may alternatively

qualify under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 4980.36.

(b) To qualify for a license or registration, applicants shall possess a doctor's or master's degree in marriage,

family, and child  counseling, marriage and family therapy, psychology, clinical  psychology, counseling

psychology, or counseling with an emphasis in either marriage, family, and child counseling or marriage and

family  therapy, obtained from a school, college, or university accredited by  a regional accrediting agency

recognized by the United States  Department of Education or approved by the Bureau for Private

Postsecondary and Vocational Education.  The board has the authority to make the final determination as to

whether a degree meets all  requirements, including, but not limited to, course requirements,  regardless of

accreditation or approval. In order to qualify for  licensure pursuant to this section, a doctor's or master's

degree  program shall be a single, integrated program primarily designed to  train marriage and family

therapists and shall contain no less than 48 semester or 72 quarter units of instruction.  This instruction shall

include no less than 12 semester units or 18 quarter units of coursework in the areas of marriage, family, and

child counseling, and marital and family systems approaches to treatment.   The coursework shall include all

of the following areas:

(1) The salient theories of a variety of psychotherapeutic orientations directly related to marriage and family

therapy, and marital and family systems approaches to treatment.

(2) Theories of marriage and family therapy and how they can be  utilized in order to intervene

therapeutically with couples, families, adults, children, and groups.

(3) Developmental issues and life events from infancy to old age and their effect on individuals, couples,

and family relationships.  This may include coursework that focuses on specific family life events and the

psychological, psychotherapeutic, and health  implications that arise within couples and families, including,

but not limited to, childbirth, child rearing, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, marriage, divorce, blended

families, stepparenting, and geropsychology.

(4) A variety of approaches to the treatment of children.    The board shall, by regulation, set  forth the

subjects of instruction required in this subdivision.

(c) (1) In addition to the 12 semester or 18 quarter units of  coursework specified in subdivision (b), the

doctor's or master's  degree program shall contain not less than six semester or nine  quarter units of 

supervised practicum in applied psychotherapeutic  technique, assessments, diagnosis, prognosis, and

treatment of  premarital, couple, family, and child relationships, including  dysfunctions, healthy functioning,

health promotion, and illness prevention, in a supervised clinical placement that provides supervised fieldwork

experience within the scope of practice of a marriage and family therapist.

(2) For applicants who enrolled in a degree program on or after January 1, 1995, the practicum shall include

a minimum of 150 hours of face-to-face experience counseling individuals, couples, families, or groups.

(3) The practicum hours shall be considered as part of the 48 semester or 72 quarter unit requirement.

(d) As an alternative to meeting the qualifications specified in  subdivision (b), the board shall accept as

equivalent degrees those  master's or doctor's degrees granted by educational institutions  whose degree

program is approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education.

(e) In order to provide an integrated course of study and appropriate professional training, while allowing for

innovation and individuality in the education of marriage and family therapists, a degree program that meets

the educational qualifications for licensure or registration under this section shall do all of the following:

(1) Provide an integrated course of study that trains students generally in the diagnosis, assessment,

prognosis, and treatment of mental disorders.

(2) Prepare students to be familiar with the broad range of matters that may arise within marriage and family

relationships.

(3) Train students specifically in the application of marriage and family relationship counseling principles and

methods.

(4) Encourage  students to develop those personal qualities that are intimately related to the counseling

situation such as integrity, sensitivity, flexibility, insight, compassion, and personal presence.

(5) Teach students a variety of effective psychotherapeutic techniques and modalities that may be utilized to

improve, restore, or maintain healthy individual, couple, and family relationships.

(6) Permit an emphasis or specialization that may address any one or more of the unique and complex array

of human problems, symptoms, and needs of Californians served by marriage and family therapists.

(7) Prepare students to be familiar with cross-cultural mores and values, including a familiarity with the wide

range of racial and ethnic backgrounds common among California's population, including, but not limited to,

Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans.

(b) Educational institutions are encouraged to design the practicum required by this section to include marriage

and family therapy experience in low-income and multicultural mental health settings.

§4980.38. NOTIFICATION TO STUDENTS OF DESIGN OF DEGREE PROGRAM; CERTIFICATION

OF FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS

(a) Each educational institution preparing applicants to qualify for registration or licensure shall notify each of its

students by means of its public documents or otherwise in writing that its degree program is designed to meet

the requirements of Section 4980.36 or 4980.37, and shall certify to the board that it has so notified its students.

(b)  An applicant  for registration or licensure shall submit to the  board a certification by the applicant's

educational institution  that the institution's required curriculum for graduation and any associated coursework

completed by the applicant does one of the following:

(1) Meets all of the requirements set forth in Section 4980.36.

(2) Meets all of the requirements set forth in Section 4980.37 and paragraphs (4) and (5) of subdivision (a) of

Section 4980.41.

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