Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 135 - RULES OF GEORGIA COMPOSITE BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS, SOCIAL WORKERS AND MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS
Chapter 135-5 - REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSURE
Rule 135-5-.05 - Associate Marriage and Family Therapists
Universal Citation: GA Rules and Regs r 135-5-.05
Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1) Definitions and Requirements:
(a) Board Approved
Marriage and Family Therapy Supervisor means a person who is licensed as a
marriage and family therapist and who has been approved by the Georgia
Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and
Family Therapists to provide supervision of the practice of marriage and family
therapy. To obtain such approval the person shall submit documentation of the
following:
1. Three years of full-time
post-licensure experience in the practice of marriage and family
therapy;
2. 180 hours of experience
providing marriage and family therapy supervision for at least two supervisees
during a period of no less than two years and no more than five
years;
3. 36 hours of supervision
received from an American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Approved
Supervisor or a Georgia Board Approved Marriage and Family Therapy Supervisor,
specifically in the skill of providing marriage and family therapy supervision,
minimum of 24 hours of which shall have been individual
supervision-of-supervision;
4. A
recommendation from each of the supervisors who provided
supervision-of-supervision attesting to the applicant's competence as a
supervisor; and,
5. The Board may,
in its discretion, approve a supervisor who is licensed, in good standing, as a
Marriage and Family Therapist and designated an approved marriage and family
therapy supervisor in another jurisdiction.
(b) Contract for Post-graduate Experience and
Supervision means a statement, on forms provided by the Board, made by a person
who has completed one of the degree programs required for licensure as an
associate marriage and family therapist, specifying that person's plan for
obtaining the remaining experience and supervision required for licensure as a
marriage and family therapist. Such a statement, once reviewed and approved by
the Board, shall be considered an approved contract. An approved contract may
be amended, so long as any changes have been approved by the Board.
(c) Course in Human Development means a
graduate course in any aspect of human development across the life span,
including but not limited to theories of individual development, theories of
learning, theories of personality, theories of normal and abnormal behavior,
gender, human sexuality, and either psychopathology or the diagnosis of mental
problems and conditions.
(d) Course
in Marriage and Family Studies means a graduate course in the principles,
concepts or history of marriage and family life, family systems, family
relations and family development.
(e) Course in Marriage and Family Therapy
means a graduate course in the theory and practice of various treatment
modalities in marriage and family therapy.
(f) Course in Marriage and Family Therapy
Ethics means a graduate course in professional ethics, legal responsibilities
and liabilities, standards of practice, licensure regulation, and professional
socialization relevant to the practice of marriage and family
therapy.
(g) Course in Research
means a graduate course in research design, methods and statistics.
(h) Direct Clinical Experience means time
spent in client contact as therapist or co-therapist, in supervision, in case
staffing, or in case consultation.
(i) Direction means ongoing oversight by an
employer or superior of the work of a person practicing professional
counseling, social work or marriage and family therapy. The director shall be
responsible for assuring the quality of services rendered by that practitioner,
and shall ensure that qualified supervision or intervention occurs in
situations which require expertise beyond that of the practitioner. In order to
be acceptable to the Marriage and Family Therapy Standards Committee of the
Board, a director must attest to having performed the functions specified in
this paragraph, and when not an employer must have entered into a contractual
agreement with the practitioner to perform these functions.
1. Directors may not provide direction to
family members. In addition, directors shall not provide direction for any
practitioner when that practitioner has, or any of that practitioner's family
members have, an ownership interest in, operate, or manage the business entity
in which the director is employed and/or where the professional marriage and
family therapy services are to be provided by that practitioner.
2. Family member means a member of a person's
immediate or extended family, by direct descent or by marriage, including
intimate or cohabitation relationships.
(j) One Year Practicum means twelve months of
supervised experience obtained while enrolled in graduate courses designated
practicum at an educational institution which, at the time, was accredited by a
regional body recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA).
(k) Practice of Marriage
and Family Therapy means evaluating, diagnosing, and treating emotional and
mental problems and conditions, whether cognitive, affective or behavioral,
resolving intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts, and changing perception,
attitudes and behavior; all within the context of marital and family systems.
Marriage and family therapy includes, without being limited to, individual,
group, couple, sexual, family and divorce therapy. Marriage and family therapy
involves an applied understanding of the dynamics of marital and family therapy
systems, including individual psychodynamics, the use of assessment instruments
that evaluate marital and family functioning, designing and recommending a
course of treatment, and the use of psychotherapy and counseling.
(l) Program Equivalent to a Marriage and
Family Therapy Degree Program means an organized course of study at an
accredited educational institution consisting of a master's degree and
additional post-master's degree coursework which includes three courses in
marriage and family studies; three courses in marriage and family therapy;
three courses in human development, one of which must be a course in either
psychopathology or the diagnosis of mental problems and conditions; one course
in marriage and family therapy ethics; and one course in research.
(m) Program in Marriage and Family Therapy
means a master's degree program at an accredited educational institution which
includes three courses in marriage and family studies; three courses in
marriage and family therapy; three courses in human development, one of which
must be a course in either psychopathology or the diagnosis of mental problems
and conditions; one course in marriage and family therapy ethics; and one
course in research.
(n) Supervision
means the direct clinical review, for the purpose of training or teaching, by a
supervisor of the interactions with clients of a person practicing professional
counseling, social work or marriage and family therapy. Supervision may
include, without being limited to, the review of case presentations, audio
tapes, video tapes, and direct observation in order to promote the development
of the practitioner's clinical skills. Both supervisors and supervisees are
required to maintain a contemporaneous record of the date, duration, type
(individual, paired, or group), and a brief summary of the pertinent activity
for each supervision session to be submitted to the Board upon request. If
there are any discrepancies in hours, contemporaneous documentation of
supervision will be requested.
1. Supervisors
may not provide supervision to family members. In addition, supervisors shall
not provide supervision for any practitioner when that practitioner, or any of
that practitioner's family members have, an ownership interest in, operate, or
manage the business entity in which the supervisor is employed and/or where the
professional marriage and family therapy services are to be provided by that
practitioner.
2. Family member
means a member of a person's immediate or extended family, by direct descent or
by marriage, including intimate or cohabitation relationships.
(2) Requirements for Licensure:
(a) Education. The
applicant must have earned a master's degree from a program in marriage and
family therapy, from a program equivalent to a marriage and family therapy
degree program, or from any program accredited by the Commission on
Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). Such program
shall be in an educational institution which, at the time the degree was
awarded, was accredited by a regional body recognized by the Council on Higher
Education Accreditation (CHEA).
(b)
Practicum. The applicant must have completed a one year practicum in the
practice of marriage and family therapy before or after the granting of the
master's degree.
1. Such practicum shall
include a minimum of 500 hours of direct clinical experience.
2. Such practicum shall include 100 hours of
supervision provided by a licensed marriage and family therapist, professional
counselor, clinical social worker, psychiatrist or psychologist, who was also
an American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Approved Supervisor, a
Georgia Board Approved Marriage and Family Therapy Supervisor, or a person who
was receiving supervision-of-supervision in order to qualify for either
designation.
(c)
Contract. The applicant must submit and obtain the Board's approval of a
Contract for Post-Graduate Experience and Supervision.
1. Applicants who have not yet secured
employment or begun supervision at the time of submission of their application
for licensure shall so indicate on the Contract for Post-Graduate Experience
and Supervision. The applicant shall submit an updated Contract for
Post-Graduate Experience and Supervision to the Board for approval within
thirty (30) days of securing post-graduate employment or beginning
post-graduate supervision;
2. Once
the Contract for Post-Graduate Experience and Supervision is approved by the
Board, any change in the contract must be submitted to the Board within thirty
(30) days for approval;
3. The
Board, at its discretion, may request that the applicant and/or licensee submit
verification of the information in the Contract for Post-Graduate Experience
and Supervision and, if necessary, submit a revised Contract for Post-Graduate
Experience and Supervision; and,
4.
Any post-graduate experience or supervision obtained by an associate marriage
and family therapist without Board approval may not be applied toward licensure
as a marriage and family therapist.
(d) Examination. The applicant shall register
and sit for the Examination in Marital and Family Therapy following Board
review of his/her application for licensure as an associate marriage and family
therapist and approval to take the examination. Passing the examination is a
requirement for licensure.
(3) Restrictions on Practice:
(a) A person who holds a license as an
associate marriage and family therapist may only use the title "associate
marriage and family therapist."
(b)
A person who holds a license as an associate marriage and family therapist may
engage in the practice of marriage and family therapy, but only while under
direction and supervision, and only for a period not to exceed five years while
obtaining the post-master's experience and supervision required for licensure
as a marriage and family therapist.
O.C.G.A. §§ 43-1-25, 43-10A-3, 43-10A-3(5), 43-10A-3(8), 43-10A-3(15), 43-10A-3(16), 43-10A-5(c)(1), 43-10A-8(b), 43-10A-13(a)(1) and (2), 43-10A-13(b) and 43-10A-13(c).
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