Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Purpose.The purpose of the requirements in this Section is to
establish the continuing education requirements necessary for license
renewal.
(b)
Number of hours
required.
(1) Licensees shall complete
and furnish documentation to the Department of twenty (20) clock hours of
acceptable continuing education per year. One college credit hour is equal to
fifteen (15) clock hours. Current LMFT Advisory Board members shall receive
clock hours of acceptable continuing education for attendance and participation
in advisory board or LMFT Advisory Board Chair appointed sub-committee
meetings.
(2) A minimum of three
(3) clock hours of continuing education hours must be in mental health ethics
from programs pre-approved by the Department or its designee. Continuing
education in mental health ethics is acceptable as meeting the pre-approval
requirements by the Department when the continuing education program:
(A) Addresses ethics issues specifically
pertaining to the practice of therapy, as defined in Section 1925.2(7) of this
Act;
(B) Addresses regulations as
promulgated in Subchapter 5 of this Chapter; and
(C) Meets all requirements of subsections (b)
through (e) of OAC
310:400-15-4
of this Chapter.
(D) Beginning
renewal year 2009, the three clock hours of mental health ethics continuing
education must be accrued in a face-to-face setting.
(E) Current LMFT Advisory Board members shall
receive clock hours of acceptable continuing education in mental health ethics
for attendance and participation in advisory board or LMFT Advisory Board Chair
appointed sub-committee meetings.
(3) Approved LMFT Supervisors are required to
complete a minimum of three (3) clock hours, every three (3) years, of
continuing education in therapy supervision specific to Oklahoma law provided
by the LMFT Advisory Board, or its designee. Continuing education in Therapy
Supervision is acceptable as meeting the pre-approval requirements by the
Department when the continuing education program:
(A) Addresses issues specifically related to
the practice of therapy supervision pursuant to regulations promulgated in
Subchapter 11 of this Chapter; and
(B) Contains content in one or more of the
following knowledge areas:
(i) Overview of a
supervision model;
(ii)
Supervisors' areas of focus and roles in supervision;
(iii) Supervisors' process and practical
application;
(iv) Ethical dilemmas
involved in therapy supervision;
(v) Methods of effectively addressing and
preventing ethical dilemmas in therapy supervision;
(vi) Overview of AAMFT standards of
supervision; or
(vii) Overview of
Oklahoma LMFT Rules and Regulations regarding therapy supervision;
and
(C) Meets all
requirements of subsections (b) through (e) of OAC
310:400-15-4
of this Chapter.
(c)
Acceptable continuing
education.Continuing education is acceptable to the Department when it:
(1) approximates the content of any of the
academic areas listed under Subchapter 7 of this Chapter and;
(2) is presented by a person who meets one of
the following qualifications:
(A) is licensed
or certified by therapy related professions;
(B) is a licensed or certified member of a
non-therapy field (i.e. medicine, law) if the content of the presentation is
therapy related and falls within the presenter's area of training;
(C) has experience teaching, at the graduate
level, in a regionally accredited college or university from any of the
knowledge areas listed in OAC
310:400-7-4
of this Chapter;
(D) the person is
presenting or has presented at a national mental health conference provided by
the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), American
Psychological Association (APA), American Counseling Association (ACA), or any
of its divisions, National Association for Social Workers (NASW), the
Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC), or other nationally
recognized professional organization in the mental health field;
(E) is presenting in a program sponsored or
provided by a state or federal government agency with responsibility for mental
health and substance abuse services; and
(3) takes place in the context of one of the
following:
(A) a college course, in-service
training, institute, seminar, workshop, conference or a Department pre-approved
technology-assisted distance learning or home-study course;
(B) a national mental health conference
provided by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT),
American Psychological Association (APA), American Counseling Association
(ACA), or any of its divisions, National Association for Social Workers (NASW),
the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC), or other nationally
recognized professional organization in the mental health field;
(C) a program approved or offered by a state
or federal government agency with responsibility for mental health and
substance abuse services; or
(D)
LMFT Advisory Board Meetings or LMFT Advisory Board Chair appointed
sub-committee meetings, for current LMFT Advisory Board members.
(d)
Continuing
education accrual from teaching.Continuing education may also be accrued
when the LMFT teaches in programs such as institutes, seminars, workshops, and
conferences, when the content conforms to OAC
310:400-15-4(c)
of this subchapter, provided that such teaching is not required as part of the
LMFT's regular employment. Two hours of C.E. is credited for each hour
taught.
(e)
Continuing
education accrual from technology-assisted distance learning or home-study
courses.Continuing education may be accrued when the LMFT completes
technology-assisted distance learning or home-study programs that are approved
by the Department. No more than ten (10) hours of continuing education may be
accrued per renewal period through technology-assisted distance learning or
home-study courses.
(f)
Professional audience.Continuing education, whether received or
presented by the LMFT must be targeted toward a professional
audience.
(g)
Documentation
of attendance.LMFT's shall retain verification of attendance documents
for all C.E. hours claimed for a period of two (2) years. Acceptable C.E.
verification of attendance documents are:
(1)
an official continuing education validation form furnished by the presenter,
or,
(2) a letter on the sponsoring
presenter's letterhead giving the name of the program, location, dates,
subjects taught, total number of hours attended, participant's name and
presenter's name and credentials, or,
(3) an official college transcript showing
courses or audit credit, or
(4)
(For teaching) a letter on sponsoring agency's letterhead giving the name of
the program, location, dates, subject taught and total number of hours
taught.
(h)
Submission of continuing education roster.LMFT's shall submit a
Continuing Education Roster, on official Department forms, (not individual
verification of attendance documents) with the license renewal fee. Rosters may
be obtained from the LMFT office. The Continuing Education Roster shall include
the name of the licensee, signature and signature date of the licensee, total
clock hours of workshop(s), name of workshop(s), sponsoring agency of workshop,
date of workshop, and the number of hours of each workshop. Only C.E. accrued
in the preceding license renewal period is acceptable.
(i)
Audit of continuing education
submissions.In November of each year, the Department will randomly
select from two (2) to twenty-five (25) percent of the number of LMFT's on
active status the previous year for an audit of their claimed Continuing
Education credits. These selected LMFT's must then provide the Department with
verification of all credits claimed on their Continuing Education Roster on or
before the renewal deadline. The Department may, at its discretion, audit and
require verification of any credits claimed which it may consider questionable
or fraudulent.
(j)
Penalty
for failure to submit continuing education.Failure to fulfill the C.E.
requirement by the renewal date renders the license in suspension. All rights
granted by the license are null and void until the requirement is fulfilled and
a late renewal fee is paid. The LMFT has 12 months from the date of suspension
to become reinstated. If not reinstated, the license shall be
revoked.
(k)
Submission of
fraudulent continuing education.The submission of fraudulent C.E. hours
will be reviewed by the Department for disciplinary action and may result in
suspension or revocation of license.
(l)
Responsibility.The licensee
is ultimately responsible for providing or arranging for sponsors to provide
the information necessary for the Department to make a determination of the
suitability of the program for continuing education requirements.
(m)
Continuing Education Rosters for
LMFT Approved Supervisors.Every three (3) years, LMFT Approved
Supervisors are required to submit three (3) hours of continuing education in
therapy supervision on the LMFT Approved Supervisor Continuing Education
Roster. The LMFT Approved Supervisor Continuing Education Roster shall include
name of licensee, signature and signature date of licensee, total clock hours
of workshop(s), name of therapy supervision workshop, sponsoring agency of
workshop(s), date of workshop(s), and number of hours of each
workshop.
Transferred from
310:400-15-4
by Laws 2013, c. 229, § 3(F), eff 11-1-13 (see Editor's Note at beginning
of this Chapter)
