BBS - Proposed Changes to MFT Educational Requirements

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PROPOSED CHANGES TO MFT EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

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The Board is proposing changes to the educational requirements for marriage and family therapist (MFT) licensure and intern registration. These requirements have not been substantively changed since 1988. The practice of marriage and family therapy has evolved over the past 20 years, and there is a growing body of evidenced-based and best practices. Employment opportunities are increasing and work settings are shifting from private practice to the public sector.

Voters passed the California Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) in November 2004, and this law is transforming mental health services in California in a number of ways. This includes placing greater attention on serious mental illness, reducing adverse impacts resulting from untreated mental illness, expanding successful innovative services, emphasizing culturally and linguistically competent approaches, and involving people with mental illness in the system as stakeholders with an equal voice. These new services are guided by a promise to do “whatever it takes” to help people fully recover from mental illness. This transformation demands that those employed in public mental health have a different perspective and can provide different approaches to treatment.

In May 2006, the Board appointed a committee to review the education required to become licensed as a MFT (or registered as a MFT intern). This committee, which first met in July 2006, was charged with reviewing the current curriculum requirements and determining their appropriateness for today’s MFT practice. The Committee also reviewed different studies of competencies necessary for MFT practice as well as workforce data in order to determine ways in which the profession has evolved. The Committee’s work benefited greatly from the participation and feedback it received from a variety of stakeholders including schools, agencies, consumers and students. In December 2007, the Committee recommended specific curricular changes to the full Board.

This web page is designed to provide educators and others with information and tools that will be helpful in implementing the proposed new requirements. For information about the specific changes being proposed, see Information About Proposed Changes below.

Legislation Status

The Board approved the proposal at its meeting on February 21, 2008. The legislation required to accomplish the changes has been introduced by Senator Lou Correa (Senate Bill 1218). The bill will need to be passed by the state Senate, Assembly, and the Governor. If the bill passes, the legislation would technically take effect on January 1, 2009. However, in order to give schools enough time to implement the changes, the legislation would contain staggered dates that guide the implementation of the new requirements. For more information about the time frames, see Proposed Timeline below.

For questions, contact Christy Berger at (916) 574-7834 or at christy_berger@dca.ca.gov.