Information and Resources related to Changes to MFT Educational Requirements

Senate Bill 33 (Chapter 26, Statutes of 2009) makes numerous 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.

The Board approved the initial proposal at its meeting on February 21, 2008. The legislation required to accomplish the changes were introduced by Senator Lou Correa (Senate Bill 1218) in 2008 and moved easily through the legislature, but was vetoed by the Governor as a result of fallout from the budget impasse. The bill was re-introduced in 2009 by Senator Correa and was signed by the Governor.

This web page is designed to provide educators and others with information and tools that will be helpful in implementing the new requirements.

For questions, see the informational documents below or, contact Christy Berger at (916) 574-7834 or at christy.berger@dca.ca.gov.

 

Information About Proposed Changes

BBS Support for Educators

The Board is providing assistance to MFT educators with implementing the proposed changes in several ways:

Training and Technical Assistance
Training and technical assistance was offered to MFT educators in 2009 and 2010, funded by the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) in partnership with the California Department of Mental Health and the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Unfortunately this funding is no longer available, but BBS is exploring other ways to provide MFT educators with resources, including developing a sample curriculum map, sample course syllabi and other resources. Other resources that may be helpful are as follows:

Resource Bibliography
The MFT Educators Bibliography consists of articles and books and other resources that will assist MFT educators to support the required curriculum changes.

MFT Educator's Mailing List

Sign up by sending an email to christy.berger@dca.ca.gov. Please specify your school's name.

Other Resource Documents

Other Website Resources