Ill. Admin. Code tit. 68, § 1283.30 - Education
a) An applicant for
a license as a marriage and family therapist shall hold one of the following:
1) A master's or doctoral degree in marriage
and family therapy from a regionally accredited educational
institution;
2) A master's or
doctoral degree from a regionally accredited educational institution (by the
U.S. Office of Education) in marriage and family therapy or in a related field
(i.e., behavioral science or mental health) with an equivalent course of study
in marriage and family therapy as set forth in subsection (b); or
3) A master's or doctoral degree in marriage
and family therapy from a program accredited by either the Commission on
Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education of the American
Association for Marriage and Family Therapy or the Commission on Accreditation
for Counseling Related Educational Programs.
b) An applicant must have completed a minimum
of 48 semester hours or equivalent hours of graduate coursework. The
applicant's graduate coursework, at a minimum, shall be substantially
equivalent to the curriculum listed in this subsection (b). Courses are
evaluated according to course content rather than course title. For the purpose
of this Section, course shall be defined as an integrated, organized course of
study. No student designed courses, independent study courses, workshops,
on-line or correspondence courses may be used to satisfy the core courses.
Course descriptions and syllabi are required for courses whose titles do not
reflect the content described as follows:
1)
Individual Development and Family Relations. Topics in marriage and family
studies must be addressed in a minimum of 1 course (3 semester or 4 quarter
hours or equivalent). Topics that may be counted toward this area of study
include family development and family interactional patterns across the life
cycle of the individual as well as the family. Courses may include the study
of: family life cycle; theories of family development; marriage and/or family
dynamics; sociology of the family; families under stress; the contemporary
family; social, cultural, and spiritual foundations of family life; the
cross-cultural family; gender studies; youth/adult/aging and the family; family
subsystems; interpersonal relationships (marriage, parenting, sibling); human
development; lifestyle and career development; personality theory; and human
sexuality.
2) Theoretical
Foundations and Clinical Practice.
A) Topics
in marriage and family therapy must be addressed in a minimum of 6 courses (18
semester or 24 quarter hours or equivalent). The following topics must be
covered:
i) the historical development,
theoretical and empirical foundations, and contemporary conceptual directions
of the field of marriage and family therapy;
ii) overview of major clinical theories of
marital and family therapy that offer conceptualizations and methods for
working conjointly with two or more clients present in therapy sessions who are
in significant relationships with each other outside the therapy context. These
clinical theories shall include those in major textbooks in marriage and family
therapy, such as: communications, contextual, experiential, object relations,
strategic, behavioral, structural, systemic, transgenerational;
iii) assessment and evaluation of individuals
(children, adolescents, and adults), couples and families;
iv) treatment and intervention methods for
working with individuals (children, adolescents and adults), couples, families
and groups in therapy;
v)
assessment and treatment of mental, emotional, behavioral and interpersonal
disorders and psychopathology, including making clinical assessments,
certifying diagnoses, prescribing treatment and signing off on treatment plans
for persons with mental illnesses or other clinical disorders;
vi) contemporary issues, which include but
are not limited to gender, violence, addictions, abuse, psychopharmacology,
physical health and illness in the treatment of individuals, couples, and
families from a relational/systemic perspective; sexual functioning, sexual
orientation, and sex therapy as they relate to couple, marriage and family
therapy theory and practice; significant material on diversity and
discrimination as it relates to couple and family therapy theory and
practice;
vii) crisis
intervention.
B) The
coursework in this subsection (b)(2) must balance methods for working
individually (one client in a therapy session), and for working conjointly with
at least two clients present in therapy sessions who are in significant
relationships with each other outside the therapy context, and must include
methods for working with groups.
3) Professional Studies and Ethics. Topics in
professional studies and ethics must be addressed in a minimum of 1 course (3
semester hours or 4 quarter hours or equivalent) that includes unique
professional and ethical situations involved with conjoint therapies. Topics
that may be counted toward this area of study include: professional
socialization and the role of the professional organization; legal
responsibilities and liabilities; independent practice and interprofessional
cooperation; ethics; family law; unique professional and ethical situations
involved with conjoint therapies.
4) Research. Topics in research must be
addressed in a minimum of 1 course (3 semester hours or 4 quarter hours or
equivalent). Topics that may be counted toward this area of study include:
research design and methods; statistics; research in a mental health
field.
5) Clinical
Practicum/Internship. (300 hours) - 15 hours per week, approximately 8-10 hours
in face-to-face contact with individuals, couples, families and groups for the
purpose of assessment, diagnosis and treatment.)
c) In evaluating coursework from another
jurisdiction, the Marriage and Family Therapy Disciplinary and Licensing Board
(Board) may require documentation such as, but not limited to, an evaluation by
a foreign equivalency documentation service indicating that the applicant's
graduate program is equivalent to a graduate program in this country.
d) An individual who has taught a graduate
level course in a regionally accredited educational institution in any of the
areas listed in subsection (b) shall receive credit for the course. One course
taught is equivalent to one course taken. Repetitive teaching of the same
course may only be counted as one course. Syllabi and reading lists shall be
submitted in order to obtain credit.
e) Courses taken at a post-degree institution
may count as equivalent for an education requirement of subsection (b) if the
institution's training program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation
for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) or meets the following
requirements:
1) The institution's program is
established to achieve coherent mission and training objectives and the program
has as its primary objective the training of marriage and family
therapists.
2) The specific course
submitted as equivalent to those defined in subsection (b) is taught by faculty
who hold graduate degrees and are trained and credentialed in the field in
which they teach.
3) Courses must
be offered by an established, identifiable facility or agency.
4) Courses must be ongoing and additive
(offered at the same place over a specific period of time and available on an
ongoing basis) or offered off site by an acceptable post degree institution
with an established, identifiable home-base facility or agency.
5) Courses must include outlines, clear
description of content, appropriate bibliography, and other indications or meet
generally acceptable criteria for academic offerings.
6) Correspondence courses are not
acceptable.
f) Credit
for courses taken pursuant to subsection (e) will be given on a semester-hour
equivalency basis which is 15 classroom hours per semester credit. Evaluation
of course work is on a case-by-case basis for each applicant. To receive
credit, an applicant must submit a syllabus for each course, proof of
acceptable completion of the course, and all documentation necessary to
demonstrate that the post-degree institution and the specific course meet all
the requirements of subsection (e).
g) A thesis or dissertation completed as a
requirement of the first qualifying degree will not be counted as equivalent
for an education requirement of subsection (b).
h) Applicants who hold non-clinical
qualifying degrees, or whose practicum/internship was in areas other than
marriage and family therapy, may document the practicum requirement with their
first 300 post-graduate client contact hours supervised by an American
Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Approved Supervisor,
supervisor-in-training or a supervisor who meets the requirements set forth in
Section 1283.21 of this Part.
i)
The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation-Division of
Professional Regulation (Division), upon the recommendation of the Board, has
determined that marriage and family therapy programs accredited by either the
Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education of the
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy or the Commission on
Accreditation for Counseling Related Educational Programs meet the minimum
criteria set forth in this Section and are, therefore, approved.
Notes
Amended at 31 Ill. Reg. 4711, effective March 9, 2007
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