General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6861
January Session, 2015 LCO No. 3965
*03965_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 6861
January Session, 2015
LCO No. 3965
*03965_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPISTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 20-195a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
For purposes of this chapter:
(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Health;
(2) "Department" means the Department of Public Health;
(3) "Marital and family therapy" means the evaluation, assessment, diagnosis, counseling, management and treatment of emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems, through the professional application of individual psychotherapeutic and family-systems theories and techniques in the delivery of services to individuals, couples and families.
Sec. 2. Section 20-195b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
(a) Except as provided in section 20-195f, no person shall practice marital and family therapy unless he or she is licensed in accordance with the provisions of section 20-195c, as amended by this act.
(b) No person shall use the title "licensed marital and family therapist" or "licensed marital and family therapist associate" unless he or she is licensed in accordance with the provisions of section 20-195c, as amended by this act.
Sec. 3. Section 20-195c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
(a) Each applicant for licensure as a marital and family therapist shall present to the department satisfactory evidence that such applicant has: (1) Completed a graduate degree program specializing in marital and family therapy [from] offered by a regionally accredited college or university or an accredited postgraduate clinical training program, accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education, offered by a regionally accredited institution of higher education; (2) completed a supervised practicum or internship with emphasis in marital and family therapy supervised by the program granting the requisite degree or by an accredited postgraduate clinical training program, accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education, offered by a regionally accredited institution of higher education in which the student received a minimum of five hundred direct clinical hours that included one hundred hours of clinical supervision; (3) completed a minimum of twelve months of relevant postgraduate experience, including at least (A) one thousand hours of direct client contact offering marital and family therapy services subsequent to being awarded a master's degree or doctorate or subsequent to the training year specified in subdivision (2) of this subsection, and (B) one hundred hours of postgraduate clinical supervision provided by a licensed marital and family therapist; and (4) passed an examination prescribed by the department. The fee shall be three hundred fifteen dollars for each initial application.
(b) Each applicant for licensure as a marital and family therapist associate shall present to the department satisfactory evidence that such applicant has: (1) Completed a graduate degree program specializing in marital and family therapy offered by a regionally accredited college or university or an accredited postgraduate clinical training program, accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education, offered by a regionally accredited institution of higher education; and (2) passed an examination prescribed by the department. The fee shall be one hundred twenty-five dollars for each initial application.
(c) The department may grant licensure without examination, subject to payment of fees with respect to the initial application, to any applicant who is currently licensed or certified as a marital or marriage and family therapist in another state, territory or commonwealth of the United States, provided such state, territory or commonwealth maintains licensure or certification standards which, in the opinion of the department, are equivalent to or higher than the standards of this state. No license shall be issued under this section to any applicant against whom professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the subject of an unresolved complaint.
[(c)] (d) Licenses issued under this section may be renewed annually in accordance with the provisions of section 19a-88. The fee for such renewal shall be three hundred fifteen dollars. Each licensed marital and family therapist or marital and family therapist associate applying for license renewal shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of having participated in continuing education programs. The commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to (1) define basic requirements for continuing education programs, which shall include not less than one contact hour of training or education each registration period on the topic of cultural competency, (2) delineate qualifying programs, (3) establish a system of control and reporting, and (4) provide for waiver of the continuing education requirement for good cause.
[(d)] (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, an applicant who is currently licensed or certified as a marital or marriage and family therapist in another state, territory or commonwealth of the United States that does not maintain standards for licensure or certification that are equivalent to or higher than the standards in this state may substitute three years of licensed or certified work experience in the practice of marital and family therapy, as defined in section 20-195a, as amended by this act, in lieu of the requirements of subdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection (a) of this section.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2015 20-195a
Sec. 2 October 1, 2015 20-195b
Sec. 3 October 1, 2015 20-195c
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2015
20-195a
Sec. 2
October 1, 2015
20-195b
Sec. 3
October 1, 2015
20-195c
Statement of Purpose:
To allow for the licensure of marital and family therapist associates.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]