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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7081
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING LICENSURE PORTABILITY FOR MARRIAGE
AND FAMILY THERAPISTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 20-195c of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2025): 2
(a) Each applicant for licensure as a marital and family therapist shall 3
present to the department satisfactory evidence that such applicant has: 4
(1) Completed a graduate degree program specializing in marital and 5
family therapy offered by a regionally accredited college or university 6
or an accredited postgraduate clinical training program accredited by 7
the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy 8
Education offered by a regionally accredited institution of higher 9
education; (2) completed a supervised practicum or internship with 10
emphasis in marital and family therapy supervised by the program 11
granting the requisite degree or by an accredited postgraduate clinical 12
training program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for 13
Marriage and Family Therapy Education and offered by a regionally 14
accredited institution of higher education; (3) completed twenty-four 15
months of relevant postgraduate experience, including (A) a minimum 16
of one thousand hours of direct client contact offering marital and 17
family therapy services subsequent to being awarded a master's degree 18
or doctorate or subsequent to the training year specified in subdivision 19 Substitute Bill No. 7081
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(2) of this subsection, and (B) one hundred hours of postgraduate 20
clinical supervision provided by a licensed marital and family therapist; 21
and (4) passed an examination prescribed by the department. The fee 22
shall be two hundred dollars for each initial application. 23
(b) Each applicant for licensure as a marital and family therapist 24
associate shall present to the department satisfactory evidence that such 25
applicant has completed a graduate degree program specializing in 26
marital and family therapy offered by a regionally accredited institution 27
of higher education or an accredited postgraduate clinical training 28
program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage 29
and Family Therapy Education and offered by a regionally accredited 30
institution of higher education. The fee shall be one hundred twenty-31
five dollars for each initial application. 32
(c) The department may grant licensure without examination, subject 33
to payment of fees with respect to the initial application, to any 34
applicant who is currently licensed or certified as (1) a marital or 35
marriage and family therapist in another state, territory or 36
commonwealth of the United States, or (2) a marital and family therapist 37
associate in another state, territory or commonwealth of the United 38
States, provided [such] the state, territory or commonwealth where such 39
marital and family therapist associate is currently licensed or certified 40
maintains licensure or certification standards which, in the opinion of 41
the department, are equivalent to or higher than the standards of this 42
state. No license shall be issued under this section to any applicant 43
against whom professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the 44
subject of an unresolved complaint. 45
(d) (1) A license issued to a marital and family therapist issued under 46
this section may be renewed annually in accordance with the provisions 47
of section 19a-88. The fee for such renewal shall be two hundred dollars. 48
Each licensed marital and family therapist applying for license renewal 49
shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of having 50
participated in continuing education programs. The commissioner shall 51
adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to (A) define basic 52 Substitute Bill No. 7081
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requirements for continuing education programs, which shall include 53
not less than one contact hour of training or education each registration 54
period on the topic of cultural competency and, on and after January 1, 55
2016, not less than two contact hours of training or education during the 56
first renewal period in which continuing education is required and not 57
less than once every six years thereafter on the topic of mental health 58
conditions common to veterans and family members of veterans, 59
including (i) determining whether a patient is a veteran or family 60
member of a veteran, (ii) screening for conditions such as post-traumatic 61
stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and (iii) suicide 62
prevention training, (B) delineate qualifying programs, (C) establish a 63
system of control and reporting, and (D) provide for waiver of the 64
continuing education requirement for good cause. 65
(2) A license issued to a marital and family therapist associate (A) 66
prior to July 1, 2023 shall expire on or before twenty-four months after 67
the date on which such license was issued, and [,] (B) on or after July 1, 68
2023 shall expire on or before twelve months after the date on which 69
such license was issued. Such license may be renewed not more than 70
two times if issued prior to July 1, 2023, and not more than three times 71
if issued on or after July 1, 2023, for twelve months in accordance with 72
the provisions of section 19a-88. The fee for such renewal shall be one 73
hundred twenty-five dollars. Each licensed marital and family therapist 74
associate applying for license renewal shall furnish evidence 75
satisfactory to the commissioner of having satisfied the continuing 76
education requirements prescribed in subdivision (1) of this subsection. 77
[(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, an applicant who 78
is currently licensed or certified as a marital or marriage and family 79
therapist in another state, territory or commonwealth of the United 80
States that does not maintain standards for licensure or certification that 81
are equivalent to or higher than the standards in this state may 82
substitute three years of licensed or certified work experience in the 83
practice of marital and family therapy, as defined in section 20-195a, in 84
lieu of the requirements of subdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection (a) of 85
this section.] 86 Substitute Bill No. 7081
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[(f)] (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a person who 87
is a graduate of a graduate degree program or a postgraduate clinical 88
training program described in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this 89
section may practice marital and family therapy for a period not greater 90
than one hundred twenty calendar days after the date such person 91
completed such program, provided such person works under the 92
clinical supervision of a licensed marital family therapist. 93
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2025 20-195c
PH Joint Favorable Subst.