RULE 17
LICENSURE BY EXAMINATION (CRS 12-43-504)
(a)	Criteria for application.
(1)	The applicant must submit to the Board a completed application for licensure, all fees, official transcript(s), and all supporting documentation required by the Board in order for the Board to review the application for licensure. 
(2)	An applicant for licensure must pass the required examination, meet the experience requirements, and become licensed within five years of the date of initial application for licensure.  If the applicant fails to become licensed within this time period, s/he must submit a new application and fee and must meet the educational, experience and examination requirements in effect at the time of the new application.  Licensure applicants have a continuing obligation to update their application with information of changes from the original application at any time prior to licensure.
(b)	Education and Training Requirements.
Many graduate programs in marriage and family therapy go under other names.  Some programs labeled as marriage and family programs are not primarily focused on marriage and family therapy.  The Board has therefore established the following factors to determine whether or not a particular program from which an applicant for licensure received the master's or doctoral degree qualifies as a master's or doctoral program with a major in marriage and family therapy or its equivalent in compliance with CRS 12-43-504(1)(c) and 12-43-503.  To meet the statutory requirements, the master's or doctoral program must meet either (1) or (2), below:
(1)	Accredited program.  The applicant obtained a master's or doctoral degree from a program that was approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education; or
(2)	Equivalent program.  The applicant received a master's or doctoral degree from a graduate training program that, at the time s/he was enrolled and received her/his degree, fulfilled the equivalency degree requirements used to define a marriage and family therapy graduate training program.  An applicant asserting a program is equivalent to an accredited program in marriage and family therapy must furnish to the Board evidence in support of the asserted equivalency and has the burden of establishing equivalency.  Evidence may include institutional documents published contemporaneously with the applicant's enrollment, appropriate certifications or affidavits from university officials, dissertation abstracts, and any other evidence the applicant deems useful.  The Board may request additional information from the applicant.
All of the following requirements shall be considered in order to establish equivalency:
(A)	The required master's or doctoral level study and master's or doctoral degree were obtained from a regionally-accredited institution of higher learning;
(B)	The program stood as a coherent and recognizable entity within the institution, offering an integrated and organized sequence of study planned to provide appropriate training for the practice of marriage and family therapy;
(C)	There was an identifiable full-time faculty, with an individual responsible for the program who was a full-time faculty member and who met the requirements for approval as a supervisor or a person who presents proof satisfactory to the Board, that at the time of serving as the faculty member, s/he possessed essentially the same education, experience, and training as that necessary to qualify for licensure under the Act.
(D)	The program had an identifiable body of students who were matriculated in that program for a degree;
(E)	The master's or doctoral program included examination and grading procedures designed to evaluate the degree of mastery of the subject matter by the students;
(F)	If the master's or doctoral degree was awarded in 1979 or after the curriculum encompassed a minimum of 45 semester hours (or 60 quarter hours) of graduate study for the master's degree or a minimum of 60 semester hours (or 90 quarter hours) of graduate study for the doctoral degree.  The core program required each student to demonstrated by knowledge and skill competence in each of the following substantive content areas.  Competence was demonstrated, by successful completion of the requisite number of graduate semester or quarter hours in each of the five areas: 
(1)	Marital and family studies (9 semester or 12 quarter hours) - includes 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 the family; sociology of the family; families under stress; the contemporary family; the family in a social context; the multi-cultural family; youth/adult/aging and the family; family subsystems; and individual, interpersonal relationships (marital, parental, sibling).
(2)	Marital and family therapy (9 semester or 12 quarter hours) - includes family therapy methodology; family assessment; treatment and intervention methods; and overview of major clinical theories of marital and family therapy such as communications, structural, strategic, transgenerational, experiential, object relations, contextual, and systemic.
(3)	Human development (9 semester or 12 quarter hours) - includes significant material on issues of gender, human development, personality theory, human sexuality, psychopathology, and human behavior.
(4)	Professional studies (3 semester or 4 quarter hours) - includes professional socialization and the role of the professional organization, legal responsibilities and liabilities, independent practice and interprofessional cooperation, ethics, and family law.
(5)	Research (3 semester or 4 quarter hours) - includes research design, methods, statistics, and research in marital and family studies and therapy.
If the course titles as stated on the transcript do not clearly reflect the subject matters listed above, the applicant must document the course or combination of courses in which the material was covered.
(G)	If the master's or doctoral degree was awarded prior to 1979, the Board will accept the following as establishing coursework equivalency in any or all of the five substantive content areas listed above.  
(1)	Workshops/seminars - 45 contact hours equals three semester or four quarter hours.
(2)	Courses taught - one graduate level course taught equals three semester or four quarter hours.
(3)	Extensive experience, publications, and educational qualifications in the field of marriage and family therapy may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
(H)	The program included supervised practicum or internship, or both, in the principles and practice of marriage and family therapy.  If the master's or doctoral degree was awarded in 1979 or after, the applicant must prove that s/he completed a minimum of 300 hours of supervised practicum or internship, or a combination of the two, in the principles and practice of marriage and family therapy.  The practicum or internship must include at least 15 hours per week, of which approximately 8-10 hours are spent in face-to-face contact with individuals, couples, and families for the purpose of assessment, diagnosis, and intervention.  If the master's or doctoral degree was awarded prior to 1979, the applicant must prove that s/he completed a supervised practicum or internship in the principles and practice of marriage and family therapy.
(1)	Practicum is a distinctly defined and supervised curricular experience intended to enable the student to develop basic marriage and family therapy skills and to integrate professional knowledge and skills appropriate to the student's program emphasis.  A practicum is a part-time clinical experience completed concurrently with substantive coursework.
(2)	Internship is a distinctly defined and supervised curricular experience intended to enable the student to refine and to enhance basic marriage and family therapy skills, to develop more advanced marriage and family therapy skills, and to integrate professional knowledge and skills appropriate to the student's initial post-graduation professional placement.  An internship is a clinical experience that generally follows the substantive coursework but is largely free of other educational and professional demands.
(I)	Only graduate level courses are acceptable as establishing equivalency.  The Board will not accept coursework counted or credited toward an undergraduate degree.
 (3)	Regional accreditation.  For the purposes of determining regional accreditation of an institution of higher learning, the following accrediting bodies will be accepted:  the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Colleges and Schools, the Higher Learning Commission (formally known as the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Colleges and Schools, the Commission on Colleges of the Northwest Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.  In addition, upon proof satisfactory to the Board, the Board will approve other accrediting bodies on a case-by-case basis.
(4)	Foreign-trained applicants.  Foreign-trained applicants must submit educational credentials to a credentialing agency utilized by the Board for evaluation of equivalency.  After course equivalency is established, the Board will evaluate the educational credentials to determine whether or not the program is equivalent to a program of marriage and family therapy.
(c)	Post-Graduate Experience Requirements.
The Board will approve post-master's or post-doctoral supervised practice as meeting the requirements for licensure set out in CRS 12-43-504(1)(d) when that practice satisfies the requirements of this subsection.
(1)	Definitions.  As used in CRS 12-43-504(1)(d) and this rule unless the context indicates otherwise:
(A)	"Individual supervision" means supervision rendered to one individual at a time.
(B)	"Group supervision" means supervision rendered to not more than six individuals at one time.
(C)	"Post-master's experience" or "post-doctoral experience" means experience under approved supervision acquired subsequent to the date certified by the degree-granting institution as that on which all requirements for the master's or doctoral degree (whichever is applicable) have been completed.
(D)	"Practice in individual and marriage and family therapy” means all services included within the definition of psychotherapy in CRS 12-43-201(9) and particularly those services and practices included within the definition of marriage and family therapy in CRS 12-43-503.
(E)	"Supervision" means personal direction and responsible direction provided by a supervisor approved by the Board.  
(1) 	"Personal direction" means direction actually rendered by the approved supervisor.
	(2) 	"Responsible direction" or "direction" means the approved supervisor has sufficient knowledge of all clients for whom supervision is provided, including face-to-face contact with the client when necessary, to develop and to monitor effective service delivery procedures and the supervisee's treatment plan.  Further, all decisions requiring the special skill, knowledge, and/or training of a marriage and family therapist are made in collaboration with, and with the approval of, the approved supervisor.  Such decisions include, but are not limited to:  type, duration, effectiveness, and method of psychotherapy services provided; fees and billing procedures; approval of cases; and personal observation, evaluation, oversight, review, and correction of services provided by the supervisee.
(F) 	"Consultation" describes a voluntary relationship between professionals of relative equal expertise or status wherein the consultant offers her/his best advise or information on an individual case or problem for use by the consultee as s/he deems appropriate in her/his professional judgment.  Consultation is not supervision.  Experience under contract for consultation will not be credited toward fulfillment of supervision requirements.  
(2)	Certification of Completion.  Each applicant shall file with the Board, upon forms supplied by the Board, a verified statement signed under penalty of law by their approved supervisor(s) attesting to the applicant's satisfactory completion of the required post-master's or post-doctoral practice in individual and marriage and family therapy under supervision and attesting to the applicant's having met the generally accepted standards of practice during the supervised practice.
(3)	Supervision.
(A)	The Board will approve any of the following as a supervisor.
(1)	A marriage and family therapist or any other licensed mental health professional who, at the time of the supervision, possessed a license in good standing in the jurisdiction in which the applicant's services were rendered, and who, at the time of the supervision, had education, clinical experience, and clinical supervisory experience in the field of marriage and family therapy.
(2)	A marriage and family therapist who, at the time of the supervision, was an approved supervisor under the auspices of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
(3)	A person who presents proof satisfactory to the Board that, at the time of the supervision, s/he was licensed in good standing as a marriage and family therapist, a professional counselor, a psychologist, a clinical social worker under the Act and who, at the time of the supervision, had education, clinical experience, and clinical supervisory experience in the field of marriage and family therapy.
(4)	A marriage and family therapist may be approved as a supervisor, who, at the time of the supervision, was licensed at the highest possible level in another jurisdiction in which the applicant's services were performed.  The Board will consider post-degree supervised experience obtained in another jurisdiction by an individual who is not certified or licensed as a marriage and family therapist in the other jurisdiction, if the jurisdiction in which such person was practicing did not provide for such certification, licensure or registration.  The applicant’s supervisor shall document to the satisfaction of the Board her/his competence in the same field of marriage and family therapy as that in which the applicant is seeking licensure
 (B)	The approved supervisor shall keep records that will enable her/him effectively to train, to evaluate, and to credit the applicant for licensure with the exact number of hours of acceptable post-master's or post-doctoral practice of marriage and family therapy and the exact number of hours of supervision completed in compliance with this Rule.
(C)	The Board will not approve a conflictual dual relationship, as defined below:
(1)	Conflictual Dual Relationship.
(i)	Conflictual dual relationship includes but is not limited to:
(1)	blood relatives;	
(2)	spousal relationships or significant others, either current or former;
(3)	current or former therapist and/or client;
(4)	any other relationship which might compromise therapist/client, supervisor/supervisee or supervisor/client relationship.
(2)	The Board may grant an exception to the above upon a showing that:
(i)	The client was fully informed of the dual relationship and the possibilities for conflicts of interest;
(ii)	The client's access to quality care has not been compromised;
(iii)	The supervisor and marriage and family therapist have not benefited from the relationship over and above a reasonable fee for service (i.e., that the power in the relationship has not been used to influence the relationship for personal gain);
(iv)	The client and supervisory relationships have not been compromised and the best interests of the client are served by the relationship.
 (D)	A Board member cannot participate in deliberations or vote on any applicant who was previously supervised or directed by that Board member.
(4) 	Number of hours of post-master's practice in individual and marriage and family therapy under supervision. 
(A) 	The post-master's practice in individual and marriage and family therapy under supervision cannot be completed in fewer than 24 months and may involve supervision by more than one supervisor as defined in these rules. 
(B) 	The two years of post-master's practice in individual and marriage and family therapy under supervision required by CRS 12-43-504(1)(d) must include at least 2,000 hours of practice, including at least 1,500 hours of face-to-face direct client contact, 1,000 of which shall be with couples and families for the purpose of diagnosis, assessment and intervention obtained in such a manner that they are reasonably uniformly distributed over a minimum of 24 months. 
(C) 	The teaching of the practice of individual and marriage and family therapy may count up to 300 hours of post-master's practice in marriage and family therapy under supervision and up to 30 hours of supervision, provided this teaching experience was supervised by a supervisor as defined in these rules. 
(D) 	"Face-to-face direct client contact with couples and families" includes contact with individual members of the couples and families so long as the contact is done as part of and in furtherance of on-going work with the couples and families. 
(5)	Number of hours of post-doctoral practice in individual and marriage and family therapy under supervision. 
(A) 	The post-doctoral practice in individual and marriage and family therapy under supervision cannot be completed in fewer than 12 months and may involve supervision by more than one supervisor as defined in these rules. 
(B) 	The one year of post-doctoral practice in individual and marriage and family therapy under supervision required by CRS 12-43-504(1)(d) must include at least 1,500 hours of face-to-face direct client contact, including at least 1,000 hours of face-to-face direct client contact with couples and families for the purpose of diagnosis, assessment and intervention obtained in such a manner that they are reasonably uniformly distributed over a minimum of 12 months. 
(C) 	The teaching of the practice of individual and marriage and family therapy may count up to 300 hours of post-doctoral practice in marriage and family therapy under supervision and up to 15 hours of supervision, provided this teaching experience was supervised by a supervisor as defined in these rules. 
(D) 	"Face-to-face direct client contact with couples and families" includes contact with individual members of the couples and families so long as the contact is done as part of and in furtherance of on-going work with the couples and families. 
	(6)	Number of hours of post-master's or post-doctoral supervision.
(A)	For each 1,000 hours of supervised practice in individual and marriage and family therapy, applicants must receive a minimum of 50 hours of supervision.  A minimum of the 25 of the 50 hours must be face-to-face individual supervision.  The remaining hours up to the 50 hours may be by group supervision. No other modes of supervision will be accepted.
(B)	The post-master's or post-doctoral supervision hours must be reasonably distributed over each 1,000 hours of supervised practice in individual and marriage and family therapy in a manner consistent with the accrual of the hours of supervised post-master's or post-doctoral practice.
(C)	With respect to supervision of the teaching of marriage and family therapy, the supervision hours must be reasonably distributed over the teaching experience in a manner consistent with the accrual of the hours of teaching experience.
(7)	Applicants who completed their post-master's or post-doctoral supervised practice in individual and marriage and family therapy in 1980 or before.  The Board recognizes that it may prove difficult for applicants who completed their post-master's or post-doctoral supervised practice in individual and marriage and family therapy in 1980 or before to prove that they meet the requirements of this rule and/or to submit the certification of completion required by this rule. Therefore, this subsection provides an alternative method for establishing completion of the post-master's or post-doctoral supervised practice in individual and marriage and family therapy.  An applicant may use this alternative method to establish completion of all or part of the required post-master's or post-doctoral supervised practice in  individual and marriage and family therapy.  An applicant who seeks to demonstrate completion of the required post-master's or post-doctoral supervised practice in individual and marriage and family therapy under the provisions of this subsection must furnish to the Board evidence in support her/his assertion.  The Board may request additional information from the applicant.  The decision as to whether or not an applicant has met the requirements of this subsection rests in the sound discretion of the Board.
The applicant must meet all of the following requirements to document completion of the required post-master's or post-doctoral supervised practice in  individual and marriage and family therapy in accordance with the alternative method established in this subsection:
(A)	The applicant must attest that s/he completed her/his post-master's or post-doctoral supervised practice in individual and marriage and family therapy in 1980 or before.
(B)	The applicant must attest that s/he has made a reasonable and diligent effort to locate and to contact her/his supervisor(s) and has been unable to do so and must state the reason(s) s/he has been unable to locate and to contact her/his supervisor(s).  Where the applicant can locate and contact some, but not all, of her/his supervisors, the applicant can use the alternative method only for those portions of the supervised practice in individual and marriage and family therapy supervised by supervisors who cannot be located and contacted.
(C)	The applicant must supply documentation (e.g., job descriptions, personnel records, old resumes that detail job experience, letters of reference, copies of old letters submitted by supervisor(s) to prospective employers or others) satisfactory to the Board that establishes completion of two years of post-master's or one year of post-doctoral practice in individual and marriage and family therapy under supervision.
(d)	Examination.  In accordance with CRS 12-43-203(3)(b), 12-43-504(1)(e), and 12-43-504(4), the Board establishes these requirements for the licensing examination to demonstrate professional competence in individual and marriage and family therapy, including special knowledge and skill in marriage and family therapy. The Board shall admit applicants to the examination once the educational requirements have been met. 
(1)	Jurisprudence Examination.  Applicants shall also be required to pass a Board developed jurisprudence examination.
(2) 	National Examination.  The examination in marriage and family therapy shall be the marriage and family therapy examination administered under contract with the Association of Martial and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB).
(A)	Reexamination.  In the event an applicant fails to receive a passing grade on the examination, s/he may apply to the AMFTRB for reexamination and is subject to the requirements of AMFTRB.
	(3)	Application.  An applicant for licensure shall apply directly to the AMFTRB, or any other testing service the Colorado State Board of Marriage and Family Therapist Examiners may contract with at the time, to sit for the appropriate examination. 
(A) 	A student in their last semester or quarter of either a Commission On Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) approved or non-COAMFTE approved graduate degree program may apply directly to the AMFTRB to sit for the marriage and family therapist examination.
 (4) 	Exam Scores.  Passing scores on the AMFTRB examination will be valid for up to five (5) years after the date of the examination.