(1) Applicants must provide documentation of obtaining a doctoral or master's degree in:

(a) marriage and family therapy from a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE);

(b) marriage and family counseling from a program accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP); or

(c) a closely related field, for example, marriage and family counseling with an educational program consisting of a minimum of 48 semester hours (or 72 quarter hours) that includes at least 36 hours of courses comprised of human development, family development/family dynamics, marriage and family systems/systems theory, marriage and family therapy, ethics in marriage and family therapy, and research in marriage and family therapy; and

(d) in addition, at least nine hours of credit must be earned in actual direct client contact, including at least six semester hours of practicums and three or more semester hours of internship or externship to include a minimum total of 500 direct-client contact hours of which at least 50 percent is with couples or families, and 100 hours of supervision of which at least 75 are in individual supervision with, at most, one other supervisee.

(2) For the purpose of meeting the 3,000 clock-hour requirement of 37-37-201, MCA, an applicant shall provide verification of the following:

(a) up to 500 client contact hours accumulated during the attainment of the graduate degree, with:

(i) supervision of up to 100 hours, using a 5:1 ratio of client contact hours to supervision hours of which at least 75 percent are in individual supervision as described in (1)(d) above; and

(ii) group supervision must consist of no more than six supervisees.

(b) at least 1,000 hours of client contact accumulated after the attainment of the graduate degree and within the last five years, with a minimum of 50 percent of those hours providing services to couples and families and under the supervision of a qualified supervisor, using a 5:1 ratio of client contact hours to supervision hours with:

(i) at least 200 hours of supervision of which at least 75 percent are in individual supervision as defined in (1)(d) above, and of which a minimum of 80 hours is earned with each supervisor; and

(ii) at least 50 percent of supervision must involve raw clinical data, i.e., live observation in the therapy room or through a one-way mirror or live-feed camera, videotape, or audiotape.

(c) the 3,000 hours shall have been completed in their entirety at the time of submission of the application.
(3) An applicant must achieve a passing score on the National Marriage and Family Therapy Licensing Examination administered by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB).