# Title 111 — Marriage and Family Therapy Licensure Board

## Article 111-02 — Licensure and Fees

## Chapter 111-02-02 — Preliminary Licensing Requirements

### § 111-02-02-01. Licenses.

1. To be eligible for licensure, an applicant must meet the following requirements:
a. Complete the education requirements in subsection 2 or 3 of North Dakota Century Code
section 43-53-06.
b. Complete the experience requirements in subsection 2 or 3 of North Dakota Century
Code section 43-53-06.
c. Provide evidence of meeting the requirements of North Dakota Century Code section
d. Agree to conduct all professional activities as a licensed marriage and family therapist in
accordance with the code of ethics for marriage and family therapists in section
111-02-02-02.
e. Pass both parts of the examination listed in North Dakota Century Code section
43-53-07.
2. An applicant who fails to meet all requirements in this section shall be denied a license.
History: Effective July 1, 2010.
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02, 43-53-05
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-53-06
### § 111-02-02-02. Educational requirements - Determination of equivalent degree.

1. In determining whether an applicant holds a master's or doctoral degree that is equivalent to
degrees described in North Dakota Century Code section 43-53-06, the board shall evaluate
the applicant's transcripts, documentation from the educational institution that describes the
substance and purpose of the applicant's academic training, accreditation and other
professional recognition of the educational institution by regional accrediting bodies, and other
necessary information as determined by the board. All requested documentation must be sent
directly from the educational institution to the board.
2. A master's or doctoral degree is equivalent to a master's or doctoral degree in marriage and
family therapy if the degree is from a regionally accredited institution, if the degree is in a
related subject field, and if the degree contains the following coursework of fifty-four semester
hours minimum:
a. Nine semester hours in human development covering human development, human
behavior, personality theory, human sexuality, psychopathology, including the etiology
and diagnosis of mental illness, and behavior pathology;
b. Three semester hours required in systemic/relational assessment and mental health
diagnosis and treatment, covering the development of competency in traditional

psychodiagnostic categories, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of major mental
health issues as well as a wide variety of common presenting problems, including
addiction; suicide; trauma; abuse; intrafamilial violence; and therapy for individuals,
couples, and families managing acute chronic medical conditions, utilizing a
systemic/relational philosophy.
c. Six semester hours in marital and family studies covering theories of family development,
theories of family functioning, the family life cycle, sociology of the family, families under
stress, contemporary family forms, family subsystems, theories of marital and family
interaction, theories of child development, lifespan, and theories of gerontology;
d. Twelve semester hours in marital and family therapy covering marital and family
communication, family psychology, family therapy, methods of intervention, family
assessment, treatment planning, sex therapy, major theories of marital and family
therapy such as structural, strategic, transgenerational, experiential, object relations,
contextual, systemic therapy, solution-focused therapy, narrative, and biofeedback
methodologies;
e. Three semester hours in research covering research design, methods, statistics, and
special issues research in marital and family studies or a related field;
f. Three semester hours in professional studies covering professional socialization,
professional organizations, legal issues, interprofessional cooperation, professional
ethics, and family law;
g. Nine semester hours required to demonstrate courses which include content on issues of
diversity (race, gender, sexual orientation, spirituality, class, etc.), and
psychopharmacology; and
h. Nine semester hours in a clinical practicum in marriage and family therapy or at least five
hundred hours or twelve months of clinical client contact with individuals, couples, and
families for the purpose of assessment and intervention. Of the five hundred hours, no
more than two hundred fifty hours may be with individuals. This clinical experience must
be supervised onsite or at the academic institution by a licensed and family therapist or
an American association for marriage and family therapy-approved supervisor.
3. Four quarter credit-hours shall be equivalent to three semester hours in meeting the
requirements in subdivisions a to h of subsection 2. This curriculum may be completed during
the qualifying master's or doctoral degree programs; or additional coursework may be taken at
a college or university accredited by a regionally accredited educational institution after
receiving the graduate degree in order to fulfill the requirements for each of the areas
described in subdivisions a to h of subsection 2 . An applicant may not use a course for more
than one area described in subdivisions a to h of subsection 2.
4. A professional track may give credit for experience with a minimum of five years providing the
applicant had a valid equivalent degree as described in subsection 1 during the time of
working with couples and families. The applicant will take twelve semester hours from
coursework requirements described in subdivision c of subsection 2 and three semester hours
in subdivision e of subsection 2. The clinical client contact requirements will remain the same.
5. The burden is on the applicant to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the
coursework is equivalent to the requirements in subsection 2.
6. An applicant for licensed associate marriage and family therapy must be enrolled before
August 15, 2018, to be eligible to apply under the old section 111-02-02-02 section rules. On
August 16, 2018, the new educational requirement rules apply.

History: Effective July 1, 2010; amended effective January 1, 2018.
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02, 43-53-05
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-53-06
### § 111-02-02-03. Experience requirements.

1. The two years (full time, or up to forty-eight months part time) of supervised, postgraduate
experience required by subsection 3 of North Dakota Century Code section 43-53-06 must
meet the following:
2. In calculating two years of supervised postgraduate experience in marriage and family
therapy, the board shall accept a minimum of three thousand hours, of which one thousand
five hundred hours of direct clinical client contact, including the assessment, diagnosis, and
treatment of mental illness as specified in subsection 3 with two hundred hours of
postgraduate supervision by a North Dakota or other approved jurisdiction licensed marriage
and family therapist supervisor over a period of not less than twenty-four months, full time, and
no more than forty-eight months, part time. All additional work used to complete this two-year
experience may be supervised in a legal and ethical manner by a licensed marriage and
family therapist credentialed for supervision or a licensed mental health professional as
specified in the North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-53 approved supervisor definition.
3. The applicant must demonstrate at least five hundred hours of the direct clinical client contact
required in each of the following categories of cases:
a. Unmarried couples, married couples, and separating and divorcing couples;
b. Family groups, including children; and
c. Individual services.
This contact shall include experience in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental
illness. The board may consider waiving part of this requirement for good cause shown.
4. The supervision by a North Dakota or other jurisdiction licensed marriage and family therapist
shall take place in individual and group settings, according to the following:
a. The individual supervision shall take place in a setting in which a supervisor and not
more than two supervisees are present.
b. The group supervision shall take place in a setting in which a supervisor and not more
than six supervisees, but not less than three supervisees, are present.
5. Supervision must involve:
a. At least two hundred hours of face-to-face contact between the supervisor and
supervisee of which at least one hundred hours must be in individual settings.
b. One hundred hours of supervision per year full time or fifty hours per year part time.
c. A focus on the raw data from the supervisee's clinical work that is made directly available
to the supervisor through means of written clinical materials, direct observation, and
audio or video recordings.
d. During the period of supervised experience, an associate may be employed on a salary
basis or be used within an established supervisory setting. The established settings must
be structured with clearly defined job descriptions and areas of responsibility. The board
may require that the applicant provide documentation of all work experience.

e. During the postgraduate supervision, both the supervisor and the associate may have
disciplinary actions taken against their licenses for violations of the act or administrative
rules.
f. Supervision must be conducted under a supervision agreement, which must be
submitted to the board on the official form within sixty days of the initiation of supervision.
The associate must receive a minimum of one hour of supervision every two weeks.
There is no limit to the number of hours that can be completed via two-way interactive
audio and visual communications. All supervision hours completed though real-time
two-way interactive communication that has both audio and visual count as in-person
supervision hours.
g. The associate must receive a minimum of one hour of supervision every two weeks.
h. An associate may have no more than two board-approved supervisors at a time, unless
given prior approval by the board or its designee.
i. The associate may receive credit for up to five hundred clock-hours toward the required
three thousand hours of supervised clinical services. There is no limit to the number of
hours that can be completed via two-way interactive audio and visual communications.
All supervision hours completed though real-time two-way interactive communication that
has both audio and visual count as in-person supervision hours.
6. A supervisee must verify the required supervised experience by completing a form supplied by
the board. The form must be signed by the applicant's supervisor and be deemed truthful
subject to penalties for making a false statement under North Dakota Century Code section
12.1-11-02. The form must include the setting, nature, and extent of the supervised
experience, the time period involved, the number of hours of clinical client contact, the number
of hours of supervision, and the name and qualifications of each supervisor.
History: Effective July 1, 2010; amended effective January 1, 2018; April 1, 2024.
General Authority: NDCC 23-32-02, 43-53-05
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-53-06
### § 111-02-02-04. Requirements for supervisor.

1. Supervisors are recognized by the board when subsection 1 or 2 is met by submitting an
application which includes the following four documents:
a. A graduate degree in marriage and family therapy or a graduate degree in a related
mental health field, such as counseling and guidance, psychology, psychiatry, or clinical
social work, from a recognized educational institution;
b. A license, which is not a provisional or an associate license, issued by the board or a
license as a marriage and family therapist in another jurisdiction;
c. One of the following:
(1) Successful completion of a one semester graduate course in marriage and family
therapy supervision from an accredited institution; or
(2) A thirty-hour continuing education course in clinical supervision offered by a
board-approved provider; and
d. At least three thousand hours of direct client contact in the practice of marriage and
family therapy over a minimum of three years as a licensed marriage and family
therapist.

2. In lieu of meeting the qualifications set forth in subsection 1, a person is an acceptable
supervisor if the person has been designated as an approved supervisor or
supervisor-in-training by the American association for marriage and family therapy before the
person provides any supervision.
3. A supervisor may not be employed by the person whom the supervisor is supervising.
4. A supervisor may not be related within the second degree by affinity or within the third degree
by consanguinity to the person whom the supervisor is supervising.
History: Effective July 1, 2010; amended effective January 1, 2018.
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02, 43-53-05
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-53-06
### § 111-02-02-05. Responsibilities of supervisor.

A supervisor must:
1. Be knowledgeable of the clinical skills required for effective delivery of marriage and family
therapy services;
2. Be knowledgeable of the important literature in the field of marriage and family therapy and
professional ethics, and the supervisor must be knowledgeable about the basic skills and
service delivery of supervision;
3. That all supervised work is conducted in appropriate professional settings, with adequate
administrative and clerical controls; and
4. Devote at least ten percent of the required continuing education hours to supervision.
History: Effective July 1, 2010.
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02, 43-53-05
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-53-06
