Continuing education

1. A licensee must regularly engage in continuing education related to the practice of marriage and family therapy as defined in this section. 2. Licensed marriage and family therapists must complete a minimum of thirty hours of continuing education every two years, of which six hours must be ethics. Licensed associates must complete fifteen hours of continuing education every year, of which three hours must be ethics. A board approved supervisor or American association for marriage and family therapy approved supervisor shall dedicate ten percent, three continuing education units, of continuing education in courses on supervision. The required number of hours shall be prorated for persons who are initially licensed during a given reporting period. Licensed marriage and family therapists shall attest to the board as to completion of the required hours upon renewal of the license in each odd-numbered year. Licensed associate marriage and family therapists shall attest to the board as to completion of the required hours upon renewal of the license each year. At the time of license renewal in each odd-numbered year or at the time of application for reinstatement of a license, a licensed marriage and family therapist shall attest to completion of a minimum of thirty approved continuing education hours since last renewal or the minimum number required for reinstatement. Failure to complete the attestation required results in nonrenewal of licensure. 3. When the licensee applies for renewal of the license in the odd-numbered year or is audited, the licensee must submit documentation of the licensee's completion of the required hours of continuing education on an appropriate form furnished by the board. A receipt for payment of the fees for the course is not sufficient evidence of completion of the required hours of continuing education. Licensees shall keep attendance certificates for at least five years as the board may conduct random audits to verify compliance with subsection 2. 4. A course may not be counted toward a licensee's continuing education requirements unless it has been approved by the board according to the procedures in this subsection and subsections 5 to 10. Courses may be approved for all attendees when submitted by the sponsor as prescribed in subsection 11 or a licensee may request individual approval as prescribed in subsection 6. The board shall consider the following factors in determining whether a course should be approved: a. The course's relevance to the therapeutic practices of marriage and family therapy. b. Whether the course is structured on sound educational principles and fits into one of the following categories: (1) Structured educational programs with an instructor as a part of conventions, workshops, seminars, lectures, interactive media, and graduate and postgraduate courses from regionally accredited institutions. All coursework must include the areas described in subdivision d; and (2) Home study courses related to marriage and family therapy as described in subdivision d. Programs must have an independently graded test component. No more than one-half, or fifteen continuing education unit hours, of the required thirty continuing education hours may be earned by this method. c. Whether the course is at least one hour in length. "One hour" means at least fifty minutes spent as a student in direct participation in a structured educational format. Time for home study courses shall be based on developer's research on average time to complete. d. Whether the subject of the course is related to marriage and family therapy with an emphasis upon systemic approaches or the theory, research, or practice of psychotherapeutic work with couples or families. Continuing education for marriage and family therapy generally evolves from the following areas: (1) Historical, theoretical foundations, and contemporary conceptual directions of the field of marriage and family therapy; (2) Assessment, diagnosis, and treatment in marriage and family therapy including both dysfunctional relationship patterns and nervous and mental disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral; (3) Family studies including the life cycle of the family, the process and modification of family structures over time, and issues related to ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, culture, gender, and sexuality; (4) Human development including human behavior, personality theory, sexuality, psychopathology, behavior pathology, and physical and mental impairments and disabilities that affect normal development; (5) Ethics and professional studies covering legal responsibilities and liabilities of licensure, clinical practice, research, family law, and confidentiality issues; and (6) Supervision in marriage and family therapy including theories and practices. e. Whether the course's instructors or developers are qualified by practical or academic experience to teach, lecture, make presentations, or develop courses. 5. The board may use a committee, which may include nonboard members, to evaluate applications for course approval. 6. A licensee's application for course approval: a. A licensee must apply individually for approval of continuing education courses that have not been approved by the board in subsection 11. The licensee must submit information required in subdivision b, as well as other information the board reasonably requires to evaluate the course for approval. b. The following information must be submitted to the board, in addition to the form required in subsection 3, by the licensee: (1) The name and address of the organization sponsoring the course; (2) A detailed description of the course content; (3) The name of each instructor or presenter and the instructor's or presenter's credentials; and (4) The location, including the name and address of the facility, at which the course will be conducted. c. Licensees seeking approval for a course not previously approved by the board are strongly encouraged to seek board approval before attending the course. Licensees have sixty days following the continuing education event to seek approval for a course not preapproved in advance by the board. d. All American association for marriage and family therapy approved continuing education are deemed approved by the North Dakota marriage and family therapy licensure board. All individual state marriage and family therapy board approved continuing education must be approved by the North Dakota marriage and family therapy licensure board. e. The board shall deny approval for a course if it does not meet the standards in subsection 4. The board shall notify the applicant in writing of its reasons for denying approval of a course under this subsection. 7. Continuing education credit may not be applied for marketing the business aspects of one's practice, time management, supervisory sessions, staff orientation, agency activities that address procedural issues, personal therapy, or other methods not structured on sound education principles or contrary to the code of ethics. Continuing education credit may be applied for the following programs that comply with the requirements of subsection 4: a. Programs specifically listed in paragraphs 1 and 2 of subdivision b of subsection 4; b. Teaching a marriage and family course in an institution accredited by a regional accrediting association. Continuing education hours may be earned only for the first time the licensee teaches the course. The course must be related to marriage and family therapy as described in subdivision d of subsection 4. Ten continuing education hours may be earned for each semester credit-hour taught; c. Research of an original nature directly related to marriage and family therapy as described in paragraphs 1 to 6 of subdivision d of subsection 4. This activity must be preapproved by the board. Hours of credit for this activity shall be negotiated based on the nature of the project. Contact the board for appropriate preapproval forms; d. Authoring, editing, or reviewing in an area of marriage and family therapy as described in subdivision d of subsection 4. Continuing education hours may be earned only in the year of publication. The maximum hours earned are as follows: (1) Author of a professional book, thirty hours; (2) Author of a professional book chapter or journal article, fifteen hours; (3) Editor of a professional book or journal, twenty-five hours; and (4) Journal article review, one hour per manuscript; e. Presentations at workshops, seminars, symposia, meetings of professional organizations, or postgraduate institutes. The presentation must be related to marriage and family therapy as described in subdivision d of subsection 4. One hour of development time equals one continuing education hour and up to three hours of development time may be claimed for each hour of presentation. Continuing education hours may be earned only for the licensee's first presentation on the subject developed; and f. Individually designed continuing education activity. Licensees may submit proposals for continuing education activities which do not meet other guidelines established within this section. The proposal request must include the following: (1) The rationale for pursuing an individually designed activity; (2) Specific goals and objectives, and an explanation of how the goals and objectives are related to the enhancement of the licensee's professional skills; (3) An outline of the topics to be covered; (4) A description of related resources and activities; (5) The proposed documentation of completion of activity; and (6) The estimate of time to be expended on the activity and the number of continuing education hours requested. The board shall have final say in the number of hours credited for completion of such activity. Subdivisions d to f require preapproval. The applicant must obtain preapproval forms from the board. 8. Continuing education shall be credited on an hour-for-hour basis except as noted in subsection 7. "One hour" means at least fifty minutes spent as a student in direct participation in a structured educational format. 9. A licensee whose license has not expired and who meets any of the following conditions is exempt from continuing education requirements in this section if the licensee files with the board an affidavit specifying that the licensee: a. Is retired from practice and does not perform marriage and family therapy services on a volunteer or free basis; b. Is permanently disabled and unable to practice marriage and family therapy, accompanied by a statement from the licensee's physician; c. Has been granted emeritus status as specified in section 111-02-04-05; or d. Has been called to active duty in the armed forces of the United States. 10. A licensee claiming exemption under subsection 9 who later decides to resume practice must submit to the board, before resuming practice, a written notice that the licensee intends to resume practice. The licensee must also submit evidence that the licensee has completed continuing education requirements that are equivalent to what the requirements would have been without the exemption for the five years or any portion of the five years immediately preceding the date of the notice of intent to resume practice. 11. Individuals, organizations, associations, corporations, educational institutions, or groups intending to offer courses for approval shall submit to the board a completed application on a form provided by the board. The course sponsor must meet the requirements in subdivisions a through d to receive and maintain course approval. a. The application for course approval must be submitted at least sixty days before the course is scheduled to begin and must include the sponsor's application and an annual nonrefundable continuing education course fee of one hundred dollars. b. The application for course approval must include the following information to enable the board to determine whether the course meets the standards for board approval specified in subsection 4: (1) A statement of the objectives of the course and the knowledge the participants will have gained upon completion of the course; (2) A description of the content and methodology of the course which will allow the participants to meet the objectives; (3) A description of the method to be used by the participants to evaluate the course; (4) A listing of the qualifications of each instructor or developer which shows the instructor's or developer's current knowledge and skill in the course's subject; and (5) A description of the certificate or other form of verification of attendance distributed to each participant upon successful completion of the course. c. If the board approves a course, the board shall assign a number to the course. The approval remains in effect for one year from the date of initial approval. The board shall compile a list of approved courses at least once per calendar year. To retain course approval, a course sponsor must submit to the board a new application for course approval required in subdivisions a and b and the application fee for approval of a continuing education course required before the expiration of the one-year period. (1) Each sponsor of an approved course may announce, as to a course that has been approved by the board, that: "This course has been approved by the North Dakota Marriage and Family Therapy Licensure Board for ___ hours of credit." (2) The course sponsor shall submit proposed changes in an approved course to the board for its approval. d. The board shall approve or disapprove a sponsor's application for course approval. e. The board shall deny approval of a course if it does not meet the standards in subsection 4. The board shall notify the course sponsor in writing of its reasons for denying approval of a course. f. The board shall revoke its approval of a course if a course sponsor fails to comply with subdivision c and any part of subsection 4, or if a course sponsor falsifies information requested by the board in the application for approval of a course.