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.