legislative Archives - Psychotherapy Notes

Write a letter to the editor: Drop the ASWB exams

March 22, 2024March 22, 2024 by Ben Caldwell

Some problems can have large impacts, and still go unnoticed by the public and policymakers. ASWB’s racist exams for social work licensure are a great example. When people learn of the problems with social work exams, they tend to be rightly horrified. But most people don’t know about the problem.

A letter to the editor of your local newspaper can be a great way to raise awareness of this issue, especially in states actively considering alternate pathways to licensure. Here’s a quick guide to writing one.

Medicare needs counselors and family therapists

July 23, 2018July 18, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

ACA, AAMFT, and CAMFT continue to work with and others in Washington to get LPCs and LMFTs included as eligible providers in Medicare. Bills pending before both the House and Senate would do it. And that change would be beneficial for consumers and taxpayers alike.

MFT licensure: Why 3,000 hours?

June 27, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

Whenever I get into conversations about the MFT licensure process, and how it differs from one state to another, similar questions come up. Earlier I addressed the fundamental question of whether license examinations make for better therapists. Another common question I hear: Why do we require 3,000 hours of supervised, prelicensed experience for MFT licensure?

(Making things more complicated, why do some states require more? California uses the 3,000-hour standard. Arizona, like a handful of other states, requires 3,200 hours. Some other states simply say “two years of full-time supervised experience or the equivalent.”)

MFT license portability

July 25, 2017 by Ben Caldwell

Ah, to be a medical doctor. To only have to pass the boards once, and then be done with it. MFT license portability isn’t so easy.

Marriage and family therapists — who, at least in theory, practice the same profession no matter where they roam — are subject to a mishmash of licensure laws around the 50 states, with similar-but-different requirements for education, experience, and examinations. Taking your MFT license to a new state can be a challenge, as you may be forced to provide transcripts and even syllabi from classes taken decades ago, register as an intern or associate even if you’ve been fully licensed, and in some states, go through another testing process.

MFT licensure: California

April 25, 2017July 2, 2014 by Ben Caldwell

Ah, the Golden State. Home to me and half the licensed Marriage and Family Therapists in the country. And, in the eyes of the rest of the country, some pretty weird practices within the profession.

MFT licensure in California looks a lot different here than it does everywhere else. And it shouldn’t have to, seeing as the profession itself — that is, our scope of practice and competence — is pretty much the same here as it is everywhere else.

What the heck is so different here, and why?