Look, I’m not here to defend the BBS (California’s Board of Behavioral Sciences) or any other licensing board. They’re not your friend. They require deeply flawed exams that even they know don’t work. Their disciplinary guidelines, especially around substance use issues, are unreasonably punitive. They are notoriously unresponsive. There are a lot of problems there. But it’s also true that most complaints about the BBS are based on flat-out falsehoods.
licensing
MFT licensure: Why 3,000 hours?
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.”)
How do bad therapists stay licensed?
From students and colleagues alike, I often hear statements to the effect of “There are a lot of bad therapists out there.” As I understand it, “bad” in this context has a variety of meanings, ranging from ineffective to unethical. At either end of that spectrum, though, the next question is usually the same: How do they stay licensed?
What’s in a title? “Couple” versus “Marriage” and family therapists
Marriage and family therapists (MFTs) work with individuals, families, and couples of all types. We assess, diagnose and treat the full range of mental and emotional disorders. So, the title “marriage and family therapist” doesn’t provide the whole picture of what we do.
Should the name of the license be changed?
Podcast episode 2: Kim Madsen, California BBS, on license exams
For the opening episode of our podcast, we talked about why license exams don’t work, but we should keep them anyway. In this follow-up, we talk with Kim Madsen, the Executive Officer of the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. The BBS licenses marriage and family therapists (LMFTs), clinical social workers (LCSWs), and professional clinical counselors (LPCCs). You may be surprised at what she has to say about the license exam process.