45:8B-18 Qualifications for admission to examination.

18. A person applying to the board to obtain a license as a practicing marriage and family therapist may be admitted to an examination if he meets the qualifications set forth in subsections (a), (b) and (c) of section 14 of P.L.1968, c.401 (C.45:8B-14) and provides evidence satisfactory to the board that he has met educational and experiential qualifications as follows:

(a) Educational Requirement:

To meet the educational requirements, an applicant shall have a minimum of a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, a master's degree in social work, or a graduate degree in a related field and shall demonstrate that he has completed course work content and training substantially equivalent to a master's degree in marriage and family therapy; and the degree shall have been obtained from an accredited institution so recognized at the time of granting of the degrees.

Pursuant to regulations adopted by the board, an applicant with a graduate degree in a related field which does not provide training and course work substantially equivalent in content to a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, shall be deemed to meet the educational requirements set forth in this section upon satisfactory completion of either a post graduate degree recognized by the board, or a program of training and course work at an institute or training program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education.

(b) Experience Requirements:

To meet the experience requirements, an applicant shall have three years of full-time counseling experience, or its equivalent, of a character approved by the board, two years of which shall have been in marriage and family therapy; two of the three required years shall have been under the supervision of a person holding a degree specified in subsection (a) of this section and who has himself had no less than five full-time years of professional experience or the equivalent. For those with a master's degree, two of the three required years shall occur after the applicant has earned the master's degree, and for those with a post-master's or doctoral degree, one of the three required years shall occur after the applicant has earned the post-master's or doctoral degree.

L.1968, c.401, s.18; amended 1979, c.425; 1995, c.366, s.12; 2005, c.49, s.3; 2017, c.350, s.6.