Marriage and Family Therapist Associate
Marriage and Family Therapist Associate applicants must meet education and examination requirements. Associates can only practice under supervision, pursuant to an approved clinical supervision plan.
- Marriage and Family Therapy Associate Application
- MFT Plan for Clinical Supervision of Post-Master's Clinical Experience in Counseling Form
A Marriage and Family Therapy Associate license is a two-year license. If Post-Master's clinical experience has not been completed within that two-year period, you will need to apply for an Associate Extension. The Associate Extension Request application should be submitted before the Associate license expires.
- Associate Extension Request Application
- MFT Plan for Clinical Supervision of Post-Master's Clinical Experience in Counseling Form
- MFT Confirmation of Clinical Supervision of Post-Master's Client Contact Form
- Associate Supervision Log Form
To submit the Associate Extension request application and supporting documentation, log into your e-service account and upload under Document Submission.
Supervision
In order to obtain the Marriage and Family Therapy license, documentation of completion of a minimum of one thousand five hundred (1500) hours of post-master's clinical experience and post master's clinical supervision in marriage and family therapy performed over a period of not fewer than two (2) years must be submitted to the Board. Of the one thousand five hundred (1500) hours, there must be a minimum of one thousand three hundred eighty (1,380) hours of documented direct client contact hours, and a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) hours of documented supervision by a licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Supervisor or other qualified licensed mental health practitioner approved by the Board prior to beginning supervision that included experience assessing and treating clients with the more serious problems as categorized in standard diagnostic nomenclature. In addition to a licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Supervisor, a qualified licensed mental health practitioner (QLMHP) includes a person licensed as a Professional Counselor Supervisor, an Addiction Counselor Supervisor, a Psychologist or a Medical Doctor. The LMFT-S or QLMHP must be approved by the Board and shown to have knowledge and expertise necessary to provide marriage and family therapy supervision, including diagnosis and treatment of more serious problems categorized in standard diagnostic nomenclature.
A minimum of sixty (60) hours of the supervision hours must be individual/triadic, and the remaining sixty (60) hours may be individual/triadic or group.
These supervised experience hours are obtained as an Associate, pursuant to a Plan for Clinical Supervision. The Plan for Clinical Supervision of Post-Master's Clinical Experience in Marriage and Family Therapy form may be submitted along with the Associate license application, or submitted once the applicant has obtained employment; however, it must be effective once the applicant has passed the exam and the Associate license has been issued. A Marriage and Family Therapy Associate cannot provide marriage and family therapy services until the supervision plan is submitted to the Board and approved, and the Associate license is issued.
COAMFTE OR CACREP Accredited Program
To meet education requirements for licensure, an applicant can either submit proof of graduating from a program accredited by COAMFTE or from a marriage, couple and family counseling specialty program accredited by the CACREP;
OR
NON-COAMFTE OR NON-CACREP Accredited Program
Submit evidence of successful completion of a master's degree, specialist's degree or doctoral degree with a minimum of sixty (60) graduate semester hours in marriage and family therapy from a program accredited by a national educational accrediting body such as COAMFTE or one that requires or follows substantially similar educational standards, or from a marriage, couple and family counseling specialty program accredited by CACREP; or a post-degree program accredited by COAMFTE or one that requires or follows substantially similar educational standards, or from a marriage, couple and family counseling specialty program accredited by CACREP; and from a college or university accredited by the Commission on the Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, one of its transferring regional associations, the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, or a regionally accredited institution of higher learning subsequent to receiving the graduate degree.
NON-COAMFTE OR NON-CACREP Required Graduate-Level Coursework Documentation
Complete and submit the MFT Non-COAMFTE or Non-CACREP Accredited Education Verification Package (Located in Application & Forms section) along with official transcripts from all graduate institutions. Detailed instructions for completion are found on the forms.All licensure candidates must take and pass the National Marital and Family Therapy examination. This examination is administered by the Professional Testing Corporation (PTC). Once your educational experience and application has been approved, you will be sent instructions on how to apply for the exam.
Once you have completed the requirements of clinical supervision, click the link below to electronically submit the application, fee and required documentation to become a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor
An applicant for licensure as marriage and family therapy supervisor must:
- hold a current, active, and unrestricted South Carolina Marriage and Family Therapy License; and
- provide evidence acceptable to the Board of at least five (5) years of continuous clinical experience immediately preceding the application; and
- submit evidence of a minimum of thirty-six (36) hours of individual/triadic supervision over no less than a two-year period, by a Board licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Supervisor, or other approved qualified mental health professional, of the applicant's supervision of at least two (2) and no more than six (6) marriage and family therapy associates; and
- submit evidence of a minimum of three (3) semester hours of graduate study in supervision, or other training approved by the Board.
Graduate Study in Supervision or Training Approved by Board
Per Regulation 36-09(5) - MFT-Supervisor
As part of the requirements to obtain an MFT Supervisor license, a supervisor candidate must provide evidence to the Board of having completed a minimum of three (3) semester hours of graduate study in supervision or training approved by the Board.
This requirement can be met by:
- Taking a graduate level course in supervision as part of your master's degree program; OR
- Taking a graduate level course or training in supervision.
MFT-Supervisor applicants should check with the following national associations for available supervision courses or COAMFTE accredited graduate level programs providing training in supervision. [NOTE: A course in supervision must be graduate level education. Courses structured in a continuing education format are NOT acceptable.]
- South Carolina Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (SCAMFT)
- National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
- South Carolina Association of School Psychologists (SCASP)
- American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC)
- The South Carolina Education Association (SCEA)
- South Carolina Department of Education
- Recovering Professional Program (RPP)
- National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
Application & Forms
Marriage and Family Therapist / Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor by Endorsement
An applicant for licensure as a marriage and family therapist and/or marriage and family therapist supervisor by endorsement must:
- hold a current, active, and unrestricted license in good standing under the laws of another state, and
- not have any current or pending investigations in the state where they are currently licensed; and
- submit an application on a form approved by the Board, in which the applicant certifies that they have read and understand the Board's statutes, regulations, and the Code of Ethics specific to the professional license(s) being sought, along with the required fee; and
- provide other documentation, as required by the Board.
- An applicant is only eligible for endorsement licensure in this state at an equivalent credential level.
A Supervisor seeking endorsement must have and maintain the underlying professional license, Marriage and Family Therapist, in addition to the Supervisor license. If you do not currently hold an Marriage and Family Therapist license, you should apply for that credential before applying for the Supervisor license.
To apply, click the link below to access the electronic applications. The Verification of Lawful Presence Form is required to be completed to upload with your application.
Reinstatement Applications
The reinstatement application below must be used if your license(s) has/have been lapsed for less than five (5) years.
The reinstatement application below must be used if your license(s) has/have been lapsed for more than five (5) years.