§ 3-1208.31. Qualifications for licensure.

(i) Theoretical foundations, history, philosophy, etiology and contemporary conceptual directions of marriage and family therapy or marriage and family counseling;

(ii) Family systems theories and other relevant theories and their application in working with a wide variety of family structures, including families in transition, nontraditional families and blended families, and a diverse range of presenting issues; and

(iii) Preventative approaches, including premarital counseling, parent skill training and relationship enhancement, for working with couples, families, individuals, subsystems and other systems;

(i) The practice of marriage and family therapy related to theory, and a comprehensive survey and substantive understanding of the major models of marriage and family therapy or marriage and family counseling; and

(ii) Interviewing and assessment skills for working with couples, families, individuals, subsystems and other systems, and skills in the appropriate implementation of systematic interventions across a variety of presenting clinical issues, including socioeconomic disadvantage, abuse, and addiction;

(i) Individual development and transitions across the life span;

(ii) Family, marital and couple life cycle development and family relationships, family of origin and intergenerational influences, cultural influences, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, social and equity issues, and disability;

(iii) Human sexual development, function and dysfunction, impacts on individuals, couples, and families, and strategies for intervention and resolution; and

(iv) Issues of violence, abuse, and substance use in a relational context, and strategies for intervention and resolution;

(i) Psychopathology, including etiology, assessment, evaluation, and treatment of mental disorders, use of the current diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, differential diagnosis, and multiaxial diagnosis;

(ii) Standard mental health diagnostic assessment methods and instruments, including standardized tests; and

(iii) Psychotropic medications and the role of referral to and cooperation with other mental health practitioners in treatment planning, and case management skills for working with individuals, couples, and families;

(i) Professional identity, including professional socialization, professional organizations, training standards, credentialing bodies, licensure, certification, practice settings, and collaboration with other disciplines;

(ii) Ethical and legal issues related to the practice of marriage and family therapy, legal responsibilities of marriage and family therapy and marriage and family counseling practice and research, business aspects, reimbursement, record keeping, family law, confidentiality issues, and the relevant codes of ethics, including the code of ethics specified by the Board; and

(iii) The interface between therapist responsibility and the professional, social, and political context of treatment; and

(i) Research in marriage and family therapy or marriage and family counseling and its application to working with couples and families; and

(ii) Research methodology, quantitative and qualitative methods, statistics, data analysis, ethics, and legal considerations of conducting research, and evaluation of research.