A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) must complete 30 clock hours of continuing education relevant to Marriage and Family Therapy each renewal period. A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate (LMFT Associate) must complete 15 clock hours of continuing education each renewal period. Hours may not be carried over from one renewal period to the next renewal period.
Each licensee is responsible for maintaining documentation of his or her completed continuing education hours. Each licensee will report continuing education hours at the time of renewal. The board will conduct random audits of compliance with the continuing education requirements. If a licensee is randomly audited, he or she must submit proof of completion of the required hours.
Continuing education undertaken by a licensee shall be acceptable to the board under two circumstances:
- if it is offered by a board-approved sponsor.
- if it is provided by a board-approved provider of continuing education by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners, or the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, and it is relevant to the practice of marriage and family therapy.
Of the total Clock hours:
- at least 6 hours must be in professional ethics (completion of the jurisprudence exam may count for 1 hour of ethics)
- at least 3 hours must be in clinical supervision education, if the licensee is a board-approved supervisor.
- no more than 12 hours every renewal period through completion of correspondence courses, satellite or distance learning, audio/video courses, and/or other learning formats of self study.
Select this link to view the list of approved CE Sponsors
Acceptable venues from board-approved sponsors include:
- Participation in state and national conferences such as the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and Texas Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (TAMFT)
- Participation in local seminars relevant to Marriage and Family Therapy.
- Completing a graduate or institute course in the field of MFT.
- Presenting workshops, seminars or lectures relevant to MFT (the same seminar may not be used more than once biennially).
- Distance learning as described above.
- Attendance at a meeting of the Ethics Committee of the board from the beginning of the meeting to the end of the meeting by individuals who are not parties to any of the complaint cases.
Suggested Topics for General Continuing Education:
The purpose of continuing education is to maintain and improve the quality professional services in Marriage & Family Therapy, to keep licensees knowledgeable on research techniques and practice, and to provide resources to improve skills and competence.
Marriage Therapy Sex Therapy
Family Therapy Child Therapy
Play Therapy Individual Psychotherapy
Divorce Therapy Mediation
Group Therapy Chemical Dependency Therapy
Rehabilitation Therapy Referral Services
Psychotherapy Hypnotherapy
Biofeedback Assessment & Appraisal
Consultation Diagnostic Assessment using the DSM
Parent Education Parent Coordination
Life Coaching Other MFT related services
Family Systems methods Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Interpersonal Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy Affective Therapy
Suggested Topics for Continuing Education in Ethics
Professional Representation Relationships with Clients
Sexual Misconduct Testing Issues
Drug & Alcohol Use Record Keeping
Confidentiality Release of Records
Required Reporting Licensees & the Board
Assumed Names Consumer Complaint Information
Proper Display of License Advertising & Announcements
Hot Topics in Ethics:
Dual Relationships – 801.44(i)
Sexual Misconduct with Clients – 801.45 (e)
Record Keeping – 801.48 (e)
Required Reporting – 801.48 (d)
Other Topics Included in Ethics:
Issues related to HIPAA and MFTs
Issues related to the Texas Family Code as applied to the practice of MFT
Issues related to Texas Occupations Code Chapter 502
Issues related to Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 611
Recommendations for 3 hour Supervisor Refresher Course or 3 hours of Continuing Education in Supervision
The course must be taught by a Board-Approved Continuing Education Provider and a Board-Approved Supervisor, or the course must be developed and presented by a Board-Approved CE provider who is appropriately knowledgeable in the subject matter of the program and training techniques.
- Must meet for a minimum of 3 hours
- Topics may include but are not limited to:
Current supervision literature
Ethical and legal issues that arise in clinical supervision
Supervision contracts, including the process of developing contracts and elements that should be addressed
Cultural, gender, and socio-economic issues in therapy and supervision
The current rules and regulations for Board-Approved Supervisors
40 hour Supervisor Training Course Guidelines
Guidelines for the 40 hour Supervisor Training Course include, but are not limited to the following content:
- Major models of MFT and supervision in terms of their philosophical assumptions and pragmatic implications
- Co-evolving client-therapist and client-therapist-supervisor relationships
- Evaluation and identification of problems in the client-therapist and client-therapist-supervisor relationships
- Supervision structure, problem-solving, and implementation of supervisory interventions within a range of modalities
- Contextual variables such as culture, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economics
- Ethical and legal issues of supervision
- Rules relating to licensing and regulation of Marriage and Family Therapists and Marriage and Family Therapist Associates.
The course must be offered by an accredited institution or Board-Approved Continuing Education Provider and Board-Approved Supervisor.
The course must include the minimum requirements (guidelines) for the learning objectives.
The course must be completed within 90 days.