| Chapter 195 |
| 2026 -- H 7064 Enacted 06/22/2026 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS -- MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS AND MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS |
Introduced By: Representatives Shallcross Smith, Bennett, Fogarty, McNamara, Perez, Carson, Casimiro, Azzinaro, Donovan, and Fellela |
| Date Introduced: January 14, 2026 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Sections 5-63.2-10 and 5-63.2-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-63.2 |
| entitled "Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists" are hereby amended to |
| read as follows: |
| 5-63.2-10. Qualifications of licensed marriage and family therapist associates and |
| licensed marriage and family therapists. |
| (a) The department shall issue the appropriate license to applicants who meet the |
| qualifications of this section. |
| (1) Prerequisites for licensure of a marriage and family therapist associate. A license |
| as a “marriage and family therapist associate” shall be issued to an applicant who meets the |
| following qualifications: |
| (i) Is of good character; |
| (ii) Has completed a graduate degree program specializing in marital and family therapy |
| from a college or university accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, |
| or an equivalent regional accreditation agency; |
| (iii) Has completed sixty (60) semester hours or ninety (90) quarter hours within his or her |
| graduate degree program specializing in marital and family therapy; and |
| (iv) Has completed a minimum of twelve (12) semester hours or eighteen (18) quarter hours |
| of supervised practicum and a one-calendar year of supervised internship consisting of twenty (20) |
| hours per week, or its equivalent, with emphasis in marriage and family therapy supervised by the |
| department within the college or university granting the requisite degree or by an accredited |
| postgraduate clinical training program, approved by the commission on accreditation for marriage |
| and family therapy education recognized by the United States Department of Education, or |
| education and/or experience that is deemed equivalent by the board. Has completed a supervised |
| internship or practicum in marriage and family therapy as part of the master's or doctoral program |
| of study. The internship or practicum shall include a minimum of three hundred (300) hours of |
| direct client contact with individuals, family groups, couples, groups, public organizations, or |
| private organizations under the direction of an approved supervisor. |
| (2) Prerequisites for licensure of a marriage and family therapist. A license as a |
| “marriage and family therapist” shall be issued to an applicant who meets the following |
| qualifications: |
| (i) Has been awarded a master's degree and has had a minimum of two (2) years of relevant |
| postgraduate experience, including at least two one thousand five hundred (2,000) (1,500) hours |
| (the "total required hours") of direct client contact offering clinical or counseling or therapy |
| services with emphasis in marriage and family therapy, with at least one thousand four hundred |
| (1,400) of the total required hours earned by the applicant after the applicant has been subsequent |
| to being awarded a master’s degree or doctorate. A maximum of one hundred (100) hours of the |
| total required hours may be earned during a graduate degree program provided in § 5-63.2- |
| 10(a)(1)(ii). A minimum of three hundred (300) hours of the total required hours must be spent with couples, |
| families, or groups of two (2) or more individuals; or |
| (ii) Has been awarded a doctoral degree and has had a minimum of two (2) years of relevant |
| postgraduate experience, including at least one thousand (1,000) hours of direct client contact offering |
| clinical or counseling or therapy services with emphasis in marriage and family therapy and has completed a |
| marriage and family therapy doctoral program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage |
| and Family Therapy Education; and |
| (ii)(iii) Has had a minimum of one hundred (100) hours of post-degree supervised case |
| work spread over two (2) years; provided, that the supervision was provided by a person who, at |
| the time of rendering the supervision, was recognized by the board as an approved supervisor; and |
| (iii)(iv) Has passed to the satisfaction of the board an examination conducted by it to |
| determine the applicant’s qualifications for licensure as a marriage and family therapist or is |
| applying for licensure under the provisions of § 5-63.2-15. |
| (b) A candidate shall be qualified for licensure as a marriage and family therapist associate, |
| or a marriage and family therapist upon the affirmative vote of at least four (4) members of the |
| board, two (2) of whom must be marriage and family therapists on the board. |
| 5-63.2-15. Licensure by endorsement. |
| (a) A license as a clinical mental health counselor or marriage and family therapist may be |
| issued, in the discretion of the board, without examination, to an applicant who is a clinical mental |
| health counselor where the applicant is licensed or certified in another state whose requirements |
| are equivalent to or exceed the requirements established pursuant to this chapter. |
| (b) A license as a marriage and family therapist may be issued, without examination, to an |
| applicant who is a marriage and family therapist where the applicant is licensed in another state as |
| a marriage and family therapist and has been licensed as a marriage and family therapist in another |
| state for at least one year. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC003825 |
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