FL H1039

Amends Florida's licensure requirements for marriage and family therapists by establishing specific equivalent education requirements of 36 semester hours or 48 quarter hours of graduate coursework with minimum credits in nine designated areas (dynamics of marriage and family systems, therapy theories and techniques, human development, personality theory, psychopathology, human sexuality, psychosocial theory, and substance abuse).

Requires applicants to complete one graduate-level course of 3 semester hours or 4 quarter hours in legal, ethical, and professional standards, plus one course in diagnosis and assessment, and one course in behavioral research focused on clinical practice application.

Mandates a minimum of 180 direct client contact hours in supervised clinical practicum or internship in a marriage and family counseling setting during graduate training or equivalent supervised practice experience.

Eliminates the education requirements examination for licensure or certification by endorsement under section 491.006, allowing applicants to qualify based on active licensure in another state for 3 of the last 5 years without needing to meet specific coursework requirements.

Takes effect July 1, 2018.