Note: this page does not constitute professional
advice. You should seek advice from a qualified professional
before embarking on a course of action.
Once “the land of the free”,
the USA is now “the land of the restrictive practices”. In
many US states, you need to be licensed by the State in order
to practice as a “counselor” or “therapist”.
The requirements vary by State, so check
your State’s statutes. Here is a state-by-state list: http://www.aascb.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=16
If your State controls the practice of counseling
or the use of the word “counselor”, you could:
1. Undertake extra training. Some states
require 3000+ supervised clinical experience hours. And some
counsellors find this difficult to meet this requirement.
2. Call yourself an adviser or a coach. This
may not be acceptable in some states.
3. Relocate to a state that doesn’t
have controls.
Excerpt from Florida’s statute. We include
this here to demonstrate how specific the rules can be.
8) The "practice of marriage
and family therapy" is defined as the use of scientific
and applied marriage and family theories, methods, and procedures
for the purpose of describing, evaluating, and modifying
marital, family, and individual behavior, within the context
of marital and family systems, including the context of marital
formation and dissolution, and is based on marriage and family
systems theory, marriage and family development, human development,
normal and abnormal behavior, psychopathology, human sexuality,
psychotherapeutic and marriage and family therapy theories
and techniques.
The practice of marriage and family therapy
includes methods of a psychological nature used to evaluate,
assess, diagnose, treat, and prevent emotional and mental
disorders or dysfunctions (whether cognitive, affective,
or behavioral), sexual dysfunction, behavioral disorders,
alcoholism, and substance abuse.
The practice of marriage and family therapy
includes, but is not limited to, marriage and family therapy,
psychotherapy, including behavioral family therapy, hypnotherapy,
and sex therapy. The practice of marriage and family therapy
also includes counseling, behavior modification, consultation,
client-centered advocacy, crisis intervention, and the provision
of needed information and education to clients, when using
methods of a psychological nature to evaluate, assess, diagnose,
treat, and prevent emotional and mental disorders and dysfunctions
(whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral), sexual dysfunction,
behavioral disorders, alcoholism, or substance abuse.
The practice of marriage and family therapy
may also include clinical research into more effective psychotherapeutic
modalities for the treatment and prevention of such conditions.
(a) Marriage and family therapy
may be rendered to individuals, including individuals affected
by termination of marriage, to couples, whether married or
unmarried, to families, or to groups.
(b) The use of specific methods,
techniques, or modalities within the practice of marriage
and family therapy is restricted to marriage and family therapists
appropriately trained in the use of such methods, techniques,
or modalities.
(c) The terms "diagnose" and "treat," as
used in this chapter, when considered in isolation or in
conjunction with any provision of the rules of the board,
shall not be construed to permit the performance of any act
which marriage and family therapists are not educated and
trained to perform, including, but not limited to, admitting
persons to hospitals for treatment of the foregoing conditions,
treating persons in hospitals without medical supervision,
prescribing medicinal drugs as defined in chapter 465, authorizing
clinical laboratory procedures pursuant to chapter 483, or
radiological procedures, or use of electroconvulsive therapy.
In addition, this definition shall not be construed to permit
any person licensed, provisionally licensed, registered,
or certified pursuant to this chapter to describe or label
any test, report, or procedure as "psychological," except
to relate specifically to the definition of practice authorized
in this subsection.
(d) The definition of "marriage
and family therapy" contained in this subsection includes
all services offered directly to the general public or through
organizations, whether public or private, and applies whether
payment is requested or received for services rendered.
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