This rule applies to all supervisees who are working toward licensure as independent marriage and family therapists and marriage and family therapists who are applying under rule 4757-25-04 of the Administrative Code. It also applies to marriage and family therapists who are diagnosing and treating mental and emotional disorders under the supervision of an independently licensed mental health professional.
(A) Supervision:
(1) "Clinical supervision" or "work supervision" is supervision required of marriage and family therapists whose practice includes the diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders. This supervision requires the evaluation of the supervisee's performance; professional guidance to the supervisee; approval of the supervisee's intervention plans and their implementation; the assumption of responsibility for the welfare of the supervisee's clients; and assurance that the supervisee functions within the limits of the supervisee's license. The supervisor must have access to the supervisee's client documentation. Supervision must occur on a regular and consistent basis, such that the supervisor can evaluate the client progress and and the performance of the supervisee. The clinical/work supervisor will review the case notes of the marriage and family therapist. The assessment, diagnosis, treatment plan, revisions to the treatment plan, correspondence and transfer or termination of the client(s) shall be approved by the supervisor and shall be made available to the board upon request. Marriage and family therapists shall disclose to their clients on all printed and electronic material that they are under the supervision of an appropriately licensed mental health professional when diagnosing and treating mental and emotional disorders. The supervisee shall on all printed and electronic materials also disclose to their clients the name(s) of said professional(s). The work/clinical supervisor may be subject to discipline when the board determines the supervisor failed to provide proper supervision to a dependent licensee under supervision.
(2) "Training supervision" is supervision applied to all individuals who are gaining the experience required for a license as an independent marriage and family therapist or under rule 4757-25-04 of the Administrative Code for a license as a marriage and family therapist. This type of supervision requires extensive time and involvement on the part of the supervisor in order to help supervisees improve their skills and/or learn new skills, and promote the professional development as a marriage and family therapist. Supervision must start with an initial face to face meeting, which may be conducted via videoconferencing, after which communication may be in person, via videoconferencing, or by phone. Training supervision shall include an average of one hour of contact between the supervisor and supervisee for every twenty hours of work by the supervisee.
(a) "Individual supervision" is board approved supervision that consists of a case-related interactive face-to-face meeting between one supervisor meeting with no more than two supervisees.
(b) "Group supervision" is board approved supervision that consists of a case-related interactive face-to-face meeting with one supervisor and no more than eight supervisees.
(B) Training supervision purposes:
(1) To provide for the protection of consumer and client welfare;
(2) To provide that supervisees function within the limits of their competence;
(3) To enhance professional development of a marriage and family therapist;
(4) To provide training in activities relevant to the supervisee's position and academic background; and
(5) To promote the delivery of services in a non-discriminatory manner.
(C) Requirements for training:
(1) All supervisees engaging in training supervision for licensure as independent marriage and family therapists shall be under supervision of one of the following:
(a) An "American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Approved Supervisor or Supervisor Candidate" who is also licensed in Ohio as one of the following: an independent marriage and family therapist, a professional clinical counselor with training supervision designation, an independent social worker with training supervision designation, psychologist or psychiatrist;
(b) An Ohio licensed independent marriage and family therapist with training supervision designation.
(c) Up to fifty of the required two hundred supervision hours may be earned under the supervision of an Ohio licensed independent social worker with training supervision designation, or an Ohio licensed professional clinical counselor with training supervision designation.
(2) Records of training supervision shall be maintained by the supervisee. and made available to the board upon request. Supervisors have no obligation to maintain supervision records, however supervisors may do so to ensure they are able to properly document supervision hours. The supervision records shall contain information concerning the dates/times of supervision, content and goals of supervision, and shall be signed or acknowledged by the supervisor at least quarterly. The supervision records may be retained on hard copy forms or electronic forms. Logs must be made available to the board upon request.
(3) Upon completion of the required supervision hours to qualify for an independent marriage and family therapist license, the marriage and family therapist shall request that the independent marriage and family therapist with supervision endorsement who last provided training supervision submit all accrued training supervision hours to board using an online evaluation form required by the board to document hours accrued. In submitting the hours, the supervisor shall review the log maintained by the marriage and family therapist and shall consider any notes or recommendations of previous supervisors when submitting the evaluation. The training supervisor shall complete the online evaluation form and submit it to the board within thirty days of receipt of the request from the supervisee. In submitting the hours, the supervisor is not obligated to provide a recommendation for independent licensure if the supervisor has determined the supervisee is not qualified at that time for independent practice. Supervisors who fail to timely submit supervision hours upon a request by a supervisee may be subject to disciplinary action. The evaluation may not be submitted to the board prior to the supervisee completing training supervision requirements.
(4) Request for exceptions due to hardship shall be made in writing to the board. The supervisor shall have demonstrated competence in the area in which he/she is supervising and have training in legal and ethical issues relevant to marriage and family therapy.
(5) Training supervisees may not choose a supervisor who is a family member.
(6) Supervised marriage and family therapist experience obtained out of state may count toward the supervised experience requirement. Applicants shall request such consideration in writing from the marriage and family therapist professional standards committee. Supervisees presenting supervision experience from another state shall provide documentation that the supervisor is equivalent to the requirements of paragraph (C)(1)(a) or (C)(1)(b) of this rule.
(D) Work supervision of marriage and family therapists practicing in a clinical setting shall be under the supervision of an independent marriage and family therapist, a professional clinical counselor, an independent social worker with a clinical area of competence, a psychologist, or psychiatrist.
(E) Supervision of marriage and family therapists owning a solo private practice.
(1) A marriage and family therapist may be in solo private practice. A marriage and family therapist who is diagnosing and treating mental and emotional disorders must receive clinical/work supervision.
(2) The clinical/work supervisor may be a licensed independent social worker, licensed professional clinical counselor, independent marriage and family therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist.
(3) Clinical/work supervision shall be conducted on a regular basis in accordance with paragraph (A)(1) of this rule. The clinical/work supervisor must have access to the marriage and family therapist's client documentation. The clinical/work supervisor will review the case notes of the marriage and family therapist. The clinical/work supervisor is ultimately responsible for client care. The clinical/work supervisor will sign off of any diagnosis, change in diagnosis, and treatment plan.
(4) An independent marriage and family therapist with supervision endorsement may provide both the clinical/work supervision and the training supervision. In such instances, the independent marriage and family therapist with supervision designation and marriage and family therapist should establish a clear understanding of the supervision expectations, which may include a written contract.
(F) An independent marriage and family therapist may provide clinical/work supervision to licensees of the Ohio chemical dependency professionals board when such licensees are working solely with substance use disorder clients. The independent marriage and family therapist who does so must have the appropriate education, training and supervised experience in substance use disorder practice.
(G) A marriage and family therapist, when working with solely substance use disorder clients, but not dual-diagnosis clients, may be supervised a licensed independent chemical dependency counselor or licensed independent chemical dependency counselor clinical supervisor licensed by the Ohio chemical dependency professionals board.
(H) Requirements for marriage and family therapy professional training in supervision to qualify for a training supervision designation:
(1) After January 1, 2015, only independent marriage and family therapists who have obtained a training supervision designation may provide training supervision.
(2) Applicants for a training supervision designation after January 1, 2015 shall apply on forms required by the board and shall meet at least one of the following:
(a) An applicant who is an AAMFT approved supervisor who holds an Ohio independent marriage and family therapist license in good standing; or
(b) An applicant who holds an Ohio independent marriage and family therapist license in good standing and can document at least the following requirements:
(i) Two years post-licensure clinical experience as an independent marriage and family therapist; and
(ii) Completion of the AAMFT thirty hour supervision course, or an equivalent course approved by the MFT professional standards committee.
(3) All independent marriage and family therapists with training supervision designation who have not previously completed the AAMFT thirty hour supervision course or AAMFT supervision refresher course shall maintain their supervision designation status by obtaining three hours in an AAMFT approved supervision refresher course approved by the MFT professional standards committee or equivalent supervision course prior to renewal. All independent marriage and family therapists with training supervision designation who have previously completed the AAMFT thirty hour supervision course or AAMFT supervision refresher course, provided they can show evidence of completion, shall complete three hours every renewal cycle in any supervision course that is approved by this board for marriage and family therapists, and which includes ethics of supervision.
(4) All independent marriage and family therapists with training supervision designation who are actively registered as an AAMFT approved supervisor in good standing shall, upon renewal of their license, provide evidence to the board of their active status with AAMFT, and shall not be required to complete three hours of supervision continuing education to maintain their training supervision designation.
Last updated July 2, 2024 at 10:38 AM