New York State is highlighted by its diverse geography made up of tourist sites and breathtaking views, especially those of New York City. Known for its mass transportation, bustling streets, eateries, skyscrapers and bright billboards, New York City has the highest population of any city in the nation and is regarded as the largest metropolitan area in the world. These exciting and notable factors not only make New York such a desirable travel destination for many, but also an economically booming district for business, including mental health professionals.
The state just released their first ever mental health report to the general public, depicting that 1 in 4 New Yorkers experience a mental health disorder within their lifetime. In an area as densely habited as New York City, quality access to mental health services, like the type Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) provide, is absolutely necessary.
Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) students can look forward to New York’s many higher education institutions such as Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, a program that has been consistently rated as one of the best in the nation for the past 60 years. Ivy League schools like Cornell University and Columbia University offer degree equivalent programs that focus on clinical psychology, family studies and overall mental health counseling, adequately preparing students for potential careers in MFT.
New York State recognizes the practice of MFT as made up of diagnosing, assessing and treating (through the use of psychotherapeutic techniques) mental, emotional and behavioral disorders that contribute to dysfunctional interpersonal relationships. This allows for LMFT’s in the state of New York to work in various settings in support of individuals, couples, families and even groups.
Steps to Becoming an MFT in New York State
To become an LMFT in the state of New York, applicants must receive both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in MFT or an allied health program that provides an equivalent curriculum. Then, students gain clinical experience during their graduate studies and/or post-education where they are supervised in conducting individual, couple and family therapy. The final step is accumulating experiential hours working in an agency setting as an MFT and having all of this supervised documentation submitted and verified by the state board who will potentially grant you permission to take the MFT National Exam. Achieving a passing score awards candidates with full licensure in marriage and family therapy in the state of New York.
Step 1. Education
Undergraduate Studies
Like most states, New York requires that LMFT candidates start off by obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in a social science such as psychology. The topics a psychology undergraduate degree typically covers are clinical research, evaluations and assessments, scientific writing, reading, statistical analysis as well as general learning and awareness of mental health issues.
For individuals who have already obtained a bachelor’s degree in an area of study unrelated to psychology, graduate programs may provide guides for additional coursework that can be completed to become eligible to apply to an MFT graduate program. If this part of the licensure journey directly applies to you, it is best to reach out to the appropriate departments at the university or college of interest to gain more direction.
Graduate Studies
Candidates for MFT licensure in New York state must have a higher education degree in MFT or an allied health field. However, New York does offer three methods of meeting educational requirements within this stage;
- Obtain a Master’s or Doctoral degree in MFT that meets the following criteria to be considered “licensure qualifying” by the New York Education Department’s Office of Professions (NYSED):
- Accredited by the Commission of Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy (COAMFTE) or another acceptable accreditation agency.
- Not accredited though are deemed by the NYSED as a substantial equivalent
- Applicants can search through this website to check if their graduate school is listed.
- Earn a Master’s degree or higher in a program in an allied mental health field. Some examples of this include psychology, social work or counseling).
- Complete a higher education program somewhere outside of the U.S. and its territories provided that it effectively prepares students for a career in MFT, is recognized by civil authorities of that specific jurisdiction and can be verified by NYSED as equivalent to a licensure qualifying program.
All students, prior to becoming eligible to practice MFT, must complete state-specific training in child abuse identification and reporting. Most education programs in New York have this training built into their curriculum, however, those that received a degree outside of the state can take a course on this topic online.
Since 2023, New York State government has made impactful strides in increasing access to mental health services through emergency psychiatric programs, inpatient and outpatient centers, behavioral health clinics and care management teams. This initiative is transformative for students as it provides countless job, training and internship opportunities for people pursuing MFT as a profession.
Optional Step 2a. Marriage and Family Therapy Permit
New York State, similar to its tri-state neighbors, issues qualifying MFT candidates who have completed the educational requirements as students and plan to gain post-graduate experience, with a limited permit that allows for them to provide therapy services while supervised. Limited permits are only issued to clinicians that are working in non-private practice settings (example: agencies) and are valid for one year (unless more time is needed to accrue hours for licensure).
It is important to note that the limited permit is not a mandatory step towards licensure as some students may receive all of the hours necessary (1,500) to apply for licensure during their time in graduate school.
Step 2b. Marriage and Family Therapy License (LMFT) Requirements
Clinicians can apply for full licensure by providing documents to the New York state board that show their fulfillment of the requirements below:
1,500 client contact hours in MFT practice, which can be obtained by participating in a licensure qualifying education program (must be MFT) that offers internship and/or externship clinical experience or by practicing supervised under a limited permit issued by the department post-grad.
- 150 hours of direct supervision by a board approved supervisor (at a rate of 2 hours for every 40 a clinician works).
- Half of the required supervisory hours can be in a group setting.
- Candidates can earn anywhere from 500 to 1,8000 hours each year
- Stay at the same clinical setting for at least three to six months
- At least 1,500 of these hours have to be direct service work which refers to when a clinician is actively conducting assessments, providing consultations as well as providing psychoeducation and therapy services.
- Supervisor must provide at least one hour per week or four hours per month of individual or group supervision.
The most important part of this stage of pursuing licensure, as emphasized by New York state, is gaining valuable supervision in MFT. Therefore, all supervisors must be certified to review your assessment and treatment of clients while also providing professional guidance, consultation and direction as you learn and practice skills of an MFT.
Applicant’s with Doctoral Degrees
Those interested in obtaining an MFT license and already hold a doctoral degree must accomplish 2,400 hours of direct client contact required.1,200 of these hours must be obtained after having received the doctoral degree.
Within all of these different licensure tracks, no more than 1,500 hours may be group supervised, meaning that individual supervision should be the primary form of educational and training guidance provided.
The official website of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania details the specific rules, regulations and terms within these steps of licensure.
Step 3. National Exam
At this highly anticipated stage, applicants are ready to submit all of their documentation to the New York state board to determine eligibility to take the MFT National Exam. If you are eligible, the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board (AMFTRB) will send you a letter via email stating so and provide you with further instructions on how you can go about paying the necessary fee and scheduling your exam date.
In New York, the MFT National Exam can be taken while working under a limited permit or anytime after graduation, as long as educational and clinical experience requirements are met.
There are 6 core competency areas covered within the national MFT exam that applicants should be prepared to study and become familiar with (it is recommended to study for at least 4-6 weeks prior to taking exam):
- The Practice of Systemic Therapy
- Assessing, Hypothesizing and Diagnosing
- Designing and Conducting Treatment
- Evaluating Ongoing Process and Terminating Treatment
- Managing Crisis Situations
- Maintaining Ethical, Legal and Professional Standards
Maintaining Licensure:
It is essential that LMFT’s in New York state continue to be educated, maintain professional liability insurance and renew their license (by fee) every three years. These make up the ethical, legal and clinical standards that LMFT’s must adhere while practicing therapy in a landscape as evolving as New York. LMFT’s in New York also have the opportunity to participate in the unique training and certification programs the state has to offer to truly hone their professional craft.
The continuing education requirement for LMFT’s in New York state is 36 hours every three years. 12 of these hours can be completed through what the state describes as “self-study” means.
The amount of MFT licenses that have been issued in the state has more than doubled since 2019, further signifying how well New York is recognizing the tremendous value and need of mental health professionals while also supporting the professional growth of MFT’s in the state.
