20:71:02:11. Approved marriage and family therapy program. Academic requirements to become a marriage and family therapist must be completed through a board approved program. An approved program is:
(1) A program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education;
(2) A program with specialty training in marriage and family counseling or therapy which is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; or
(3) An organized sequence of study in the area of marriage and family therapy that includes graduate course work in each of the following areas:
(a) Marriage and family studies introductory systems theory, family development, family systems (marital, sibling, individual subsystems), special family issues, gender and cultural issues, all with major focus from a systems theory orientation;
(b) Marriage and family therapy advanced systems theory and interventions, major systemic marriage and family treatment approaches, (structural, strategic, neoanalytic (object relations), behavioral marriage and family therapy, communications, sex therapy, etc.);
(c) Human development: At least one course in psychopathology-abnormal behavior is required and at least one course in assessment is required. The third course may be selected from human development (normal and abnormal), personality theory, or human sexuality;
(d) Professional studies: Professional ethics as a therapist including legal and ethical responsibilities and liabilities, family law, etc;
(e) Research: Research course in marriage and family studies and therapy including research design, methodology, statistics; and
(f) Practicum: one year minimum during graduate work: 15 hours per week, approximately eight to ten hours in direct clinical contact with individuals, couples, and families. Minimum of three hundred client contact hours required.
Source: 47 SDR 42, effective October 14, 2020.
General Authority: SDCL 36-33-71.
Law Implemented: SDCL 36-33-43.
