COAMFTE

COAMFTE's mission is to promote best practices for Marriage and Family Therapy educational programs through the establishment, review and revision of accreditation standards and policies, and the accreditation of graduate and post-graduate educational programs.

Specialized accreditation of marriage and family therapy programs is a public service that aims to:

• encourage programs to continue their own self-study and development; and

• indicate that programs are meeting established standards and their own stated objectives.

This specialized accreditation is both a process and a condition. The process, or the act of accrediting, entails assessing a program's operations through compliance with specified professional standards developed by a national consensus of professionals in the field. The condition, or the state of being accredited, provides a credential to the public which attests that a program has accepted and is fulfilling its commitment to educational quality.

The COAMFTE works cooperatively with its parent organization, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), state licensing and certification boards, and the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB). The COAMFTE program educational standards often serve as the foundation for the development of individual credentialing requirements. The accreditation process is a voluntary process that requires self-study by the program, an on-site review by a selected group of peers, and a review and decision by the COAMFTE to determine compliance with accreditation standards. Once a program has become accredited, it is required to submit annual reports demonstrating continued compliance with standards. Accredited programs are reviewed at least every six years.

Visit the COAMFTE webpage to learn more!