We are excited to announce another major milestone for the MFT profession. As many of you know, 49 states recognize the Association of Marriage and Family Therapy Regulatory Board's (AMFTRB) Examination in Marital and Family Therapy as the exam graduates seeking a license must pass to become an LMFT in those states. However, in California, applicants for licensure must instead pass another exam, the California LMFT Clinical Exam, to become licensed as an MFT in that state. Having a separate state exam hinders the ability of California LMFTs, including experienced LMFTs, to become licensed in other states, as many states do not allow LMFTs who have passed the California clinical exam to become licensed unless they have passed the AMFTRB national exam.
On May 17th, the licensure board for MFTs in California, the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), considered a proposal to transition from the existing California clinical exam and instead adopt the AMFTRB national exam. Staff from both AAMFT and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT), partners in the Access MFTs initiative, attended this hearing. CAMFT and AAMFT provided comments during this meeting, and we're excited to share some news! During the meeting, the California BBS voted unanimously to recommend transitioning California to the AMFTRB national exam.
However, the journey isn't over yet. While California is moving in this direction, it may take several years for the AMFTRB national exam to become the state's official exam. The California BBS will need to update statutes and regulations and gather additional information from the AMFTRB before final approval and implementation.
A recorded webcast of the meeting from the California BBS can be found here.
We'll continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated! In the meantime, stay tuned for further details as they become available.