CAMFT MEMBERSHIP EXPLAINED
What CAMFT Membership Category do you belong in?
STUDENT*
- You are enrolled in a graduate level program of study to become a Marriage and Family Therapist (see Becoming a Student Member, below)
- You are enrolled in a graduate level program of study to become a psychologist, social worker, or clinical counsellor, and want to learn how to practice from a systemic perspective.
- You are enrolled in a graduate level program of study to follow some other career path (e.g. nursing, medicine, occupational therapy) and want to learn how to practice from a systemic perspective. Click for more information
AFFILIATE*
- You have completed a Masters’ degree or equivalent, and are in another career (e.g. nursing, medicine, occupational therapy) and want to practice from a systemic perspective.
ASSOCIATE MEMBER
- You have completed a Master's degree or equivalent and are practicing as a Marriage and Family Therapist, or in a related profession
OR
- You are working toward becoming a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist:
- You have completed a graduate program in Marriage and Family Therapy
- You are currently completing academic and/or practice requirements to become a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist as set out by CAMFT Click for more information
REGISTERED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST
- You have completed all academic and practice requirements to qualify as a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist as set out by CAMFT
- Your application has been accepted; you can use the designation RMFT Click for more information
RMFT SUPERVISOR (QUALIFYING)
- You have been practicing as an RMFT for at least two years and you have completed a minimum of 300 hours of direct client contact since attaining that designation
- You have submitted your application to become an RMFT Supervisor (Qualifying)
RMFT SUPERVISOR
- You have completed the academic and practice requirements to become an RMFT Supervisor as set out by CAMFT
OR
- You have obtained a designation as an Approved Supervisor from a CAMFT-approved organization (eg. AAMFT) and work from a systemic perspective.
- Your application has been accepted; you can practice as an RMFT Supervisor and use the designation RMFT(S)
SUPERVISOR MENTORS
- You have practiced as an RMFT Supervisor for at least two year and you have provided a minimum of 75 hours of supervision to a minimum of 5 supervises since becoming an RMFT Supervisor.
RETIRED
- You are no longer working as an MFT, but wish to continue to contribute and be involved as an ‘elder’ in the profession and the CAMFT community
*Student and Affiliates (together) elect a representative to the CAMFT Board, but are non-voting members of CAMFT. Associates and Registered Marriage and Family Therapists, Supervisors Qualifying, Supervisors and Supervisor Mentors are voting members of CAMFT.
DETAILED EXPLANATION OF MEMBERSHIP
PREAMBLE:
CAMFT aspires to promote excellence in the practice of Marriage/Couple and Family Therapy, while at the same time welcoming a diverse array of professionals who seek to integrate systemic perspective and practice in their work. We use the term “Marriage and Family Therapy” as a form of acknowledgment and respect for the pioneers of our field who brought our profession into being. We are an inclusive association that is open and accepting of couples and families in all of their myriad permutations.
To this end, CAMFT has created a variety of categories of membership, and is committed to being open to many approaches and varieties of experience and training.
While our standards of credentialing are rigorous, we strive also to make them accessible. Candidates are encouraged to enter into a process of dialogue and reflection which will enable them to identify the resources they bring to practice from diverse backgrounds and forms of training and experience, as well as the resources they may yet need to practice with autonomy and confidence, joining the ranks of those who promote excellence in the field.
Those who are members in good standing in AAMFT may apply for membership to CAMFT, in the same (or related) category.
- Where provincial or state regulation exists, all CAMFT members who are required to be regulated by their jurisdiction must provide proof of regulation.
- Those who are members of other professional bodies may apply for membership in a category reflective of their training and experience (see below).
- Those who hold provincial or state MFT licenses which are equivalent to CAMFT membership categories may apply for membership in that category (such as the TCF license in Quebec). Applicants who are not residents in Canada may apply to be non-resident members in any category for which they are eligible.
- Candidate demonstrates enrolment in a graduate level program of study to become a Marriage/Couple and Family Therapist, or to practice in a related field.
- This includes:
Candidates in graduate level programs which are specifically designed to train Marriage/Couple and Family Therapists.
Candidates in graduate level programs which include sufficient courses to meet the criteria for Registered Marriage and Family Therapist credentialing (see below).
Candidates in programs which are pre-approved as COAMFTE programs by AAMFT or IFTA’s IACSTE approved programs. FYI: http://www.ifta-familytherapy.org/approvedprograms.html. or https://www.coamfte.org/COAMFTE/Directory_of_Accredited_Programs/MFT_Training_Programs.aspx
Candidates in a graduate level program of study to follow some other career path (e.g. nursing, medicine, occupational therapy, psychology, social work, clinical counselling), wanting to learn how to practice from a systemic perspective.
- Candidate has completed a Masters’ degree or equivalent in another profession (e.g. nursing, medicine, occupational therapy) and wants to practice from a systemic perspective.
- Candidate has completed a Master's’ degree or equivalent and is practicing as a Marriage and Family Therapist, or in a related profession, and is working from a systemic perspective.
OR
- Candidate is currently completing academic and/or practice requirements to become a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist as set out by CAMFT: (see details following)
- has completed a qualifying graduate program in Marriage and Family Therapy (or equivalent), and completed three to five (or more) of the courses to become an RMFT
- has applied to become a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist and has communicated a plan to complete the remaining courses, and is currently completing the required hours of practice and supervision (see details below)
BECOMING A REGISTERED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST
Educational Requirements:
RMFT Section
- A qualifying degree will be defined as “an integrated course of study which includes a minimum of three to five of the required courses (see below) and which is obtained at an educational institution that is affiliated/accredited with/by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
- A qualifying Master's or Doctorate degree from an accredited educational institution where the degree specifies that the graduate has graduated from a Marriage/Couple and Family Therapy program
- A qualifying Master's or Doctorate degree from an accredited educational institution that led them to possess a valid LMFT from an American state or a valid TCF license from the province of Quebec
- A qualifying Master's or Doctorate degree in an allied mental health field from a regionally accredited educational institution.
- The school must be affiliated with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) or be affiliated with an AUCC accredited college or university. See APPENDIX A at the end of this document
- ***Note: ATS schools who meet the educational requirements will be considered eligible
- **For Overseas Applicants: in order for a degree to be considered as a “qualifying graduate degree”, the program needs to be BOTH determined by a credentialing service (member of NACES) to be equivalent to a Canadian graduate degree, and fulfill the educational requirements
- Curriculum Requirements: While the ideal is to complete these curriculum requirements within ten years of completing the relevant degree, it is recognized that many factors may impinge on this ideal. When this is not possible, application can be made for exceptions (e.g. illness, maternity leave, paternity leave, family situation and other extenuating circumstances, etc.)
- In total, eleven courses are required in five basic areas of study (see below) for a total of 33 semester credits.
The equivalent of one course is defined as three semester credits, or 36 didactic contact hours (i.e.lecture/classroom hours).
Recognizing the gravity of First Nations/Indigenous history and current issues for Canadian culture and identity, all candidates who have graduated after 2015 (completion of TRC) will be expected to have awareness of this history and these current issues, how they can be understood through a systemic perspective, and how they would be addressed in treatment.
These candidates are expected to have completed at least one paper or project which explores themes related to Residential School issues in Canada, the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the dynamics of socio-cultural trauma in family systems. All candidates who completed their graduate studies prior to 2015 are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with these topics and issues. (See Continuing Education, below)
Marriage and Family Studies (a minimum of three courses required)
These courses will prepare candidates to understand and conceptualize their clients using systems theory. Candidates should be familiar with and think in systems terms about issues and dynamics present in a wide variety of family structures and a diverse range of presenting issues (e.g., gender and orientation, culture and migration narratives, substance abuse, First Nations and indigenous issues in Canada/North America). Topic areas may include: Systems Theory, Family Development, Blended Families, Gender Issues in Families, Cultural Issues in Families, The Indigenous Worldview and Indigenous Family Dynamics, Residential School Trauma and Recovery, Genocide and Families, Forced Immigration and Family Impacts, Traumatized Families and Intergenerational Impacts.
Marriage and Family Therapy (a minimum of three courses required)
These courses will prepare candidates to grasp and demonstrate their ability to utilize advanced family systems theories and systemic therapeutic interventions as they engage with client couples and families. Candidates will also demonstrate substantive understanding of the major theories of systems change and the applied practices evolving from each theoretical orientation. Major Theoretical Approaches might include: Strategic, Structural, Object Relations Family Therapy, Behavioral Family Therapy, Communications Family Therapy, Intergenerational Family Therapy, and Systemic Sex Therapy, Neurobiology and Trauma-Informed Practice, Traumatology: Types 1, 2 and 3, Culturally-Based Theoretical Approaches and including Safe and Effective Use of Self.
Human Development (a minimum of three courses required)
These courses will prepare candidates to demonstrate knowledge of individual personality development and its normal and abnormal manifestations. Candidates should be conversant in human development across the life span, which includes special issues that affect an individual’s development (i.e. culture, gender, and human sexuality). This material should be integrated with systems concepts. Topic areas may include: Human Development, Child/Adolescent Development, Psychopathology, Personality Theory, Human Sexuality, Attachment as a Precedent for Mental Health in Adults. Test and measurement courses are not accepted toward this area.
Professional Ethics (a minimum of one course required)
This course will prepare candidates to function as ethical professionals in the field of marriage and family therapy. This course should also include exploration of the significance of diversity in the practice of therapy. If the course has been taken in Canada after 2015 it should include an understanding of the resolutions from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Religious ethics courses and moral theology courses are not accepted toward this area.
If the course does not provide opportunity to reflect on the resolutions form the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, applicants are strongly encouraged to attend an additional course, workshop, or training event that focusses on the TRC in order to fulfill this requirement.
Research (a minimum of one course required)
This course will prepare candidates to understand and perform research, demonstrating an ability to read and think critically regarding research in the field of marriage and family therapy. Topic areas may include: Research Methodology, Quantitative, Qualitative Methods, and Statistics.
PRACTICUM REQUIREMENTS
The degree must include a supervised practicum (supervised client contact hours with individuals, couples, and families). A minimum of 150 supervised client contact hours is required. Applicants who did not complete the full 150 hours practicum during their graduate program may document the remaining hours with initial post graduate client contact hours supervised by an CAMFT Approved Supervisor, Supervisor in Training, or by an alternate supervisor pre-approved by CAMFT specifically for that applicant.
N.B. Not all hours can be acquired post-graduation. The degree must include a practicum with at least some hours of client contact.
In the case of programs whose practicum requirements exceed 150 hours, there are two categories:
Programs which are COAMFTE approved: all hours acquired within the program are counted toward the 1000 hours total required to become an RMFT.
Programs which are not COAMFTE approved: the 150 practicum hours must be completed before beginning to acquire the 1000 hours required to become an RMFT
POST-GRADUATE CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
Minimum of two (2) years of professional work experience in marriage and family therapy following receipt of master’s or doctorate degree are required to attain the Registered Marriage and Family Therapist designation. Post-graduate clinical experience includes both client contact and supervision hours, which must be completed/received concurrently. All Clinical work must be supervised by a qualified supervisor (RMFT Supervisor, Supervisor In Training, or by an alternate supervisor pre-approved by CAMFT specifically for that applicant.)
Applicants must receive a minimum of 200 hours of supervision while concurrently providing at least 1,000 hours of client contact in therapy with individuals, couples or families which is demonstrably systemic. At least 100 of the 200 required supervision hours must be individual supervision. (i.e. supervision received one-on-one with the supervisor, or as part of a dyad in which both supervisees participate with their own case material) CAMFT will accept a maximum of 100 hours of group supervision. As mentioned above, graduates of COAMFTE accredited programs must complete 500 client contact hours for their graduate practicum; hours from a COAMFTE program (in excess of the 150 required to complete the student candidacy process) can be used at a ratio of one supervision hour for every five client contact hours toward the post-graduate hour requirement. The two years of professional work experience will still be required.
ALL SUPERVISORS MUST BE PRE-APPROVED
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
The application process (minimum 2 years, maximum 10 years, with option to extend, as negotiated) will include:
Statement of Intention/Learning Contract
– submitted at the time of application
List of courses taken, kept up to date as course requirements are completed
Schedule of supervision, kept up to date, including names and credentials of supervisors
Philosophy of Systemic Practice Statement
– Submitted at the time of evaluation, which includes a personal/professional statement regarding Philosophy of Systemic Practice. (3-5 pages)
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Members will be required to complete at least 16 hours of Professional Development per year to maintain their RMFT status (A typical one-day workshop being regarded as 8 hours in length, unless demonstrably shorter or longer)
These are courses designed to allow family therapists to stay current with the issues impacting couples and families in Canada.
There are 7 categories of CEU's that are acceptable, and can be documented on a Professional Development Log Form which will be provided.
1) Courses provided by CAMFT
2) Courses provided by similar credentialed Marriage/Couple and Family professional associations or organizations:
If the Association or Organization is offering a course which has some overlapping focus or purpose with ours (systemic approaches, cultural differences, relationships, appropriate adjunctive interventions like crisis response, special populations, child and adolescent issues, etc) then the course can be accepted so long as the title appears relevant. egs: IFTA, AAMFT, OAMFT, CAMFT (California).
3) Courses provided by other credentialed organizations if the course title is obviously relevant, has some systemic application or focus, or deals with the needs of special populations. eg: EMDRIA courses that specifically target children couples, families, OPA courses on interventions with First Responders, APA or CPA courses focusing on marriage and family, diversity, etc
4) Individual requests: If the individual member provides a course description and outline from an organization which is not recognized/credentialed and/or without an obvious title that is applicable, then we can review on a case by case basis.
5) Systemic Supervision and Consultation: 1 credit per hour of supervision and/or consultation from a systemic focus which is appropriately documented and signed by the supervisor and consultant who has relevant credentials. The supervision/consultation may be paid or unpaid, but must be within a formal, contracted relationship.
6) Presentations, Teaching, and Trainings in family relationships provided by the member: 1 credit per hour of face-to-face teaching (live or video). The title and course outline or description should be submitted, as well as the school or organization thought which the course or training was given, and where it was given. Credit will be given for the first time a course is taught (or first time used for CEU's for CAMFT), and will only be awarded once per course.
7) Self-Study: Can include 1 credit per hour of first time preparation for a course or training provided by a member, subsequent updates to a course or training, or article written. Bibliography/Reference list submitted with Professional Development Form.
RETIRED MEMBERS
Members in the Retired category are those who are no longer practising, but wish to continue to contribute to and be involved as an ‘elder’ with the profession and the MFT/CAMFT community.
Appendix A
If you completed your graduate degree in the USA your graduate school needs to be accredited by one of these seven major regional accreditation boards to qualify for CAMFT membership:
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), including postsecondary institutions in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, D.C., Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC), including Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), for Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), including four-year colleges in California, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Micronesia, Palau, Northern Marianas Islands, and schools for American children in Asia
- Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, including two-year colleges in California, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Micronesia, Palau, Northern Marianas Islands, and for American children in Asia
These seven accrediting organizations form the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC), which oversees the agencies to ensure accredited public and private colleges and universities are upheld to quality academic standards.
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