BECOMING AN ASSOCIATE MEMBER

• Candidate has completed a Masters’ 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  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) 
• Wondering what courses you should take? Have a look at the list of Required Coursework. 

 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  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. If you have an LMFT license and wish to join CAMFT please click here for an application. 
• 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.

Call to Action in English

Call to Action in French

Those candidates (graduating 2015 or later) are expected to have completed at least one paper or project during their studies 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. If this is not the case, applicants are required to submit a 5 - 10 page , double spaced paper,  in which they reflect on the impact of the TRC findings on their understanding of systemic practice, and how they would anticipate engaging in the issues raised by the TRC. All candidates who completed their graduate studies prior to 2015 are likewise strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with these topics and issues. Please click here for a resource list which may help with the TRC requirement. 

REQUIRED COURSEWORK

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  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.

SUPERVISORS MUST BE:

RMFT-SQ, RMFT-S, RMFT-SM. 

AAMFT Approved Supervisors are also accepted.

If your supervisor does not have one of these designations, and you want your supervision hours to count with CAMFT, your supervisor can apply to be an Alternate Supervisor. 

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 

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

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS 

RMFT is the gold standard designation for Couple and Family Therapy practice in Canada. To maintain this standard of excellence we ask all RMFTs to complete 16 hours of Professional Development per year to maintain their RMFT status. This is a means of recognizing all the hard work and training that our RMFTs do every year. Please click here for more information about CEUs. 

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:

1. 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
   
2. New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
   
3. 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.
   
4. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), for Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
   
5. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia
   
6. 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
   
7. 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.