AAMFT Designations

Clinical Fellow Designation

The Clinical Fellow designation is granted to Professional Members of AAMFT who have met the highest level of MFT licensure in the United States or have been reviewed and approved as having met AAMFT standards for education in MFT or systemic family therapy as well as rigorous standards of training in marriage and family therapy. This designation must be renewed every 2 years by submitting proof of 20 hours of continuing education which includes 3 hours of professional ethics and 1 hour devoted to cultural competence.

The following are standard criteria for Clinical Fellow Designation:

Licensure Pathway
Membership: Applicants must be a current AAMFT Professional - Full Member.

Licensure: Clinical Fellow designation applicants must possess the highest license as a Marriage and Family Therapist granted by a regulatory agency in the United States as recognized by AAMFT. The license must be active at the time of application.

Click here to download the PDF of the Licensure Pathway Clinical Fellow Designation form if you are a current Professional - Full member who would like to add the Clinical Fellow Designation to your membership (applies to those whose Clinical Memberships were not current or who were not Clinical Members during the membership changes on June 1, 2021).

Evaluative Pathway

Membership: Applicants must be a current AAMFT Professional Member.

Education Requirement:

• An accredited master’s or doctoral degree in Marriage and Family Therapy or related mental health field. Must successfully complete the eleven required courses in five core areas: Marriage and Family Studies,
• Marriage and Family Therapy, Human Development, Professional Ethics, and Research
• Practicum: 300 client contact hours that have been supervised during the graduate degree program. Graduates that do not complete a total of 300 client contact hours during their graduate degree program, will be able to submit the remaining hours with post-degree clinical work experience with appropriate documentation.
• Post-Degree Clinical Requirements: a minimum of two-years of professional work experience in marriage and family therapy. During the two-year period, applicants must document a minimum of 1,000 client contact hours concurrently with 200 hours of supervision (100 of the 200 supervision hours must be individual supervision). All post-master’s clinical work must be supervised by an AAMFT Approved Supervisor or supervisor candidate. Alternate supervisors may be considered on a case-by-case basis if the supervisor meets the minimum education, clinical training, and supervision experience in marriage and family therapy.

Click here to download the PDF of the Evaluative Clinical Fellow Application.

Membership Consultation

As a prospective member or current member of AAMFT you might have questions about the membership application process.  What courses are acceptable toward the educational requirements? Or if a current or past supervisor would be accepted toward the clinical requirements for membership. The AAMFT membership evaluation staff are here to assist you. Click here for more information and schedule a consultation.

Approved Supervisor Designation

An AAMFT Approved Supervisor Designation is the highest and the most prestigious designation in the marriage and family therapy field. Our Approved Supervisors fulfill stringent education and clinical training requirements to achieve this designation and serve as mentors in helping the next generation of marriage and family therapists.

Approved Supervisors serve as ‘supervisors’ to graduates students and MFT trainees and as ‘mentors’ to supervisor candidates, providing clinical and supervision training to help them achieve the adequate knowledge, skills and expertise toward their licensure and supervision certification. The Designation is accepted and acknowledged by most states of USA and provinces of Canada, and some of the state licensing boards require supervision from AAMFT Approved Supervisor for MFT licensure. 

In addition to being supervisors to graduate students and MFT trainees and mentors to supervisor candidates, AAMFT Approved Supervisor could also become pre-approved instructors to teach AAMFT supervision courses. For more information of how to become an AAMFT approved instructors, please visit our website.

Supervision is more than a designation. Becoming an AAMFT Approved Supervisor demonstrates a strong commitment to developing one’s skills as well as helping the next generation of marriage and family therapists. AAMFT extends its appreciation and congratulates the Approved Supervisor for their dedication in helping our next generation of MFTs.

The Approved Supervision Designation: Standards Handbook  delineates the requirements, training, responsibilities and guidelines for the designation. For further details about the Approved Supervisor Designation program, please go to the AAMFT Approved Supervisor Resources page.

Approved Supervisor Consultation

Current AAMFT Approved Supervisors or AAMFT members who are currently in training for the AAMFT Approved Supervisor designation, or who are planning to become an AAMFT Approved Supervisor in the future, can consult with AAMFT’s Approved Supervisor Designation Manager regarding any questions you may have about the AAMFT Approved Supervisor standards, pre-requisites and requirements for the designation, maintaining and renewing the designation, clarification on the Approved Supervisor handbook, etc.   

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to reach out to central@aamft.org or call (703) 838-9808.