Pathways toward Professional Membership

Licensure or Registration Pathway

Individuals applying under this pathway need to meet the following criteria:

• Working toward licensure or possess a current State/Provincial License as a Marriage and Family Therapist as accepted by AAMFT or 
• Working toward licensure or possess a current State/Provincial License in one of the following mental health professions: Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry, Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, Professional Counseling, Psychiatric Nursing, or Psychotherapy that has been accepted by AAMFT. 

Currently, AAMFT is accepting applications from individuals who hold MFT or related mental health field license or registration to practice from the following international regulatory boards. This is not an exhaustive list and AAMFT will continue to review current and potential agencies to ensure that they meet basic education and clinical training standards for clinical practice in their respective jurisdictions.   

• Psychology Board of Australia 
• College of Alberta Psychologists 
• Alberta College of Social Workers 
• British Columbia College of Social Workers 
• College of Psychologists of British Columbia 
• Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers 
• Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers 

Membership in Professional Association 

AAMFT currently recognizes active membership in some professional associations outside the United States as meeting the requirements for Professional membership. This is not an exhaustive list and AAMFT will continue to review current and potential professional associations to ensure that they meet basic education and clinical training standards for clinical practice in their respective jurisdictions. 

• Ordinary Member of the CIM of European Family Therapy Association (EFTA)  
• Fellow member of the Asian Academy of Family Therapy (AAFT) 
  
• Clinical and Associate member of the Malaysian Marriage & Family Therapy Association (MyMFT)

Evaluative Pathway 

Individuals applying under this pathway should meet the following criteria:

Educational Requirement:

• Master’s or Doctoral degree with related coursework in MFT or mental health field from an accredited institution, that can reasonably be considered towards the Clinical Fellow designation. 
• A qualifying graduate degree will be defined as “an integrated course of study which must include five (5)  courses) courses from any of the five core educational requirement areas (Marriage and Family Studies, Marriage and Family Therapy, Human Development, Professional Ethics, and Research). 
• Must successfully complete any 8 of the 11 required courses in five core requirement areas outlined in the AAMFT curriculum guidelines, either during their graduate program or in a post-degree training program accepted by AAMFT. 

• Must demonstrate completion of a clinical practicum or post-degree clinical experience in marriage and family therapy or related mental health field. 
• All supervision hours for international systemic family therapist applicants must be supervised by a current AAMFT Approved Supervisor.

Documents to be submitted:

• Application form including the statement of professional ethics. 

School provided official transcript in English verifying degree completion with coursework, practicum, and post-degree clinical experience. If the transcript is not in English, it will have to go through a credential evaluation service.

Click here to download the PDF of the Evaluative Pathway Application.

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