As a faculty member in the Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral program at Virginia Tech, I support expansion of this petition to count hours of supervised experience toward residency. Counting supervised hours, accumulated in doctoral study, toward residency will facilitate training and licensure. I would like to reference another petition for comparision (Petition 254, filed 3/10/2017, Hours of residency in counseling), and request that the board consider approval of up to 900 direct or indirect hours and up to 100 supervision hours for those pursuing licensure in VA as an LMFT from a doctoral program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). 

Petition 254 Summary:

Purpose: The proposed regulatory action will allow persons who have obtained a doctoral degree in counseling to become licensed with a smaller number of postgraduate hours in a supervised residency. It will accelerate the licensure process for those candidates and will allow them to provide counseling services in independent practice more quickly. Since the practicum or internship hours are within a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) program and under the supervision of credentialed faculty, the board is assured of appropriate oversight to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

Substance: The proposed amendments, requested per a petition for rulemaking, provide that supervised practicum and internship hours in a CACREP-accredited doctoral counseling program may be accepted for up to 900 direct or indirect hours and up to 100 supervision hours if the professor or supervisor has an active professional counselor license.