SECTION 86:15-13-4. Continuing education

(a)   Purpose. The purpose of the requirements in this Section is to establish the continuing education requirements necessary for license renewal.

(b)   Number of hours required.

(1)   Licensees shall complete and furnish documentation to the Board of twenty (20) clock hours of acceptable continuing education per year. One college credit hour is equal to fifteen (15) clock hours.

(2)   A minimum of three (3) clock hours of continuing education hours must be in mental health ethics from programs pre-approved by the Board or its designee. Continuing education in mental health ethics is acceptable as meeting the pre-approval requirements by the Board when the continuing education program:

(A)   Addresses ethics issues specifically pertaining to the practice of therapy, as defined in Section 1925.2(7) of this Act;

(B)   Addresses regulations as promulgated in Subchapter 3 of this Chapter; and

(C)   Meets all requirements of subsections (b) through (e) of OAC 86:15-13-4 of this Chapter.

(D)   Beginning renewal year 2009, the three clock hours of mental health ethics continuing education must be accrued in a face-to-face setting.

(E)   Current LMFT Board members shall receive clock hours of acceptable continuing education in mental health ethics for attendance and participation in Board or Committee meetings.

(3)   Approved LMFT Supervisors are required to complete a minimum of three (3) clock hours of continuing education in therapy supervision specific to Oklahoma law provided by the Board or its designee. Continuing education in Therapy Supervision is acceptable as meeting the pre-approval requirements by the Board when the continuing education program:

(A)   Addresses issues specifically related to the practice of therapy supervision pursuant to regulations promulgated in Subchapter 9 of this Chapter; and

(B)   Contains content in one or more of the following knowledge areas:

(i)   Overview of a supervision model;

(ii)   Supervisors' areas of focus and roles in supervision;

(iii)   Supervisors' process and practical application;

(iv)   Ethical dilemmas involved in therapy supervision;

(v)   Methods of effectively addressing and preventing ethical dilemmas in therapy supervision;

(vi)   Overview of AAMFT standards of supervision; or

(vii)   Overview of Oklahoma LMFT Rules and Regulations regarding therapy supervision; and

(C)   Meets all requirements of subsections (b) through (e) of OAC 86:15-13-4 of this Chapter.

(c)   Acceptable continuing education. Continuing education is acceptable to the Board when it:

(1)   approximates the content of any of the academic areas listed under Subchapter 5 of this Chapter and;

(2)   is presented by a person who meets one of the following qualifications:

(A)   is licensed or certified by therapy related professions;

(B)   is a licensed or certified member of a non-therapy field (i.e. medicine, law) if the content of the presentation is therapy related and falls within the presenter's area of training;

(C)   has experience teaching, at the graduate level, in a regionally accredited college or university from any of the knowledge areas listed in OAC 86:15-5-3 of this Chapter;

(D)   the person is presenting or has presented at a national mental health conference provided by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), American Psychological Association (APA), American Counseling Association (ACA), or any of its divisions, National Association for Social Workers (NASW), the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC), or other nationally recognized professional organization in the mental health field;

(E)   is presenting in a program sponsored or provided by a state or federal government agency with responsibility for mental health and substance abuse services; and

(3)   takes place in the context of one of the following:

(A)   a college course, in-service training, institute, seminar, workshop, conference or a Board pre-approved technology-assisted distance learning or home-study course;

(B)   a national mental health conference provided by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), American Psychological Association (APA), American Counseling Association (ACA), or any of its divisions, National Association for Social Workers (NASW), the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC), or other nationally recognized professional organization in the mental health field;

(C)   a program approved or offered by a state or federal government agency with responsibility for mental health and substance abuse services; or

(D)   Board or Committee meetings, for current Board members.

(d)   Continuing education accrual from teaching. Continuing education may also be accrued when the LMFT teaches in programs such as institutes, seminars, workshops, and conferences, when the content conforms to OAC 86:15-13-4(c) of this subchapter, provided that such teaching is not required as part of the LMFT's regular employment. Two hours of C.E. is credited for each hour taught.

(e)   Continuing education accrual from technology-assisted distance learning or home-study courses. Continuing education may be accrued when the LMFT completes technology-assisted distance learning or home-study programs that are approved by the Board. No more than ten (10) hours of continuing education may be accrued per renewal period through technology-assisted distance learning or home-study courses.

(f)   Professional audience. Continuing education, whether received or presented by the LMFT must be targeted toward a professional audience.

(g)   Documentation of attendance. LMFT's shall retain verification of attendance documents for all C.E. hours claimed for a period of two (2) years. Acceptable C.E. verification of attendance documents are:

(1)   an official continuing education validation form furnished by the presenter, or,

(2)   a letter on the sponsoring presenter's letterhead giving the name of the program, location, dates, subjects taught, total number of hours attended, participant's name and presenter's name and credentials, or,

(3)   an official college transcript showing courses or audit credit, or

(4)   (For teaching) a letter on sponsoring agency's letterhead giving the name of the program, location, dates, subject taught and total number of hours taught.

(h)   Submission of continuing education roster. LMFT's shall submit a Continuing Education Roster, on official Board forms, (not individual verification of attendance documents) with the license renewal fee. Rosters may be obtained from the LMFT office. The Continuing Education Roster shall include the name of the licensee, signature and signature date of the licensee, total clock hours of workshop(s), name of workshop(s), sponsoring agency of workshop, date of workshop, and the number of hours of each workshop. Only C.E. accrued in the preceding license renewal period is acceptable.

(i)   Audit of continuing education submissions. In November of each year, the Board will randomly select from two (2) to twenty-five (25) percent of the number of LMFT's on active status the previous year for an audit of their claimed Continuing Education credits. These selected LMFT's must then provide the Board with verification of all credits claimed on their Continuing Education Roster on or before the renewal deadline. The Board may, at its discretion, audit and require verification of any credits claimed which it may consider questionable or fraudulent.

(j)   Penalty for failure to submit continuing education. Failure to fulfill the C.E. requirement by the renewal date renders the license in suspension. All rights granted by the license are null and void until the requirement is fulfilled and a late renewal fee is paid. The LMFT has 12 months from the date of suspension to become reinstated. If not reinstated, the license shall be revoked.

(k)   Submission of fraudulent continuing education. The submission of fraudulent C.E. hours will be reviewed by the License Committee for disciplinary action and may result in suspension or revocation of license.

(l)   Responsibility. The licensee is ultimately responsible for providing or arranging for sponsors to provide the information necessary for the Board to make a determination of the suitability of the program for continuing education requirements.

(m)   Continuing Education Rosters for LMFT Approved Supervisors.

(1)   Effective January 1,2020, approved LMFT Supervisors are required to complete a minimum of three (3) clock hours of continuing education in therapy supervision each renewal period. Approved Supervisor designation will not be renewed until the continuing education requirement for each missed renewal period is met.

(2)   Every year, LMFT Approved Supervisors are required to submit three (3) hours of continuing education in therapy supervision on the LMFT Approved Supervisor Continuing Education Roster.

(3)   The LMFT Approved Supervisor Continuing Education Roster shall include name of licensee, signature and signature date of licensee, total clock hours of workshop(s), name of therapy supervision workshop, sponsoring agency of workshop(s), date of workshop(s), and number of hours of each workshop.

(4)   If continuing education requirement is not met within five (5) years of expiration, approved supervisor status will be permanently expired and the LMFT must apply and meet the requirements in Subchapter 9, including the retaking of 86:15-9-3(a)(2)(B) to become an approved supervisor.

[Source: Added at 32 Ok Reg 159, eff 4-23-14 (emergency); Added at 32 Ok Reg 1569, eff 9-11-15; Amended at 36 Ok Reg 500, eff 7-25-19; Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1032, eff 9-11-20]