About the Board

Board Meeting Schedule | Information | Members | Minutes | Staff

Purpose of Board of Marriage and Family Therapy

Board Mission
The mission of the Board of Marriage and Family Therapy is to protect the public through effective licensure and enforcement of the statutes and rules governing the practice of marriage and family therapists to ensure a standard of competent and ethical practice.  

Board versus Association
The Board is an agency of the State of Minnesota.  Its purpose is to regulate marriage and family therapists.  A board has a different purpose than an association.  The purpose of an association is to provide services and assistance to marriage and family therapists.  The Board, by contrast, ensures that marriage and family therapists meet appropriate standards of professional behavior.  As such, the Board exists to serve the public, not therapists.  The primary goal of the Board is public protection.

Legal Requirements
Because the Board is a state agency, it operates according to laws that are passed by the state legislature.  The legal requirements governing the Board can be found in several statutes including the Board’s Practice Act, which creates the Board and establishes the requirements that applicants and licensees must meet.  See Minnesota Statutes, Sections 148B.01 – 148B.175 and 148B.29 – 148B.39. In addition, Minnesota Statute Chapter 214 establishes requirements for all occupation regulation boards.

Major Board Functions  
Establish and enforce minimum standards of licensure and continuing competency for marriage and family therapists

• Approve applicants for the licensure examinations
  
• Issue and renew licenses
  
• Establish, implement, and enforce standards for supervision
  
• Review and approve continuing education requested by licensees
  
• Review and approve continuing education provider applications

• Receive and investigate complaints against MFTs
  
• Take corrective or disciplinary action as deemed necessary to protect the public
  
• Monitor licensees who are under disciplinary orders and corrective action agreements

• Respond to inquiries from applicants and licensees
  
• Disseminate information via presentations to graduate students, educational seminars, and professional conferences.

• Disseminate information to the public on actions taken by the board
  
• Respond to requests for information from the public about the board’s responsibilities, including how to register a complaint and how the complaint process works

• Respond to inquiries; maintain online verification database
  
• Provide written verification