MFT Licensure in Alaska: What Associates Need to Know About Supervision

Alaska covers a lot of ground with relatively few marriage and family therapists, which makes supervision access a real question for pre-licensed MFTs there. This guide covers what Alaska requires and what to sort out before you begin.

The figures below come from the Alaska Board of Marital and Family Therapy's compiled statutes and regulations (AS 08.63 and 12 AAC 19), checked in October 2026. Confirm current requirements with the board before you plan your hours.

Pre-licensed status: Alaska issues a license for supervised practice as a marital and family therapy associate. It lasts four years, and the board may extend it for extenuating circumstances (AS 08.63.110).

Clinical contact: 1,700 hours of clinical contact with couples, individuals, and families after your degree (AS 08.63.100).

Supervision: 200 hours, at least 100 of them individual. The remaining 100 can be individual, group, or a mix.

Other requirements: at least six contact hours of domestic violence training, the national MFT exam, and a state written exam.

Alaska is one of the states where the board approves supervisors directly. Each associate also submits a supervision plan for board approval (AS 08.63.110).

For individual supervision, the supervisor must hold a current Alaska MFT license, document five continuous years of practice as a licensed MFT, and have completed at least six contact hours of supervision education in the past two years (12 AAC 19.210). Group supervision can come from other licensed mental health professionals, including licensed professional counselors and psychologists.

Before you begin, confirm your supervisor's approval with the board and get your supervision plan approved. Hours earned outside an approved plan create problems later.

Alaska allows telesupervision. The supervisor needs four hours of teletherapy training, must assess whether telesupervision fits the supervisee, and has to disclose the risks in writing and keep the connection secure (12 AAC 19.210). Supervision means live, synchronous consultation, so recorded or messaging-only formats do not count.

For associates in rural Alaska, telesupervision is often what makes licensure possible.

At 1,700 clinical hours and a four-year license, Alaska's timeline is workable for most associates, but the approval steps take time. Build them into your plan:

• Confirm your supervisor's board approval before your first session
• Submit your supervision plan and wait for approval
• Keep a supervision log from day one, with individual and group hours separated
• Schedule the domestic violence training early so it doesn't hold up your application

Pre-licensed MFTs in Alaska often work across long distances and small communities, where dual relationships and limited referral options are everyday clinical questions. Queer and trans clinicians and clients also carry the weight of small-community visibility. Good supervision makes room for those realities instead of treating them as edge cases.

I hold an active Alaska LMFT license and supervise by telehealth. See the Alaska supervision page for current availability, or request a session.

Mx. Love C. Dialogos is an LMFT and AAMFT Approved Supervisor offering queer-affirming clinical supervision via telehealth, licensed in thirteen states. Verify credential in the AAMFT directory.

• Alaska MFT supervision
• MFT Licensure Hours by State
• Does Telehealth Supervision Count for MFT Licensure Hours?
• How to Track Your MFT Supervision Hours
• How to Choose a Queer-Affirming MFT Supervisor