MFT Licensure in Texas: What LMFT Associates Need to Know About Supervision

Texas is specific about who can supervise LMFT Associates, and that requirement catches many pre-licensed MFTs off guard.

If you are a Texas LMFT Associate, or about to become one, understand this before you start logging hours: Texas requires your supervision to come from a board-approved supervisor (LMFT-S) recognized by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists. AAMFT Approved Supervisor status alone doesn't meet that requirement, and not every AAMFT Approved Supervisor holds Texas approval.

Supervision with someone who lacks Texas supervisor approval can mean hours that don't count toward your license. That's worth preventing.

Pre-licensed title: LMFT Associate

Total supervised clinical practice: at least 3,000 hours

Direct clinical services: at least 1,500 hours, including at least 500 with couples or families

Supervision: at least 200 hours from an LMFT-S, with at least 100 individual

Minimum time: two years

Weekly supervision: at least one hour per week, except for good cause

Licensing board: Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists, part of the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC)

These requirements come from the Texas Administrative Code (22 Tex. Admin. Code 801.142). One detail matters a great deal for telehealth clinicians: no more than 750 of your 1,500 direct clinical hours can come from technology-assisted services. If your caseload is mostly telehealth, plan for that early.

This is what sets Texas apart among the states where I am licensed.

Most states require your supervisor to hold an active license in the state where you are seeking licensure, and many recognize AAMFT Approved Supervisor status. Texas also requires that your supervisor be approved by the Texas board as an LMFT Supervisor (LMFT-S). The board sets the training and application requirements for that designation (22 Tex. Admin. Code 801.143).

A supervisor can hold the AAMFT credential without ever applying for Texas approval. Before you begin, confirm that your supervisor holds Texas approval.

I hold both: AAMFT Approved Supervisor and Texas board-approved supervisor status (effective December 4, 2024).

Before you log hours with any Texas supervisor, confirm the following.

1. An active Texas LMFT license and LMFT-S designation. You can check license status through the BHEC license verification tools.

2. Texas supervisor approval, specifically. Ask directly, and don't assume AAMFT Approved Supervisor status is enough.

3. A written supervision agreement. Your supervisor should provide one before your first session, covering format, frequency, documentation, and their Texas supervisor information.

4. Documentation. Texas has specific requirements for logging and attesting supervised experience. Your supervisor should know the board's forms and be ready to complete them when you apply for full licensure.

Three thousand supervised hours is a significant commitment, usually two to three years of full-time pre-licensed work and longer if you work part time. With weekly supervision required, you'll meet with your supervisor regularly the whole way.

That length matters when you choose a supervisor. You are choosing someone you'll work with for years, whose clinical thinking will shape yours and whose understanding of your identity will support or limit your growth.

For queer and trans LMFT Associates in Texas, the choice carries extra weight. Texas has a large and growing LGBTQ+ community whose clinical needs are complex. You deserve supervision that prepares you for that work without asking you to leave your identity at the door.

Texas rules allow supervision in person or by live video, and by telephone only when the supervisor determines in-person or video supervision isn't accessible. Your supervisor doesn't have to be located in Texas, but they do need an active Texas LMFT license and LMFT-S status.

That matters for queer and trans LMFT Associates in parts of Texas where affirming supervision is scarce.

For more on telehealth supervision and what to verify, see Telehealth supervision for MFTs: does it count for licensure hours?

I hold an active Texas LMFT license and Texas board-approved supervisor status, and I offer supervision entirely via telehealth with your whole identity at the center of the supervisory relationship.

If you are a Texas LMFT Associate looking for supervision that takes your licensure requirements and your clinical identity seriously, request a session.

For more on Texas, see the Texas supervision page.

Mx. Love C. Dialogos is an LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor, and Texas board-approved supervisor licensed in Texas and twelve other states. Verify AAMFT credential.