Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) Internships

All prerequisite courses are non-negotiable and must be successfully completed prior to the start of internship.

• Background Check: Students must purchase a background check through DISA HealthCare Technology (formerly American Databank) within no more than one year before applying for each fieldwork semester.
• Fingerprints: Students must have purchased and completed fingerprints before applying for internship I.
• GPA: Students must have a 3.0 cumulative GPA before applying for each fieldwork semester.

• MMFT 692 Course Prerequisites
  • Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT 500)
  • Professional Identity, Ethics, and Legal Issues in MFT (MMFT 501)
  • Family Life Cycle Development (MMFT 502)
  • Cultural and Contextual Diversity in MFT (MMFT 504)
  • Theoretical Foundations of Systematic Therapy (MMFT 510)
  • Marriage and Family Therapy I: Foundations of Systematic Family Therapy (MMFT 601)
  • Systematic Diagnosis and Treatment (MMFT 667)
• MMFT 693 Course Prerequisites
  • Marriage and Family Therapy II: Contemporary Approaches and Complex Family Systems (MMFT 602)
  • Marriage and Family Internship I (MMFT 692)
• MMFT 694 Course Prerequisites
  • Marriage and Family Internship II (MMFT 693)

Internship I, II, III Minimum Total Hours

• Please see Marriage and Family Therapy Fieldwork manual for all Hour Requirements.
• Students should check with their state counseling board for requirements specific to their state.

Telehealth and In-Person Counseling Policy

• Please see Marriage and Family Therapy Fieldwork Manual for the Telehealth and In-Person Counseling Policy. 

Video Recording Requirement

• Please see Marriage and Family Therapy Fieldwork Manual for the Video Recording Requirement.

Please note that all students are responsible to keep a record/copy of their verification of final hours form for licensure purposes.

Internship Opportunities

State Site Lists: The sites listed on the state site lists have previously executed Affiliation Agreements with the Fieldwork Office. However, placement at one of these sites is not automatically approved. Each site must still undergo review and receive approval through the individual student’s application process to ensure it meets all program requirements. Final approval is granted by the Fieldwork Office.

• On average, finding a site and supervisor takes at least three to four months.
• Students are allowed a maximum of two sites.
• Internship sites for Marriage and Family Therapy students must offer Group Supervision.
• Students are not permitted to do in-home/home-based counseling.

Types of sites that can be considered for internship:

• Counseling Agency
• Hospital
• Private Practice
• University Counseling Center
• Community Services Board
• School*

*If you are seeking to see clients at a school under your clinical site:

• Final approval is determined by the Fieldwork Office upon review of your application and site qualifications.
• Counseling services must be clinical mental health, not school-based or academic counseling.
• A licensed or associate licensed site supervisor (or designated clinical professional) employed by the site must be on-site at all times while you are present.
• The school must have a formal contract with your clinical site for service delivery.

Please see Marriage and Family Therapy Fieldwork Manual for information regarding Supervisor Information.

Review the Internship Supervisor Information before proceeding.

The numbers below correspond to the order in which the documents will be uploaded in the SharePoint application:

1. Degree Completion Plan Audit
   • Located under the Degree Completion tab on the Course Registration page
2. Background Check Order Completion PDF
   • Students must submit their background check order completion PDF from DISA Healthcare Technology (formerly American Databank, or previously order confirmation page/results summary page from CastleBranch) that is dated no more than one year prior to the date of their application.
   • The internship office will also verify that you have completed your fingerprints through DISA Healthcare Technology (formerly American Databank, or CastleBranch) at the time of your application. If you have not purchased and completed your fingerprints through DISA Healthcare Technology (formerly American Databank, or previously through CastleBranch), these will need to be completed by the time you apply or you will be denied approval for internship.
   • Only send the completion document that is sent to your email from DISA Healthcare Technology once the purchase of the background check or re-check has been made, or if your background check from CastleBranch is not expired and you are using it, please make sure it is either the order confirmation page or page 1 of the results summary page.
   • Visit the background check website for further instructions on background check or fingerprints.
3. Supervisor’s License Verification
   • Found on your state counseling board website.
   • Includes name, license number, issue date, expiration date, & current/active
4. Fieldwork Contract
   • On-Site Fieldwork Contract (PDF): an on-site supervisor is an individual who is an employed counselor at the site you are applying to complete your practicum
   • Off-Site Fieldwork Contract (PDF): an offsite supervisor is an individual who is not an employed counselor at the site you are applying to complete your practicum, but has received approval to come on-site and provide supervision
   • Signed by student and site supervisor
     • The dates must match Liberty’s A-term semester dates. Check the Academic Calendar for the semester dates you will be completing practicum.
     • Please note: you must only fill out one fieldwork contract per site/supervisor. Students are only required to have one site and supervisor but may have up to two sites and supervisors.
5. Supervisor & Site Information Forms (PDF)
   • Signed by the site director, supervisor, and student
6. Digital Photo of Student
   • Professional photo, driver’s license, or student ID
7. Liability Insurance Face Sheet (PDF)
   • Students are required to purchase their own coverage for the duration of practicum and internship. The coverage requirements are detailed in the link above.
8. Affiliation Agreement and Student Addendum
   • Cover Page: completed by a site representative
   • 8-Page Agreement: completed and signed only by legal signatory at site
   • 3-Page Schedule A & B (Student Addendum): completed and signed by the student
   • Extensions will not be granted for Affiliation Agreement negotiations
9. Telemental Health Training Certificate for Internship II and Internship III
   • Students must submit their Telemental Health Training Certificate completed in internship I.

Important:

• Students are required to apply with the full application for their first semester of Internship II, even if they are staying with the same site and supervisor from Internship I.
• Please submit all documents as PDF files only. Documents will be uploaded to the portal in the same order they are listed above. The Site and Supervisor Information Forms must be submitted as a single 2-page PDF file. The Affiliation Agreement and Student Addendum must be submitted as a single PDF file containing all 12 pages (9 pages for the Affiliation Agreement and 3 pages for the Student Addendum).

All approval documents must be submitted to the Internship Office through the SharePoint submission portal prior to the deadline listed above. No late documents will be accepted. Submission of the forms does not mean automatic acceptance of the proposed site and/or supervisor; they must be approved first. Liberty University must validate that the student’s proposed site will provide a good educational experience and that it has adequate oversight and safeguards built in to ensure an appropriate clinical environment.

Please see the Marriage and Family Therapy Fieldwork Manual for changing site(s) and/or supervisor(s).

In order for students to be enrolled in internship III, they must complete the Additional Semester Request Assignments in their Canvas internship II course. They will not apply through the SharePoint portal with the full application again. Only students who are currently enrolled in internship II will request an additional semester.

The assignments that need to be completed in Canvas are:

• Internship Documentation Quiz
• Liability Insurance Face Sheet

If you plan to continue with your current, approved site(s) and supervisor(s), you will need to submit the following:

• Fieldwork Contract (one for each supervisor/site)
• Liability Insurance Face Sheet
• Telemental Health Training Certificate

If you plan to switch your site(s) and/or supervisor(s), you will need to submit the following:

• Fieldwork Contract
• Supervisor and Site Information Forms
• License Verification
• Affiliation Agreement and Student Addendum
• Liability Insurance Face Sheet
• Telemental Health Training Certificate

It is important to know that some sites in VA require that you have been approved as a Qualified Mental Health Professional-Trainee (QMHP-T). When you have completed 30 hours of your Master’s program you may submit an application for the QMHP-T credentials. While this is not an official policy, your application may be considered by the state. Here is the link to information about QMHP application for the state of VA.

Virginia QMHP information: view the “Regulations for Registration of Qualified Mental Health Professionals” PDF document.

Please see the Marriage and Family Therapy Fieldwork Manual for the International Fieldwork Policy.