This bill establishes specific qualifications, including state authorization or AAMFT approval, for marriage and family therapists appointed to provide clinical supervision within the Veterans Health Administration.
Julia Brownley
Representative
CA-26
This bill amends federal law to establish specific qualifications for marriage and family therapists appointed within the Veterans Health Administration (VA) who are designated to provide clinical supervision. To qualify for these supervisory roles, therapists must meet existing VA requirements plus one of two specific criteria related to state authorization or AAMFT approved supervisor designation. This ensures that supervisors within the VA system meet recognized standards for training and oversight.
VA Boosts Mental Health Standards: Supervisors Must Now Be State-Certified or AAMFT-Approved
This legislation tightens the rules for who can be hired by the Veterans Health Administration (VA) to serve as both a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) and a clinical supervisor. Essentially, the VA is putting up a new, higher bar for the people who train and oversee their mental health staff. The core change is simple: If you want to be an MFT supervisor at the VA, you must already meet the existing therapist qualifications and satisfy one of two extra criteria laid out in Section 1.
The New Standard for Training the Trainers
For most of us, this bill is about quality control for mental health services. If you’re a veteran or know one, you want the person providing the care—and the person training that provider—to be top-notch. This bill ensures that MFTs who supervise others aren't just experienced therapists, but formally recognized experts in supervision. The bill requires these supervisory MFTs to either be authorized to provide clinical supervision by their state licensing board or have received the official “Approved Supervisor” designation from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).
What This Means for Therapists and Veterans
For MFTs looking to work at the VA, this is a clear signal: supervisory roles are getting more exclusive. If you don't have that state authorization or the AAMFT credential, you can still be hired as a regular MFT, but the path to a supervisory role is now formally blocked until you get that designation. This could slightly shrink the pool of available supervisors in the short term, which might slow down hiring for some VA facilities, especially in areas where specialized credentials are harder to come by.
However, for veterans, this is a win. By requiring supervisors to hold these high-level credentials, the VA is ensuring that the training and oversight provided to newer MFTs are consistent and meet nationally recognized standards. Think of it like this: the person teaching the new mechanics how to fix your car now needs a master certification, not just a few years under the hood. This formalized process, detailed in Section 1, aims to standardize the quality of care across the entire VA system, making sure that veterans receive consistent, high-quality mental health support regardless of where they are located.