Supervision requirements and supervised experience
The associate period
Supervised experience is where most applications fail. Indiana sets a total-hour experience requirement administered under Board rule in 839 IAC, commonly tested as roughly 3,000 hours of post-degree experience including about 1,000 hours of direct client contact, spread over a minimum period of about two years, with a required number of supervision hours, a portion of which must be one-to-one rather than group. Rule totals are amended from time to time, so the version in effect on your application date controls; learn the structure, confirm the numbers against the current rule.
Who may supervise
- An actively licensed LMFT (or an exempt equivalent recognized by the Board) with the required post-licensure practice years.
- A supervisor who has completed the Board's supervisor training or qualifications, and whose own license is in good standing for the entire period.
- Not a relative, and not anyone whose dual role (employer, co-owner, partner) makes objective evaluation impossible without a written plan.
Documentation the Board expects
A written supervision contract and plan; a signed log of clinical and supervision hours; case review notes; the supervisor's attestation on Board forms. The supervisor carries responsibility for client welfare and may terminate supervision, or refuse to sign hours, if the supervisee practices beyond competence.
Worked example
An associate counts 60 group supervision hours toward the individual supervision requirement and has the group leader sign the log. The Board credits only the permitted portion of group hours and rejects the substitution, leaving the associate short at application. Reason from the rule's category limits, not from what felt like supervision.
Traps that cost marks
- Counting pre-degree practicum hours as post-degree experience.
- Accepting supervision from a licensed counselor or social worker not approved for MFT supervision.
- Hours accrued while the supervisor's license was lapsed or restricted.
- Supervision conducted in ways the rule does not recognize, such as unreviewed taped sessions or purely administrative meetings.