CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM INFORMATION FOR SPONSORS

All of the below is applicable as of 1/1/2026

DEFINITIONS:

Sponsor: A group, educational facility, agency, organization, individual practitioner or other entity hosting a training for providers (e.g. NEAFAST, CFINE, PESI).

Continuing Education Program: A structured learning experience, designed to improve clinician knowledge, skill, or performance in the domain of Marriage and Family Therapy. To be eligible for Continuing Education approval, an event must have defined educational objectives, be designed to meet specific learning outcomes, must be directly relevant to the practice of Marriage and Family Therapy, and must include a process of evaluation of efficacy of the training. Networking events, wellness activities (e.g. a therapist specific yoga class), independent Q&A panels that do not directly address LMFT specific issues, marketing education or management trainings are not eligible for continuing education credits. 

Continuing Education Unit: 50-60 minutes of educational content. NEAFAST recognizes CEUs in increments of .25 (e.g. 2.0, 2.25, 2.50, etc.).

Post-Test: A test provided at the completion of an asynchronous, distance-learning program. NEAFAST requires that a sponsor administer 6 questions per CEU. 

Evaluation: A form distributed to attendees post-training to evaluate efficacy of a program. NEAFAST requires that sponsors evaluate for knowledge at beginning and end of the trainings, instructor effectiveness, clarity and organization of the program, instructor and presenter ability to provide feedback, comments and respect for learners, effective use of time, quality of technology, equipment and venue (if applicable), ratings of each accomplishment of each learning objective, and a section for qualitative feedback of the event, instructors and constructive suggestions. 

Late Application: An application for any program taking place in less then 30 days from the date of application.

Pre-Approval Application: Applications for any program submitted 24 or more full hours to the program start date (not start time). 

Retroactive Approval Application: Applications for any program submitted with less than 24 full hours of program start date. 

WHICH APPLICATION DO I CHOOSE?

Single Program: Use this application for stand-alone programs. Single programs may contain break out sessions or take place on multiple concurrent or non-current days (e.g. a conference or series) that awards one CE certificate encompassing ALL educational hours. An educational series taking place once a week for three weeks is considered a single program if it awards one certificate of completion to participants.

Multiple Programs or Certificates: Use this application to submit 2 or more unrelated, independent programs or a single program which provides multiple CE certificates for separate activities (e.g. a two-day conference in which each day is provides a separate certificate; a series with multiple speakers, sections or sessions which provide separate CE certificates for portions of the program). 

Repeat Program: Use this application for events which has previously received approval by NEAFAST to provide CEUs for LMFTs. 

Retroactive Program: Use this application for any continuing education program which has already begun, or has completed, for which a sponsor is seeking LMFT CE approval. Choose the appropriate application type from the above.

FOR ALL SPONSORS:

Payment MUST be received at the time of application. NEAFAST only accepts electronic payments. Allow 6 weeks processing time for all applications. 

Please be aware, due to the volume of CE applications in renewal years, submissions made after November 15th of odd number years [e.g. 2025, 2027, etc] may not be approved prior to the January 1st renewal deadline. 

You may request CE approval to be expedited for an additional fee. NEAFAST attempts to process all expedited applications within two weeks of receipt. However, this does not guarantee approval or approval prior to the January 1st deadline of a renewal year.

SPONSOR PRE-APPROVAL CE FEES AND REQUIREMENTS:

Applications must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the program start date to avoid late application fees. As NEAFAST processes pre-approval CE applications in the order in which they are received, we encourage sponsors to apply as early as possible. Sponsors must abide by all regulations found in the Board of Mental Health 262 CMR 7.04, including requirements for awarding certificates of completion. The certificate must be signed by an authorized representative of the sponsor. The approved wording for the certificate is “This activity has been certified by the New England Association for Family and Systemic Therapy, Inc., for professional continuing education. Certification # ______.”

Sponsors must attest to administering an evaluation which meets NEAFAST criteria to each attendee prior to distribution of CE Certificates. Sponsors providing asynchronous, distance-learning events must attest that a post-test which meets NEAFAST criteria is completed prior to distribution of CE Certificates. It is each sponsor's responsibility to know and abide by Massachusetts Board of Allied Mental Health and Human services regulations as they pertain to participant and sponsor continuing education requirements. 

Expedited applications will be processed in order in which they are received and applicants will be notified of approval or denial within 3 weeks of application. 

For more detailed information about NEAFASTs CE event approval criteria including content areas and instructor qualifications please visit THIS LINK. 

FEES:

ON DEMAND/HOME STUDY PROGRAMS:

If you are a sponsor applying for an approval for an upcoming training event that will be offered as a home-study or on-demand CE event, please select On-Demand/Home-Study once you begin the application process. Events are approved for a full year from the training's listed start date (if the event takes place on 2/1/2025, the approval period would be 2/1/2025-2/1/2026). 

If you are a sponsor applying for approval for a past training event and wish to have it approved for LMFT CEUs as a home-study or on-demand CE event please use the Retroactive CE Application. You will be able to select home-study or on-demand event during the application process. Approved events may be offered for one year from the listed start date of the activity.

ADVERTISING:

Should a program receive approval, it can be advertised as:  This program has been approved by NEAFAST for __ credits for LMFTs. If an application has been submitted, but has not yet been approved, the program should be advertised as: Application has been submitted to NEAFAST for __ credits for LMFTs. Please contact us (your organization’s information) for an updated status of approval.

Under no circumstances should a program be advertised as offering continuing education units for LMFTs when approval has not been received. 

NEAFAST offers the opportunity to advertise on our website and our newsletter.  For more information about this program click HERE.

SPONSOR RETROACTIVE CE FEES AND REQUIREMENTS:

All applications for retroactive CEUs MUST be submitted by the end of the renewal cycle in which the training took place. If you are submitted an application for a CE program that has already begun, you are required to use a Retroactive CE Application. All sponsors seeking retroactive LMFT CEUs must attest that they have provided and collected a program evaluation which meets NEAFAST criteria to attendees prior to distributing certificates of attendance. All asynchronous, on-demand learning events must attest that they have administered a post-test which meets NEAFAST criteria prior to distributing certificates of attendance. 

FEES AND APPLICATION:

All approval decisions are final.  If you believe an error was made in the application process that affected approval please send an email to [email protected] with corrected information. 

Please review the above criteria carefully as NEAFAST does not offer refunds for application fees in circumstances where programs are rejected for not meeting the continuing education requirements. NEAFAST is not responsible for maintaining records for approved events. It is sponsor's responsibility to retain copies of all approvals. 

If you have any questions not addressed above please contact [email protected]

Please Complete the Correct Application Below:

Single Event

Multiple Events (up to 4)

Single Event Retroactive

Multiple Events Retroactive (up to 4)