Becoming a Therapist With Depression, ADHD or Another Mental Health Condition
California's registration and licensure applications for marriage and family therapists do not ask about depression, ADHD or any other mental health condition. Neither the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) application to register as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) nor its application for the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) license asks about an applicant's mental health conditions, diagnoses or treatment. The path to the license runs through a qualifying master's degree, at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience and the Board's Law and Ethics and Clinical exams.
Federal disability law protects students and exam candidates along the way. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) cover graduate programs, the ADA regulations specifically mention both ADHD and major depressive disorder, and the BBS provides testing accommodations to qualifying candidates who have a disability or a medical condition. The ethics code of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) sets the same expectation for every marriage and family therapist, with or without a diagnosis: to seek supervision, consultation or professional assistance for issues that may impair work performance or clinical judgment.
Does the BBS Ask About Mental Health on the Application?
No. The BBS application for AMFT registration (form 37A-590, revised August 2024) asks no question about an applicant's mental health conditions, diagnoses, treatment, or medical or physical conditions, and the in-state application for LMFT licensure (form 37A-300, revised October 2024) has no such question either. The AMFT application's background questions cover military service, prior licenses, and denial or discipline of a professional health care license. Both applications ask whether, in the 7 years before applying, you were denied a professional health care license, had one suspended, revoked or otherwise disciplined, or voluntarily surrendered one, in California or anywhere else. Both forms carry revision dates, so check that you are reading the current version when you apply.
Criminal history goes through a separate process. The AMFT application states that applicants are not required to disclose past convictions or pending criminal cases on the application, and that the Board will not deny an application because an applicant chose not to provide criminal history information. Every applicant still completes a Department of Justice and FBI fingerprint background check, and the licensure application notes that some convictions will appear on that check and may require further investigation before a licensing decision.
What Rights Do Graduate Students With Depression or ADHD Have?
Graduate students whose depression, ADHD or other condition qualifies as a disability are protected by federal civil rights law. The U.S. Department of Education enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the ADA, and it says practically every postsecondary school in the United States is subject to one or both of them. Private colleges that receive no federal financial assistance fall under Title III of the ADA instead, which the U.S. Department of Justice enforces.
Under the ADA, a disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, and the Department of Justice says that "substantially limits" is interpreted broadly and is not meant to be a demanding standard. The ADA regulations list Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among the conditions included in the term "physical or mental impairment." They also say it should easily be concluded that major depressive disorder, like bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, substantially limits brain function, and they count an impairment that is episodic or in remission as a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active. Not every condition meets the standard, so coverage depends on how a condition affects the individual student.
These protections reach admission as well as coursework. A postsecondary school may not deny admission to an applicant who meets its essential requirements simply because the applicant has a disability. The protections also have limits, because a school providing an academic adjustment is not required to lower or substantially modify essential requirements. For an MFT degree, the requirements set by California law include a supervised practicum with at least 150 hours of face-to-face counseling.
Do You Have to Tell Your MFT Program About Depression or ADHD?
No. The Department of Education says that disclosure of a disability is always voluntary, and colleges and universities covered by Section 504 and Title II generally may not make what it calls a "preadmission inquiry" about an applicant's disability status. Its examples of impermissible preadmission questions include "Are you in good health?" A school may still ask whether an applicant can meet its essential program requirements, as long as the question is not designed to reveal disability status.
Disclosure becomes necessary when you want an adjustment. A school provides an academic adjustment only after you tell it that you have a disability and need one, and it may require you to follow reasonable procedures and to provide documentation prepared by an appropriate professional. Schools are not required to conduct or pay for a new evaluation, so you may have to arrange and pay for one yourself. The Department of Education's examples of adjustments include priority registration, a reduced course load, note takers, recording devices and extended time for testing. The person who handles requests is often called the Section 504 Coordinator, ADA Coordinator or Disability Services Coordinator, and the Department advises requesting an adjustment as early as possible.
If an adjustment is not working, the Department advises telling the school as soon as you notice. Schools must also have grievance procedures, and a student who believes a school is discriminating can use them or file a complaint with the Department's Office for Civil Rights or in court.
Can You Get Accommodations on the BBS Exams?
Yes, if you qualify and are approved in advance. The BBS provides testing accommodations to qualifying candidates who have a disability or a medical condition, and to candidates whose second language is English, and it does not provide them without prior approval. For the California Law and Ethics Exam and the LMFT Clinical Exam, requests go through Pearson VUE, the Board's exam vendor, using its Reasonable Adjustments Request System, and your evaluator's documentation should meet Pearson VUE's guidelines. Pearson VUE asks candidates to allow 10 business days for review and cannot add accommodations to an exam that is already scheduled, and the Board says not to schedule an exam until you are notified that an accommodation has been approved.
You may apply for accommodations before you become eligible to take an exam, and the Board recommends applying when you submit your initial Law and Ethics Exam application or your application for licensure. An approval can expire before your exam eligibility ends, and in that case you must reapply.
Federal law sets the ground rules for these requests. The ADA requires anyone who offers exams related to professional licensing to offer them "in a place and manner accessible to persons with disabilities." Department of Justice guidance says documentation requests must be reasonable and limited to the need for the accommodation, and that proof of past testing accommodations in similar test settings is generally sufficient to support a request for the same accommodations. Its examples of accommodations include extended time, distraction-free rooms and permission to bring and take medications during the exam. One of its examples describes a student with ADHD and an anxiety disorder who had only informal, undocumented accommodations in high school, documented her diagnoses and that history, and may nevertheless be entitled to extended time on a standardized exam.
What Do Ethics Codes and California Law Say About Therapists With Mental Illness?
Both focus on whether a therapist's work is impaired. The AAMFT Code of Ethics, revised effective January 1, 2026, says that marriage and family therapists must not provide therapeutic services when those services are compromised by impairments to their clinical competence, and that they "seek appropriate supervision, consultation, or professional assistance for issues that may impair work performance or clinical judgment." California's general licensing law addresses the same concern for people who already hold a license. Under Business and Professions Code section 820, a licensing board may order an evaluation by physicians or psychologists it designates when it appears that a licensee may be unable to practice safely because mental illness, or physical illness affecting competency, impairs the licensee's ability to practice.
Supervision runs through MFT training in California: a qualifying degree includes a supervised practicum, and the license requires at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience. Personal therapy during training is a separate question, and you can read about whether MFT programs in California require personal therapy.
A Closer Look at One Program: The Sentio MFT Program
Programs differ in how they schedule coursework and clinical training, and knowing the structure in advance helps any student plan, including one who expects to request academic adjustments. The Sentio MFT program is a 20-month Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy (60 semester credits), based in Los Angeles and open to students across California. Coursework is online, in weekly live Zoom classes over five 12-week semesters, with a short in-person residency in Los Angeles at the start of each semester, and cohorts and classes are limited to 24 students.
Students train in deliberate practice every week, rehearsing specific therapeutic skills with feedback. Every student has a guaranteed practicum at the Sentio Counseling Center, an online counseling center that serves diverse, low-income clients and specializes in serving clients with trauma. Students begin seeing clients in their second semester and complete more than 400 supervised clinical hours before graduating, and supervisors review video of their sessions. In the Class of 2026, the program's first graduating class, 100% of graduates were registered as Associate Marriage and Family Therapists within six weeks of graduation.
Making Your Decision
A few practical steps help you use these protections. Read the current AMFT and LMFT application forms yourself, decide whether and when to contact a program's disability services office, and start any exam accommodation request when you submit your first exam application, because approval must come before you schedule the exam. If you received testing accommodations in college, keep the records, since Department of Justice guidance treats proof of past testing accommodations in similar settings as generally sufficient support for the same accommodations.
If you are deciding whether to write about your own experience in an application essay, see how to write a personal statement for an MFT program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the BBS ask about mental health on the application?
No. The Board of Behavioral Sciences application for Associate Marriage and Family Therapist registration (form 37A-590, revised August 2024) and the in-state application for LMFT licensure (form 37A-300, revised October 2024) ask no question about an applicant's mental health conditions, diagnoses or treatment. Both ask whether, in the 7 years before applying, the applicant was denied a professional health care license or had one disciplined or surrendered. Every applicant also completes a fingerprint background check.
Can you be a therapist with ADHD?
California's applications for AMFT registration and LMFT licensure do not ask about ADHD or any other mental health condition. The license requires a qualifying master's degree, at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience and passing two Board of Behavioral Sciences exams. The federal ADA regulations list Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as an impairment, and students whose ADHD substantially limits a major life activity can request academic adjustments in graduate school and testing accommodations on the BBS exams.
Can you be a therapist with depression?
Depression is not a question on California's applications for AMFT registration or LMFT licensure, which ask nothing about mental health conditions, diagnoses or treatment. The ADA regulations say it should easily be concluded that major depressive disorder substantially limits brain function, and they count a condition that is episodic or in remission as a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active. The AAMFT Code of Ethics asks every marriage and family therapist to seek supervision, consultation or professional assistance for issues that may impair their work.
Do I have to tell my MFT program that I have depression or ADHD?
No. The U.S. Department of Education says disclosure of a disability to a college or university is always voluntary, and schools covered by Section 504 and Title II of the ADA generally may not ask applicants about disability status before admission. To receive academic adjustments, such as extended time on tests or a reduced course load, you must tell the school that you have a disability and need an adjustment, follow its procedures and usually provide documentation from an appropriate professional.
Can I get extra time on the BBS exams for ADHD?
You can request it. The Board of Behavioral Sciences provides testing accommodations to qualifying candidates with a disability or medical condition, and extended time is one of the accommodations the ADA can require. Requests for the Law and Ethics and LMFT Clinical exams go through Pearson VUE, which asks for 10 business days to review them, and must be approved before you schedule. Department of Justice guidance says proof of past testing accommodations in similar settings is generally sufficient to support a request for the same accommodation.
Should I mention depression or ADHD in my MFT application?
That choice is yours, because disclosure of a disability to a school is voluntary, and schools covered by Section 504 and Title II generally may not ask about disability status before admission. If you write about personal hardship in a statement of purpose, Palo Alto University's counseling program, for example, welcomes it when it helps frame your interest in the field, encourages analysis and self-reflection, and warns that oversharing can raise concerns about boundary issues and personal judgment.
References
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. (2026). AAMFT code of ethics. https://www.aamft.org/common/Uploaded%20files/Legal%20Ethics/AAMFT%20Code%20of%20Ethics.pdf
California Board of Behavioral Sciences. (n.d.). Exams: Accommodations. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/exams/exams_accomodations.html
California Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2024a). Application for Associate Marriage and Family Therapist registration (DCA BBS 37A-590, Rev. 08/2024). https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/forms/mft/imfapp.pdf
California Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2024b). Application for licensure, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, in-state applicant (DCA BBS 37A-300, Rev. 10/2024). https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/forms/mft/mftapp.pdf
California Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2025). Important answers to frequently asked questions for Associate Marriage and Family Therapists and MFT trainees. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/publications/mft_faq.pdf
California Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2026). Statutes and regulations relating to the practice of professional clinical counseling, marriage and family therapy, educational psychology, clinical social work. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/publications/lawsregs.pdf
California Business and Professions Code, section 820. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=820
Palo Alto University. (n.d.). MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. https://paloaltou.edu/academic-programs/ma-counseling
Pearson VUE. (n.d.). Accommodation process: California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/test-takers/accommodations/pearson_approve.cabbs.html
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. (2011a). Students with disabilities preparing for postsecondary education: Know your rights and responsibilities. https://www.ed.gov/higher-education/students-disabilities-preparing-postsecondary-education
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. (2011b). Transition of students with disabilities to postsecondary education: A guide for high school educators. https://www.ed.gov/teaching-and-administration/supporting-students/transition-of-students-with-disabilities-to-postsecondary-education-a-guide-for-high-school-educators
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. (n.d.). Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act. https://www.ada.gov/topics/intro-to-ada/
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. (2020). Testing accommodations. https://www.ada.gov/resources/testing-accommodations/
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. (2024). Americans with Disabilities Act Title II regulations. https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/regulations/title-ii-2010-regulations/
