1. Keeping Up With The Counseling Profession: Current Issues on the National Level

2. David Kaplan ACA Chief Professional Officer dkaplan@counseling
David Kaplan ACA Chief Professional Officer Art Terrazas ACA Director of Government Affairs AASCB Conference

4. Things we might talk about
Professional Identity
Counselor Education Accreditation
Key legislation
Practice Issues
Ethical Issues

5. Things we might talk about
Professional Identity
Counselor Education Accreditation
Key legislation
Practice Issues
Ethical Issues

6. Dr. William Glasser

7. Professional Identity

8. 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling http://www. counseling

9. The 20/20 consensus definition of counseling

10. Counseling is a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.

11. The 20/20 Building Blocks to Portability Project

12. Building Blocks to Portability
The task was to develop:
A consensus licensure title to recommend to all state licensing boards
A consensus scope of practice to recommend to all state licensing boards
Consensus education requirements to recommend to all state licensing boards

13. The delegates reached consensus on the licensure title!

14. Licensed Professional Counselor

15. And the Scope of Practice. www. counseling
And the Scope of Practice! Open the sample endorsement letter

16. Some Key Elements
Individual, group, couples, & family counseling
Promote mental health wellness, development across the lifespan, crisis intervention and the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders
Consultation and program evaluation
Supervision
Ability to practice independently

17. Two out of three ain’t bad!
What about the licensure education requirements?
Two out of three ain’t bad!

18. Where does 20/20 go from here?

19. Counselor Education Accreditation

20. The next CACREP standards revision has begun
Slated for 2016

21. Draft # 2 public comment period ends 1/10/14
Review the draft and give feedback at:

22. More evolutionary than revolutionary
“Clarify, Simplify, and Unify”

23. Three significant proposals
By July 2020, all entry-level programs, including:
career counseling
school counseling
postsecondary counseling
be comprised of 60 credit hours

24. Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling added as a specialty
Student Affairs and College Counseling specialty becomes Postsecondary Counseling

25. Important accreditation news
CACREP and CORE have become corporate affiliates CORE will jointly implement the new CACREP Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling specialty

26. Alternative Counselor Education Credentialing

27. Masters in Counseling Accreditation Council (MCAC)

28. Initial MCAC programs U of Albany (mental health counseling)
U of Massachusetts, Boston (mental health counseling & school counseling)

29. THE Counseling Psychologist Vol. 41, No. 5, July 2013
Psychology
& counselor education accreditation
THE Counseling Psychologist Vol. 41, No. 5, July 2013

30. Articles
Quality of Master’s Education: A Concern for Counseling Psychology?
Looking to the Future – The role of Master’s Programs in Counseling Psychology
Integrating Master’s Education in Counseling Psychology for Quality, Viability, and Value Added
Legitimizing and Reclaiming Master’s Training and Education in Counseling Psychology: An Urgent Concern

31. Contributing to the ambivalent relationship of counseling psychology to masters training… Jackson & Scheel, p.676

32. In some situations, the master’s training programs were developed …to help fund the doctoral training program Palmer, p.703

33. In some cases, master’s programs help pay the bills for doctoral education…in difficult economic times, counseling psychology doctoral programs without master’s programs may be easier to cut -Jackson & Scheel, p. 687 &

34. To maintain CACREP accreditation when budget cuts are required, deans and other administrators…may prioritize master’s over doctoral programs since master’s training is less expensive than doctoral training. -Jackson & Scheel, p.682

35. …such developments do threaten counseling psychology programs… -Jackson & Scheel, p.682

36. The new MCAC accreditation standards may serve to promote a new direction for counseling master’s education…consistent with core values and contributions of counseling psychology Jackson & Scheel, p. 681

37. It is questionable…whether we will be able to avert eventual professional annihilation…as a profession we are experiencing THE RECKONING Palmer, p. 701 & 704

38. Legislative Issues

39. Major Issues We’re Following
VA hiring of LPCs
TRICARE certification of mental health counselors
Medicare coverage of LPCs
Federal education spending
“Religious freedom of expression” legislation

40. VA (Non-)Hiring of LPMHCs
April 2012 – VA Office of Inspector General report: For half of first-time patients, MH evals took about 50 days
As of August 2012, total number of LPCs hired as mental health clinicians within the VA nationwide: 29
Number of VA LPMHC positions posted in 2012: 58 Number of VA social worker positions posted: 1,563

41. ACA Has…
Written to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki , and met repeatedly with multiple VA staff
Met with White House staff
Met with members of Congress, and worked with them to draft letters to the VA
Our goals:
Encourage passage of S 1581, which includes a provision to open up VA paid traineeships to counselors
Have VA central office light a fire under local VA directors to hire more counselors

42. VA & counselors: What you can do
Check if you’re curious about VA positions. If (surprise!) you find one not open to counselors, contact the HR person to ask that it be opened to counselors, and copy us
Contact your Senators and ask that they 1) Vote for S and 2) write to the VA to direct them to:
Broaden the eligibility criteria for LPMHC positions, and instruct VA facilities to open more positions to counselors
Share copies with/direct Q’s to Art Terrazas at

43. TRICARE requirements: now through 2014
Licensed counselors must:
have a master's or higher-level degree “from a mental health counseling program of education and training* and either
Pass the NCE or NCMHCE (for CACREP-accredited degrees) OR
Pass the NCMHCE (for regionally-accredited degrees)
have 2 years/3,000 hours of supervised clinical practice, "provided by a mental health counselor”
* For at least CACREP degrees, this is interpreted by DoD to mean only degrees with the title of “mental health counseling” or “clinical mental health counseling”

44. TRICARE independent practice requirements: beginning 2015
Licensed counselors must:
have a CACREP degree
pass the NCMHCE
same 2 years/3,000 hours of supervision as previous slide
Independent practice only.
Practice under physician referral and supervision will no longer be allowed.

45. TRICARE Mental Health Counselor Certification Requirements: Possible Barriers
Having a degree title other than “mental health counseling” or “clinical mental health counseling”
Not having passed the NCMCHE
Not having 2 years/3,000 hours of supervision under a licensed professional counselor (not psychologist, social worker, etc.)
Not having a CACREP-accredited degree

46. Comparing the federal standards
Agency
Master’s degree…
Exam
Supervision
Dept. of Veterans Affairs
…in mental health counseling or related field from CACREP program, Ph.D. not recognized --
TRICARE (after 2014)
…from a mental health counseling program of education and training accredited by CACREP
NCMHCE
2 years/3,000 hrs, 100 hrs face-to-face, meets AMHCA guidelines
Army SAP
…in counseling from a program accredited by CACREP
Medicare bill (S. 562 & HR. 3662)
In mental health counseling or a related field
2 years post-master’s

47. Medicare and Counselors
For the first time since 2009, we have TWO Bills!
S. 562 and HR.3662 call for Medicare to reimburse Licensed Professional Counselors.
We need you to call your Senators and Representatives to ask them to support these bills!

48. Q: Will Medicare require CACREP degrees?
A: Most likely not
The House and Senate have each passed Medicare coverage of LPCs/MFTs twice, without ever including CACREP requirement
HHS declined to require even regional accreditation of psychology degrees, said nothing about CSWE when writing regulations for psychologist/SW Medicare coverage
Starting 1/1/2014, Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits discrimination against state-licensed providers
HHS is incredibly busy implementing ACA, doesn’t have time to start second-guessing state licensure requirements
Requiring CACREP degrees would defeat the goal of expanding access to outpt. MH services, especially in rural and underserved areas

49. Our best hope: getting a lot of cosponsors on S. 562 & HR
Our best hope: getting a lot of cosponsors on S. 562 & HR. 3662, to build momentum for passage.

50. Affordable Care Act – Provider Non-Discrimination Provision takes effect January 1, 2014
“Sec * Non-Discrimination in Health Care.
(a) Providers.—A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall not discriminate with respect to participation under the plan or coverage against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of that provider’s license or certification under applicable State law. This section shall not require that a group health plan or health insurance issuer contract with any health care provider willing to abide by the terms and conditions for participation established by the plan or issuer. Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing a group health plan, a health insurance issuer, or the Secretary from establishing varying reimbursement rates based on quality or performance measures.”
* of the Public Health Service Act

51. Practice Issues

52. DSM-5
Licensed counselors eligible for participation in DSM field trials for the first time

53. Current DSM-5 Issues
Adjusting to the disappearance of the multiaxial system
Vague wording has increased confusion
Autism as a spectrum
Expanding criterion into the normal range

54. Current DSM-5 Issues
Adjusting to the disappearance of the multiaxial system
Vague wording has increased confusion
Autism as a spectrum
Expanding criterion into the normal range

55. DSM-5 Tools ACA Webinars ACA Book(
DSM-5: Navigating the New Terrain (6 hours)
DSM-5 Specifics, Drilling Down With the New Diagnostic Tools (2 hours)
ACA Book (
*DSM-5 Learning Companion for Counselors

56. New HIPPA Regulation
Extending HIPPA to billing services, document storage companies & other business associates
Clients can now request health records in electronic form
Mitigating and informing clients about security breaches

57. Ethical Issues

58. The 2014 ACA Code of Ethics

59. Who is on the ERTF? Jeannette Baca Janelle Disney
Perry Francis (Chair)
Gary Goodnough
Mary Hermann
Shannon Hodges
Lynn Linde
Linda Shaw
Shawn Spurgeon
Richard Watts
Michelle Wade
Erin Martz (ACA staff)
David Kaplan (ACA staff)

60. Timeline highlights Task force appointed Summer of 2011
Initial call for member input Fall 2011
Draft composed April
Call for draft feedback May 2013
Draft revised based on input June-December 2013
Final draft presented to ACA Governing Council March 2014

61. ERTF Areas of Focus Social media
The imposition of counselor personal values
When is a client a client?
Removing the end of life exemption
Fee splitting

62. How licensure board members can keep up with current national issues
ACA Connect
Read Counseling Today
Read CT online
Read ACA e-News
Subscribe to the ACA blogs
Visit !

63. Visit the ACA Facebook page
Follow ACA on Twitter
Subscribe to counseling listservs (cesnet, counsgrads, icn, etc.)
Use Google alerts
Ask Art or David

64. Let’s schmooze!

65. Keeping Up With The Counseling Profession: Current Issues on the National Level