1. Keeping Up With The Counseling Profession: Current Issues on the National Level www.counseling.org/kaplan

2. David Kaplan ACA Chief Professional Officer dkaplan@counseling.org 2014 WVCA Conference

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

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

7. Dr. William Glasser 1925-2013

8. Professional Identity

9. 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling http://www.counseling.org/20-20 http://www.counseling.org/20-20

10. The 20/20 consensus definition of counseling http://www.counseling.org/20-20/definition.aspx

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

12. The 20/20 Building Blocks to Portability Project

13. 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

14. The delegates reached consensus on the licensure title!

15. Licensed Professional Counselor

16. And the Scope of Practice! www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/20-20-a-vision-for-the- future-of-counseling/current-activities Open the sample endorsement letter www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/20-20-a-vision-for-the- future-of-counseling/current-activities

17. 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

18. TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD! What about the licensure education requirements?

19. Where does 20/20 go from here?

20. Counselor Education Accreditation

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

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 - mental health counseling & school counseling U of Missouri – counseling & guidance U of Wisconsin – community counseling

29. THE COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGIST VOL. 41, NO. 5, JULY 2013 Psychology & counselor education accreditation

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 & 688

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 Legislative Issues Affordable Care Act VA hiring of Counselors TRICARE independent practice Medicare Conscience clause legislation

40. The Other ACA – a lot to like Exchange plans must cover both mental health and substance – use disorders. Coverage must be generally comparable with coverage for medical care. Co-pays for mental health care abolished.

41. VA (Non-)Hiring of LPMHCs www.usajobs.gov Number of VA social worker positions posted in 2012: 1,563 Number of VA LPMHC positions posted in 2012: 58

42. 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

43. Goals Open up VA paid traineeships to counselors Establish alternative eligibility criteria for LPCs w/o CACREP degrees Have VA central office light a fire under local VA directors to hire more counselors

44. 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”

45. 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 Practice under physician referral and supervision will no longer be allowed.

46. 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!

47. Conscience Clause legislation

48. It’s getting personal…language from Michigan SR 66 “Whereas, The American Counseling Association, a private organization that promulgates a code of ethics widely used by university counseling programs and state licensure boards in training for and regulating the counseling profession, has publicly supported universities that have punished or dismissed students for adhering to their sincere religious convictions…”

49. California recently banned reparative therapy for children

50. For updates on legislative issues go to the ACA website at www.counseling.org and click on the government affairs tab

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 (www.counseling.org/continuing-education/webinars) DSM-5: Navigating the New Terrain (6 hours) DSM-5 Specifics, Drilling Down With the New Diagnostic Tools (2 hours) ACA Book (www.counseling.org/publications/overview) *DSM-5 Learning Companion for Counselors

56. New HIPAA Regulation Extending HIPAA 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. How ACA can help you keep up with current national issues ACA Connect http://community.counseling.org/Home/ http://community.counseling.org/Home/ Read Counseling Today Read CT online www.ct.counseling.org www.ct.counseling.org Read ACA e-News Subscribe to the ACA blogs www.my.counseling.org www.my.counseling.org Visit the ACA government affairs website www.counseling.org/government-affairs/public-policy www.counseling.org/government-affairs/public-policy

58. Visit the ACA Facebook page Follow ACA on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/CounselingViews https://twitter.com/#!/CounselingViews Subscribe to counseling listservs (cesnet, counsgrads, icn, etc.) Use Google alerts Ask David

59. Let’s schmooze!

60. Keeping Up With The Counseling Profession: Current Issues on the National Level www.counseling.org/kaplan