A pair of recent court rulings have declared therapy to be speech, not conduct. That distinction could make it much more difficult for states to regulate psychotherapy at all. That’s precisely what the law firm representing one of the plaintiffs hopes to achieve.
AMFTRB quietly changed its 2026 National MFT Exam handbook [Updated]
May 19, 2026 update: AMFTRB issued refunds and free retakes to hundreds of examinees who failed the National MFT Exam between January and April 2026. We believe our research and advocacy contributed meaningfully to that decision. Read more about our advocacy process on this issue here. The original post follows.
Tonight (March 22, 2026) I downloaded the AMFTRB candidate handbook for those preparing to take the National MFT Exam. That’s pretty routine. At High Pass Education, we’re working on a prep program for the national exam, and of course we want to make our content and our practice exams consistent with what examinees might see on the actual test.
According to the National MFT Exam handbook that I just downloaded, here’s the breakdown of exam content:
California’s elder abuse reporting form misquotes the law for mandated reporters
There’s an important error on the California Department of Social Services form for reporting suspected elder and dependent adult abuse. The form misquotes the statute that defines an “elder” for mandated reporting purposes. It may lead therapists, teachers and others to report instances of abuse that they don’t actually have the obligation — or even legal authority — to report.
Are therapy referrals down? 3 possible explanations (with solutions)
Are fewer people seeking out therapy? Good nationwide data is hard to come by, but we have some signals. Online therapy provider BetterHelp reports a dwindling subscriber base, down about 20% from its peak two years ago, even as they continue to spend millions of dollars on advertising. And anecdotally, we’re hearing lots of individual therapists report that they’re struggling to bring in new clients over the last few months.
If your practice has been struggling with fewer therapy referrals, here are three possible reasons for it – and solutions for each.
Your late cancellation policy may be causing late cancellations
I’ve been reading and enjoying Blind Spots, a 2011 book about why people make choices that go against their own genuinely-held values. It’s a good read, full of insights that I hope to bring to my work in ethics and policy going forward. One unexpected nugget for therapists: Your late cancellation fee might actually be encouraging late cancellations.