Following successful bans of conversion therapy for minors in California, Oregon, Illinois, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, US Representative Ted Lieu — who authored California’s ban when he was in the state Senate — has introduced the federal Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act. The bill would order the Federal Trade Commission to classify for-profit conversion therapy as fraud. It would also classify any advertising that claims to change sexual orientation or gender identity as fraud.
Public policy
What Indiana’s religious freedom law means for therapists
Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, signed into law by Governor Mike Pence last week, has raised a great deal of controversy. In the psychotherapy community, the law could have an immediate impact in the form of professional events and conferences moving out of the state. In the longer term, the bill is likely to impact training and practice by making it harder for universities and licensing boards to discipline discriminatory behavior.
The first interstate compact for counselor license reciprocity
![By Mk2010 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/www.psychotherapynotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/256px-Cloth_Suitcase.jpg)
I’ve talked a fair amount in this blog about the need for better license portability across states. True license reciprocity, where one state automatically recognizes another state’s licensure, is rightly the long-term goal of some professional associations in mental health. (I’ve argued that telehealth will help us get there.)
Blue Shield of California loses non-profit status
The LA Times is reporting that Blue Shield, the state’s third-largest health insurer, has been stripped of its state non-profit status. State officials have not commented on the reasons for the decision, but the Times suggests it may have to do with the company’s billions in reserves, high executive compensation, and political spending.
Supreme Court refuses reparative therapy case, allowing California ban to take effect
![By derivative work: Producer (talk) JudgesTools.JPG: User:Avjoska (JudgesTools.JPG) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/www.psychotherapynotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/JudgesTools_Icon-300x207.png?resize=300%2C207){kind=icon}
Other states are now more likely to follow suit.
The Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear arguments in the court cases challenging California’s ban on reparative therapy for minors. The decision will allow the ban to take effect, and likely will make it easier for other states considering similar bans to enact them.