legislation Archives - Page 2 of 3

How this year’s religious freedom bills would impact therapists

February 23, 2016 by Ben Caldwell

Golden gavel 1, By walknboston (Flickr: Gavel) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Several states are considering religious freedom bills that would directly impact therapist training and licensure, and clients’ ability to access appropriate mental health care.

As has been the trend for several years now, these bills — also commonly referred to as “conscience clause” legislation — are being framed as protection of the rights of religious people to act in accordance with their moral or religious beliefs, free from government interference. The bills tend to be broadly written, though there have been at least a few instances of bills being written specifically to apply to mental health (including one this year — see discussion of Tennessee below).

California looks to change MFT and PCC interns to associates

April 15, 2021January 28, 2016 by Ben Caldwell

At its November 2015 meeting, the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) voted to pursue legislation in 2016 that would change the titles of post-degree, pre-license professional clinical counselors (PCCs) and marriage and family therapists (MFTs) from “interns” to “associates.”

There are a lot of “ifs” here, but if they are able to find an author, and if the bill gets through the Legislature and if it is then signed by the Governor, it would not take effect until 2018. This would give individuals and employers ample time during 2017 to plan changes to their marketing materials.

Changes to California MFT intern hours: An (updated) explainer

October 1, 2015October 1, 2015 by Ben Caldwell

In September 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 620, a Board of Behavioral Sciences-sponsored bill that will change how MFT intern hours are counted toward licensure. What is the new law, and why is it happening? This explainer is meant to answer the most common questions about the changes. (Ed. note: This was originally posted in November 2014 when the changes were just a proposal. It’s been updated in October 2015 to reflect the law as adopted.)

Supreme Court refuses reparative therapy case, allowing California ban to take effect

November 17, 2014July 2, 2014 by Ben Caldwell

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 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.