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April 2011
After months of negotiations and meetings with the Office of Professions, it became apparent that NYMHCA was not going to be able to resolve the “diagnosis issue” through a change in regulations. We came very close, but the untimely retirement of the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Professions brought those negotiations to an end. Instead, NYMHCA, we hope in collaboration with the other Article 163 professions (MFT’s, CAT’s and psychoanalysts) will introduce legislation that should resolve the diagnosis and other issues our professions are grappling with. The bill language will: include wording about diagnosis,; extend the limited permit periods from 3 years to 4 for a few years to enable mental health counselors to accrue their 3,000 hours without endangering their licensure; call for a licensure requirement of continuing education/competency for the four professions, and change the corporate practice laws to allow members of different professions to establish corporations for private practices.
The hope is that this legislation will be passed by the middle of 2013 when the exemption from the licensure law will end and the state agencies will be forced to only hire licensed professionals to provide services. At that time the lack of authority to diagnose in NYS agencies will prevent many mental health counselors from getting jobs or keeping them.
NYMHCA will need YOUR help in getting the legislation passed, and we are asking each member to do their part when requested! Together we passed an unprecedented licensure bill and together we will pass this bill as well!
To become part of the NYMHCA grassroots effort and receive updates and notifications of the need to contact legislators, click on the Grassroots Effort link on the left of this page.
We ask too that you donate to our legislative action fund. Any effort to pass legislation is a very expensive process!
