AMHCA Endorses Counseling Compact

AMHCA Endorsement Letter to the National Center for Counseling Compacts

The Board of Directors of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) fully endorses passage of the Counseling Compact by state legislators. AMHCA advocates for over 130,000 licensed clinical mental health counselors in the United States who are licensed to assess, diagnose, and treat mental disorders.

The members of our board emphatically endorse the Counseling Compact because it provides for:

Greater individual and family access to mental health services offered by licensed counselors
Consistently high standards of public health safety in the participating states
Continuity of care for patients who need continuing mental health counseling when patients or counselors relocate or travel to other states
Military personnel and spouses to maintain their licenses to practice when relocating so that their services are readily available to the public
Increased mobility for fully licensed clinical mental health counselors
State licensure that is preserved and strengthened in the respective participating states

After rigorously reviewing the proposed Counseling Compact legislation, the members of the AMHCA Interstate Counseling Compact Committee have unanimously recommended compact adoption. The compact maintains standards of public safety while adhering to state ethical and legal mandates.

AMHCA urges its members and the leaders of AMHCA State Chapters to engage state legislators to consider passing the Counseling Compact. Our packet to state leaders includes:

Copy of our letter of endorsement to the National Center for Interstate Compacts
Separate letter of recommended instructions to promote the Counseling Compact
Link to the toolkit provided at CounselingCompact.org
Recorded PowerPoint presentation that can be shared with state legislators and members

The American Mental Health Counselors Association fully endorse the passage of the Counseling Compact proposed legislation in several states. Already, members are actively engaged in their states to pass the compact. We are pleased that the AMHCA state chapter in Georgia, Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia, was instrumental in being the first state to pass the Counseling Compact.

graphic describing counseling compact home state determination — Text of Image:
DETERMINING YOUR HOME STATE
Under the Counseling Compact, your home state is where you are both:

Licensed as a professional counselor

Living as your primary residence

Your primary residence is usually the state on

TAX

Driver's license or state ID

Voter registration

Federal tax return address

EXAMPLE: If you live in Arizona and are licensed in Arizona, Arizona is your home state. But if you live in Arizona and only hold a license in Colorado, you'll need to get licensed in Arizona first.